Aviation, or airplanes at least, have been “in my spirit” almost as long as I can remember anything.<\/p>\n
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 Uncle John<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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<\/span>-the-country with my wife (Virginia to California and return). I will detail my piloting experience in other chapters.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n More to come (Mar 18,2019)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 … Continue reading \n