Robert L. Gibson - Post-NASA Career

Post-NASA Career

Gibson left NASA in November 1996 and became a pilot for Southwest Airlines. In 2006, as reported by NASA Watch, Gibson was forced to retire as mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration for commercial airline pilots. Gibson has publicly spoken out against federal regulations which require airline pilots to retire at age 60. In December 2006, he joined the Benson Space Company as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Test Pilot. Gibson has flown 111 different aircraft types, and competed at the 2007 Reno Air Races.

On October 3, 2008, Gibson was a contestant on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. During his appearance, he became the first contestant to make it to the million question without using any of his cheats. Unfortunately, he answered incorrectly to the $1,000,000 question ("How many factors do 32 and 28 share?"). The correct answer is three; 1, 2, and 4. He answered with two (2 and 4). All of his prize money ($25,000) went to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

Beginning in 2009, Gibson flew as a demonstration pilot for Hawker Beechcraft Corporation to showcase the Premier 1A light business jet across the United States and overseas.

In 2010, The Academy of Model Aeronautics, the United States' national aeromodeling organization, named Robert L. Gibson a spokesperson and Ambassador to promote the hobby of radio controlled model flight and to encourage an interest in aviation amongst young people. Mr. Gibson has stated that his interest in manned flight and his career as a test pilot and astronaut has its origin in his building of model aircraft as a youth. Gibson remains an avid radio controlled model hobbyist and is reportedly constructing a flyable version of the experimental vertical take off and landing POGO XFY-1.

On October 21, 2012, He appeared on the U.S. game quiz show, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, determined to get the $1,000,000 question, he flunked out at the million dollars & won $25,000.