User:Christopher Nieman
Introduction[edit]
Hi, my fellow Wikipedians! I am a lifelong resident of Southern California. My job, to put it very broadly, is to put reports together for a major corporation. I have a business degree from California State University, Northridge.
My interest in aerospace goes back to at least 1971, when at age 5, I saw the launch of Apollo 14 on our family's TV. My uncle, John T. Kluth, was an electrical engineer who worked at North American Aviation in Downey, California, during the Apollo program in the 1960s. In the 1970s, as North American became Rockwell International, he was a software engineer on the team who built the space shuttle orbiters for NASA. He continued working in the space shuttle program at Rockwell until 1992, when he died at age 54, just a few months short of earning his retirement pension. I credit him for my interest in space, and he continues to be an inspiration to me.
Contributions[edit]
Robert H. Goddard[edit]
My current interest is to add to the quality of Robert H. Goddard's Wikipedia article. I first contributed to Goddard's article in 2006, and many of those entries exist today. Now I am making progress to improve the article's outline, general content, and citations.
Steve McKinney[edit]
I have established a Wikipedia article for speed skier Steve McKinney, who was the first man to travel more than 200 km/h on skis. He was one of the first so-called "extreme skiers." He was a strong all-around athlete, and by many accounts, he was a pioneering figure in what today is called extreme sports. Ironically, McKinney died not on a mountain, but on the side of a road, sleeping in his car, when a drunk driver hit his parked car from behind late at night in 1990.
This article has been necessary for a long time. Steve McKinney was a significant figure in skiing in the 1970s -- a rock star to many in the sport. In the mid 1970s, before Phil and Steve Mahre raised the consciousness of American skiing, Steve McKinney was probably the most famous American skier in the world. He was instrumental in bringing speed skiing to international recognition. When I began skiing in the mid 1970s, Steve was one of my heroes. When I skied in my first 'tuck position,' I wasn't imitating downhill racers -- I was imitating Steve McKinney. It is in that spirit that I contribute this article in Steve's memory.