Aviation, or airplanes at least, have been “in my spirit” almost as long as I can remember anything.
- I was excited as I read about activities at Schilling AFB – the arrival of the B-47 aircraft in particular.
- I was thrilled when I saw a B-36 fly overhead while lying creek side one summer afternoon on one of my hikes in the country.
- I was thrilled even more when the son of our neighbor, then a pilot in the Air Force, would make -very- low passes over his house (our’s too) in an F-86 jet fighter.
- I subscribed to Air Progress magazine for many years until it went off-press, read issues of Model Airplane News when I could get them.
- I collected and assembled Revel plastic models of all of the military aircraft of the time.
- I built a handful of model airplanes which I attempted to fly – U-control and gliders (these efforts were never very successful).
I guess this interest wasn’t lost on my stepfather (I’ll call him Dad, since my Father, then an officer in the Army stationed in Galveston, TX had died when I was a infant), and maybe an uncle.
- During the summer before my senior year in high school (1960), we were sitting around the grandparents living room in Topeka during a visit from uncle Gene from Rhode Island. Uncle Gene asked me about my plans for college. Going to college was a given but I hadn’t given it much thought – “I guess I’ll go to Kansas State, study electronics and computers” (this was 1960; I must have gotten those ideas from our subscription to Popular Mechanics). He asked in reply if I had considered the Air Force Academy (I didn’t even know there was one – it was established in 1954, the first class assembled at Lowery AFB in 1955, graduated in 1959). Hhmmm, I thought, that sounds interesting.
- Dad took it from there – he set wheels in motion: I took the initial physical exam (at Schilling AFB), the ACT, the AFOQT – Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (at Goodland KS), and a more rigorous physical exam (at Lowery AFB).
- My senior year came to a close, I hadn’t heard anything about an appointment; it seems Dad’s classmate at Washburn, Senator Bob Dole, hadn’t tendered me an appointment. So I headed off on our Senior Trip to Lake of the Ozarks. Then I received a call from Dad – he had received a telegram notifying us that I had been offered an appointment as Son of a Deceased Veteran – did I wish to accept it? I gave it a day or two, then said – yes. (Thanks, Dad and Uncle Gene.)
So I found myself headed into a career that would lead me to being among airplanes. I knew going in that my vision would make it unlikely that I could become an Air Force pilot; I was OK with that. But I expected to be around airplanes in some capacity, which turned out better than I could have ever suspected – see my list of Planes that I’ve Flown In.
While at the Air Force Academy I learned that there was an Aero Club where I could learn to fly and earn my civilian Private Pilots license. I started during the winter of my 3rd class year (sophomore), soloing in the T-34 Mentor. Then in the spring of my 1st class year (senior) I returned to flying to obtain my License before graduating. That began a life-long ‘tho sporadic avocation, flying as a pilot in command some 16 different aircraft, flying cross-country for family and business, and ultimately an across-the-country with my wife (Virginia to California and return). I will detail my piloting experience in other chapters.
During my first two assignments in the Air Force, I was actively involved with flying as a non-rated crew member. That is, I wasn’t a pilot or navigator which are rated qualifications. I was instead a Flight Test Engineer, involved in performing flight tests of on-board systems. As noted above, I will detail my Air Force experiences in other chapters.
More to come (Mar 18,2019)