The launch was the best one I have ever had. I did not get my 15° of a. In fact, I did not get over nine during most of the pullup. I cross checked my tape g, maybe at 15 seconds or so after launch, as I was about to come up on theta, and it was reading two. So, I backed off at 1.8 on the tape and looked over at my mechanical and it was reading 1.6. So we have a discrepancy which I would guess is on the tape g because the tape g was not giving me the g I should have had for the time I had at 10 a. But at any rate, this was not a major problem. The major problem was I think, I outsmarted myself today. I had had some trouble with the theta vernier on my last two or three flights, last two flights, and I decided today I would pull up on theta on the eight ball, check my theta vernier and if it was not correct, go to my precision attitude. I pulled up to 20 theta on the ball, looked at my theta vernier, it was reading 17 right there, maybe 20-25 seconds after launch. I switched it to precision attitude, it was reading zero error and I flew that to 59,000, at which time I started my pushover. Even by this time I knew I was in trouble because my q had hit 900 as it should have in the boost and then started bleeding off towards 850. I knew it should not have done than. I knew I was going high so I throttled back just about completion of pushover but I did not get the profile salvaged. So, I realized I was high and there was nothing I could do about it, so when I saw 4700 feet a second, I throttled it back and pulled the brakes out. I punched the panel at 1020 on the tape q and 5100 feet a second ± a little on velocity. 1020 and 51 are the good numbers. Then I held it right there. Q was very stable at 1020 until burnout. I don't know what my burnout velocity was but from there on the profile went as planned. I went to computed a. Computed a and b, as far as I could determine, were within 1° of what they should have been. I went back to ball nose a and pushed over to zero g. Got about 600 negative H dot and started to pull toward 12 a but I got buffet at about 10, 10.5. I had all the buffet I wanted so I backed off again and came home. My memory of this was that it was around 2.5 Mach number. 2.5 or 2.6 Mach number that I did the tail loads point. I got the same buffet and I have been advised by control room personnel that I got some beta in there, although I did not see the beta. Traffic pattern was normal. I did have double vision on final. I have had it the last three flights now. Today I got the distinct impression that it is my left window that is wrong. I flew the landing out of the right window and the landing came out good. I don't consider this a serious enough problem that it has to be changed, but sometime we ought to put in some new windshields or do something to cut out this double vision on final. The last gesture of the day was for me to get out of the cockpit myself. I certainly sympathize with Pete's problems at Mud Lake because I swore I was going to break that canopy handle before I got it to the "Open" position. I finally got it opened and I would guess it was somewhere between 100 and 150# of pull. I finally had to undo my left shoulder harness and get both hands on it before I finally got it cracked, and then exit was normal. I intend to do one more of these "climbing out by myself" just to smooth out a few procedures, and I think that if anyone else that is flying the airplane has not tried one of these, it is probably very educational. Are there any questions?

(?) Yes, there was very definitely a burnout. Engine time was 91.4.

(?) Question was, if my theta vernier was only showing 17 it would have made it worse had I stayed on the theta vernier. My understanding of our theta vernier problems in Ship #3, Pete, are two different things. When we sent the eight ball back to be modified to the Lear Instrument Panel color scheme, etc., they put in a larger theta vernier needle damping ratio than is standard on Ship #2, and this gives you a lag. I have also been advised that we used to have a 50 volt power supply to the theta vernier. It was a separate power supply and that this was removed in the interest of simplicity. It is now powered by 28 volt ship system, and this is not as clean a power supply.

(?) OK. Well, there was another reason that I stated for the change in the power supplies. If we find that it was poor pitch information that blew this profile, I think it may be time for us to sit down and get some checks made of these pitch attitude indications because we are going to continue to blow profiles if the guys do not have good pitch information.

(?) Yes, that is another solution. If it is true that this needle is highly damped as it is, maybe we would want to think about changing that back. Now, I believe Ship #2 is not having theta vernier problems; is that right, Pete? If Ship #2 has got a winner maybe Ship #1 and #3 would like to have the same system.

OK, any more questions for Bill on this flight?

(?) Yes, Pete. On my tail load I pulled up either 10 or 10,5 a and I felt this buffet, and it is just like pulling in a 104 with no flaps down. You don't know how far you want to go in this. As far as I am concerned, I would just as soon stay out of the buffet if it requires switching over to negative q/alpha and then up to 10. Why, to me that would be a more desirable way to go than having to fly further into the buffet.

(?) I guess 4.5, Milty, but we would have to look at the traces. It is not the g that bothers me, it is this buffet that you sense, it is not too good.

(?) I think it was around 2.6 or 2.5, Joe. We will have to look at that too. Last time it was around 3. There is no doubt about it, it is like the 104 or F-4.

(?) No. I went to PAI, Don. It was indicating pitch attitude so we got no boost guidance today.

(?) No, no. We will look at the cockpit. Either PAI got me high or theta or I got me high on theta.

Any more questions for Bill?

(?) Yes, on the ground. I am glad you brought that up. On the ground I pushed ball nose "Push-to-test" and nothing happened. I called and said it did not look right and I pushed it again and a went down to zero but beta did not do anything and I was on ball nose alpha beta now, I was not on computed. So, it did not look to me if the "Push-to-test" was working, but maybe it is not supposed to work at zero, I don't know.