Throwback Thursday

Since I usually start every interview asking the person how he/she got started in aviation, it's probably a good idea for me to share my story.I was strapped into my dad's J-3 Cub before I could walk, but most of my memories are of my constant screaming in terror every time Dad would bank the airplane.I got the flying bug as a pre-teen, long after Dad had sold the J-3. Dad would occasionally go to the DuPont Airfield, a small grass strip not too far from our home, and rent one of the small planes, but by then money was tight, so it wasn't often. After Dad found out I had been riding my bike to the airfield on weekends, just to hang around airplanes, he took me up in a Tri-Pacer for my 10th birthday and let me have the controls.Dad was killed when I was 15, and I started studying everything about aviation I could get my hands on, probably as a way to stay connected. I eventually borrowed every flying book our local library had, and pretty much memorized Dad's copy of Stick and Rudder. As soon as I graduated from high school, I started taking flying lessons at age 17 with money I had saved up from lawn work. Back then it cost an entire $10 an hour to rent a PA-18 Super Cub with instructor!As an interesting side note, on the way home from the airport from the lesson prior to my scheduled solo my car was rear-ended by a drunk driver and I sustained a whiplash injury that required me to wear a cervical collar for 9 months. That certainly put a damper on my plans to solo!When I went off to college at the University of Delaware, I moved my lessons from Atlantic Aviation to Lovett Aviation, in nearby Elkton, Maryland. Waldo Lovett sat me in the front seat of his PA-11, spun the prop, and gave me my lessons in an airplane with no electrical system. And I finally soloed.Before I could complete my Private Pilot, I entered the United States Air Force Academy. At the time, the Academy did not provide flight training, but did have an aero club at the Pine Valley airstrip, on Academy grounds. I took a few lessons in the club's T-34, but quickly ran out of money, so I decided I'd wait and let the Air Force teach me to fly.After graduation, I attended Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin Air Force Base. Even though the war in Vietnam was raging, there were no fighter assignments available when I graduated, so I volunteered to be a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam, flying the Cessna O-2A, with the promise of a follow-on assignment in a fighter. I was assigned to the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron at DaNang, South Vietnam.After my year in Vietnam, the Air Force's promise of a fighter assignment got outranked by "needs of the service", and I was assigned to fly B-52s at Mather Air Force Base, in California. As soon as I arrived at Mather, I volunteered for another tour in Vietnam, on the condition that I get a fighter. After the required one year on base, I received my assignment to F-4s, based at Ubon Royal Thai Air Base.Shortly after I arrived at Ubon, Operation Linebacker commenced, and my squadron, 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron, started daily bombing missions over Hanoi, North Vietnam. I attained the coveted "100 missions over the north" right before the war ended. I was the last Air Force pilot to reach that milestone.After Ubon I was assigned to fly F-4s at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, and later transitioned to T-39s at Kadena. After my 3-year assignment at Kadena, I went to Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, to instruct in O-2As. At the end of that assignment, I left the Air Force to pursue an airline career.I was hired by United Airlines in 1978, and flew as a Flight Engineer in the B-727 until I was furloughed in 1981. Then, after a short stint working at Lockheed, I re-entered the Air Force, returning as an O-2A IP at Patrick, then becoming a T-39 and C-21 Learjet pilot, and eventually Squadron Commander, at Yokota Air Base, Japan.I was recalled by United shortly after arriving at Yokota, but completed my 3 1/2 year tour of duty before returning to United. At United, I eventually became a B-777 Captain, Instructor and Evaluator. After mandatory age-60 retirement, I taught some courses for Metropolitan State College of Denver and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University until being hired by FlightSafety International as an Instructor and Training Center Evaluator.Then came the phone call. I was in the simulator at about 7 p.m., and had forgotten to turn off my cell-phone. I had the students on a vector, so I quickly took the call. It was a recruiter. "Do you still want to be a B777 Captain in India?" I was stunned. I had never applied for a job in India, but was intrigued. "I'm in the sim now. Email me the details." When I got home, I checked my email, saw the very generous offer, and three days later I was in Amsterdam taking a 777 checkride. I was hired on the spot, and gave my 3-week notice to FlightSafety when I returned. That started a 3-year adventure, commuting 30 hours each way with a 3 week-on/1 week off schedule, flying brand new 777-300ERs for Jet Airways. With an age-65 retirement in India, I could continue to fly internationally. Mumbai. London. Brussels. Newark. New York. San Francisco. Shanghai. Bahrain. Dubai. Kuala Lampur. Manila. It was great flying.After that, I conducted IATA Operational Safety Audits (IOSAs) for 2 years, then was hired by Boeing to instruct in B-787s. Then I was hired by my present airline, where I instruct 777s as a Contract Instructor.