Homage to Dick Lassiter
BRIGADIER GENERAL OLBERT F. LASSITER
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A wonderful evening in Miami at the Ray Anthony Show in 1968! In the front founder of Executive Jet and co-founder of International Air Bahama, Dick Lassiter with wife Helene (Falk), Gudrun Johansson and Ray Anthony, Betty Frieders, Gunilla Kay Kuylenstierna, Gun Vidal and Gunilla Hammar  FOUNTAINBLEU HILTON, MIAMI |
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EXECUTIVE JET -
In the early 1960s, retired Air Force General Dick Lassiter told actor Jimmy Stewart
(whom he’d gotten to know during a stint as a technical advisor on war movies) about
his plan to launch a private jet charter service for the powerful business executives
and celebrities. Stewart agreed to kick in money, as did TV star Arthur Godfrey. Another well-known military man, General Paul Tibbetts (captain of the Enola Gay) got involved, too. This crew launched Executive Jet in centrally located Columbus in 1964, and promptly bought the first Learjets that rolled off production lines. Executive Jet became the pioneer of private jet chartering, known for its fast planes and attractive stewardesses (Lassiter was said to have had a taste for both). But the business went through management shake-ups and was hit hard by the oil crisis of the mid-‘70s. |
BRIGADIER GENERAL OLBERT F. LASSITER
US AIR FORCE BIOGRAPHY
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US Air Force Combat Hero 444th Bomb Group (VHS) 58th Bomb Wing - 20th Air Force |
 Tony LeVeir (Lockheed), Gene May (Douglas), Capt. Chuck Yeager (Air Force), Fred Becher (Northup) and Col. Olbert "Dick" Lassiter (Air Force). |
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CHIEF OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE COMMAND POST
General Lassiter was chief of the U.S. Air Force Command Post,
Headquarters U.S. Air Force, was assigned to his present duties in August 1963.
A command pilot, he started his military career in the Florida National Guard while
an engineering student at the University of Florida. WINNER OF GOLDEN GLOVES An avid physical fitness student - he won the national Golden Gloves title as a lightweight and welterweight. Before graduation with an engineering degree, he spent two years in the Florida National Guard and two years as a radio operator in the U.S. Marine Corps. Upon graduation, General Lassiter entered the aviation cadet program. He won his wings and was commissioned a second lieutenant in May 1940. FIRST SOLO FLIGHT AT THE AGE OF 15 His first solo flight, however, was in Miami, Fla., in 1935. At the age of 15 he flew a small Aeronca airplane to log his first solo. During World War II he flew 36 combat missions in P-38 and B-25 pursuit planes and 29 combat missions in B-29 bombers. STUNT FLYER IN HOLLYWOOD After the war, he did stunt flying in a P-38 in the Hollywood movie "A Guy Named Joe," starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunn. Later he flew in scenes for the movie "Women Courageous," and in 1952 he was technical adviser for Paramount Studios' production "Strategic Air Command," starring James Stewart. The two men later worked together on "Cowboy 57," when General Lassiter was a B-52 wing commander at Westover Air Force Base, Mass. |
WORLD´S DISTANCE AND SPEED RECORDS In 1947 General Lassiter flew the B-29 "Pacusan Dreamboat" for the world's distance record and the world's speed record for 5,000 kilometers and 10,000 kilometers. In addition, he broke the U.S. transcontinental record in 1948. The world's distance record, set 1-2 Aug. 1947, was 9,002 miles without refueling, and stood until Dec. 15, 1960, when it was broken by a SAC B-52G which flew 10,000 miles without refueling. However, the record still stands for the propeller-type aircraft. General Lassiter was test pilot and project officer for another record flight, the around-the-world, non-stop flight of a B-50 bomber nicknamed "Lucky Lady." COMMANDER OF THULE AIR FORCE BASE, GREENLAND In 1950 he did much of the test flying on the new B-47 Stratojet bomber. He later served as SAC project officer on other test programs at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. After commanding the 55th Reconnaissance Wing at Forbes Air Force Base, Kan., General Lassiter became the first SAC commander of Thule Air Force Base, Greenland. FLEW MORE THAN 300 TYPES OF AIRCRAFT His record of having flown more than 300 types of aircraft includes rocket, jet and turbo-prop experimental planes. He completed B-52 training at Castle Air Force Base, Calif., in 1958, and was commander of the 99th Bombardment Wing (B-52) at Westover Air Force Base, Mass. Prior to his current assignment, General Lassiter was commander of the 801st Air Division, Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio. General Lassiter retired Dec. 31, 1964. Died Dec. 6, 1973.
(Up to date as of November 1963)
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