Jack Joerns passes

[PorkPie]

Jack Joerns, from Sunrise Beach, TX, passed away last Thursday (25 June), 92 years old.

Jack was on the crew for Allen and his Texas Cigar - motorcycle streamliner AMA record - in 1956.

He was involed on the mold and shell built of the Texas Cigar.

Also in the 50's he has to organize a record attempt from Donald Campbell in his famous K7 Bluebird jet boat at the Dallas/Fort Worth lake - Dallas/Forth Worth was interest to sponsor Donald - at last the attempt was recalled when they found out that the lake was too short for there use.

78 years old he start to built his own lakester, after he was for a while in the crew of some friends from Dallas.

He brought the lakester to the salt and after some smaller troubles the car went very well, unfortunately was meanwhile the record pushed to a much higher level. He run the lakester for some more years and sold them to a group of people from the Dallas area. The fastest the lakester went when he was in his hand, was 222 mph.

With 87 he also quit to fly his aluminium acrobatic biplane from his home in Sunrise Beach - his home was the first hangar on the small grass airfield of Sunrise Beach.

Jack, you had a great life...R.I.P. my old friend, I will miss you.

[SPARKY]

RIP JACK

I met Jack on the salt when he was running his lakester---he use to laugh that his body had more new parts than his car---

if I remember correctly he was a British test pilot during WW ll and had survived several crack ups leaving him with many scars---My wife Linda though that he was very charming---thank goodness he was SO MUCH older than me  and I met her first!!!!!!!!!!

God Speed Jack---thanks for the inspirations and memories!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PorkPie]

Yeap, Sparky, you was very lucky.....he was a copy of Clark Gable.....and in his high 80's he had more girl friends as we could work out.....

Not only a test pilot in England (he was American, born in MN, his parents was from Danmark) during WWII, he was a test pilot for
8 years in the Area 51 and later in White Sands.

His last twenty five years as a engineer and pilot he was a test engineer for the NASA and worked with Werner von Braun together...

One day a P40 was landing on him, after the landing gear broke....the plane was on him.......and moved him for another 80 yards forward before he was coming to the halt under the plane......

Also he was twice in the caterpilar club......that means.....he has to escape with the parachute out of a burning plane, twice....

And from mid 50's for 30 years he was the man who brought the star and strips flag down with the parachute when there was a official with the President of the US....

Forget Indian Jones....his life was more wild......

At last...he built the first Shelby Cobra for Charrol Shelby........he was just one of a kind.....