A former World War II pilot involved in the experimental and controversial use of silver iodide to seed clouds and stop hailstorms in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska in 1955 boasted a special ride.

When James M. Cook arrived at the Scottsbluff, Nebraska, airport in late May 1955 from Texas, his P-51 Mustang World War II-era fighter had a new silver iodide burner on the side of its long nose between the exhaust and the cockpit.

The burner was designed to keep burning at high altitudes and had a greater iodide particle output than his previous burner.

But the silver iodide burner could not hold a candle to the rest of the plane’s reputation.

The P-51 had been owned by Hollywood star and World War II bomber pilot Jimmy Stewart.

It had set several speed records and once transported s

See Full Page