What Was It About Flying?
I have always had fascination with flying. When I was young safe five years old, we
lived in a small town In Pennsylvania that was about 45 minutes from Pittsburgh’s
airport. Every now and then my dad would
drive us up there to watch the planes take off and land. I enjoyed watching the commercial airliners
come and go. However, the Pennsylvania
air National Guard was attached to that airport too. Once or twice while we were there a fighter
jet would take off. I remember how
excited I was that I got to see them. They
would light the afterburners and you could hear the roar and watch them climb
out way up into the sky. I would have to
say those times planted the seed in me that eventually lead me to the military.
But before the military times, I was just as excited to fly
in a commercial jet. My first flight was
a family trip back to Pennsylvania after we moved to near Chicago. It was a
very quick trip, going out on a Friday evening and back on a Sunday however,
that did not matter to me. The jet was a 707 which at the time was one of the
largest planes. There were six of us so
we took up a whole row. The flight was
only about an hour but that didn’t matter to me. Just beating on the plane was
enough.
The next trip was a few years later when my brother and I
traveled with our grandmother from Chicago to Charlotte North Carolina. This was a daytime flight and I got to sit by
the window and I was just mesmerized the entire time looking out.
My first overseas flight took place in my junior year in high
school when I flew from Chicago to Australia.
Today you can cross the Pacific nonstop. Back then it wasn’t quite as
easy. We first flew to San Francisco, then to Hawaii for three-hour layover,
then to Fiji for another refueling layover, and finally to Sydney. Today you can fly nonstop from Dallas to
Sydney.
At the end of my senior year college I signed up to join the
Navy. All naval aviation people start their careers in Pensacola Florida. The
process to get your Wings which is a designation you wear on your uniform
showing that you are part of Naval aviation, is structured for success. The
investment the government makes in training you is very large. So, they want
you to succeed. Initially I did not have confidence that I would make it
through the program. I can say that most of my peers we’re nervous at the
start. However, I looked at guys who were ahead of me and I saw that they were
making it and that helped. As I said they want you to succeed, but they never
let you get comfortable and relaxed. By that I mean once you are competent in
one phase they move you up to the next that adds another challenge. For pilot
training, you start in a single-engine turboprop that is a very forgiving
airplane. They want you to walk before you run so you don’t just jump into a
jet aircraft. The first stage of training is just to get you comfortable with
the basics a flying. At the time, I went through there were three aircraft you
had to fly to show proficiency. The last two we’re jets. Both of those you took
to an aircraft carrier and conducted take offs in landings in the daytime. The
second jet you took to the boat was looked at as your graduation exercise. If
you pass that stage you we’re going to get your Wings.
The award ceremony to
get your wings is the critical juncture in your Navy career. At that time you
find out what type of plane you are going to fly in the Navy as well as what
coast in the US you will be based out of. The Navy has a tradition that only
the person who graduates number one in the class gets to pick the plane and
location they want to go to. The rest get what’s called needs of the Navy. The
different types of airplanes have vastly different missions and you may have
had your heart set on one type of plane but you might not get it. Even if you
got the type of plane you wanted, where you were located can have a big impact
on your career. There is the east coast Navy and the west coast Navy.
The plane I went to was the A-6 Intruder. Its mission was
night low level all weather bombing. I
went east coast which based me out of Oceana Virginia. If I went west coast it
would have been out of Whidbey Island Washington. At Oceana you learned to fly
the A-6. Even though you had your pilot wings, you still weren’t in the real
Fleet Navy. Your graduation from the final two phases of the A-6 training
squadron involved flying a night low level through the mountains and the other
was going back to the aircraft carrier for take off and landing qualification
however this time added night operations at the ship. Both of these events we’re
intense. I would have to say my first night landing on the ship as a pilot was
a moment of great satisfaction once I caught the wire and came to a stop. Your
ability to safely land on the ship was one of the measures your peers judged you.
Every flight you flew in all your training had a grade sheet
that was part of it. What made your first flight in your Fleet squadron was it
will be the first time you weren’t graded. There is always competition amongst
your squadron mates however, it didn’t involve a grade sheet.
Your next big
adventure in your Fleet squadron is your first deployment overseas. Life on an
aircraft carrier was one of the most fulfilling experiences I have ever had.
The bond you make with your fellow squadron mates is incredible.
Everyone who flew in the Navy has at least one flight where
you really earned your pay. One of my experiences was the night of bad weather
at the ship. As I said the A-6 was an all-weather aircraft. The decision was
made to launch the A-6’s while
everyone else on remained deck. So, we launched off into bad weather right from
the start. We went out and did our training and then returned. We knew landing on board that night would be
sporty. There was torrential rain, and it was pitch black. To add to that my
navigator who sat next to me had a severe case of vertigo which meant he felt
the plane was in a right turn and diving even when it was straight and level. On my approach to the ship we broke out of
the clouds at about 600 feet which is almost a mile and a half behind the ship.
The rain on my windscreen was like firehose. Any lights of the ship we’re just
a blur. There is a person on the flight deck called the landing signal officer.
His job is to help you get aboard. The rain was extremely challenging for him
too. This was the most intense landing I ever had and took all the
concentration I could gather. From the time we broke out of the clouds until
landing is about 40 seconds. That was the longest 40 seconds of my life. Once
we slammed onto the deck and felt that familiar tug of engaging the wire that
stopped us was a great feeling. I knew I was doing exactly what I wanted to do
since I first saw those jets take off from Pittsburgh airport when I was a
little boy.
No comments:
Post a Comment