Many Floridians know the name of John Young. However, Joe Kittinger has a history to rival all others in the field. He has been flying aircraft for nearly 60 years and credits his start in aviation with plane watching at the Orlando Municipal Airport. His career has spanned the decades and technologies and he holds **many** world aviation records. For more information on Colonel Joe, see this site.
Joseph William Kittinger II (July 27, 1928 - December 9,2022) was a retired Colonel in the United States Air Force and a USAF Command Pilot. Following his initial operational assignment in fighter aircraft, he participated in Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior in 1960. Serving as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, he achieved an aerial kill of a North Vietnamese MiG-21 jet fighter and was later shot down himself, spending 11 months as a prisoner of war in a North Vietnamese prison. In 2012, at the age of 84, he participated in the Red Bull Stratos project as capsule communicator, directing Felix Baumgartner on his record-breaking 39-kilometer (24 mi) freefall from Earth’s stratosphere, exceeding Kittinger’s earlier freefall in 1960.
This park was dedicated in his honor. It is sometimes closed and used as a construction staging site. There is a small playground, a short walking path with a few benches, and a newly installed F-4 Phantom aircraft flown by Col. Joe during the Vietnam conflict; but the real attraction is watching the activities at the Orlando Executive Airport. There is a small monument at the posted coordinates that gives Col. Kittinger credit for two achievements. To log this cache, send me an email that lists these two specific feats. No spoiler photos, please!