Orangutan
First, a tribute to Chuck Martin for telling me this story. I welcome your fact checking and editing, Chuck. From 1970-1974, I had the privilege to work at the Air…
First, a tribute to Chuck Martin for telling me this story. I welcome your fact checking and editing, Chuck. From 1970-1974, I had the privilege to work at the Air…
Wow!! It’s 1970. I’m a 31-year old Air Force captain with an over 5000 hours of aircrew experience, as a navigator in C-130, C-141, and C-47 aircraft. I just finished…
About 70 years ago, in a galaxy far away called Flushing in Queens, NYC, there was Jack’s Station Sweet Shop, an ice cream, candy, newspaper, cigarette store and luncheonette. I…
Once upon a time, there was no GPS. You needed to at least glance at a road map. It’s about 1963. I had driven from Charleston to DC to visit…
The basic C-130 cockpit crew (circa 1965) is the Aircraft Commander (AC)/Pilot, Co-pilot, Flight Engineer, and moi, the Navigator. The crew I dreaded the most was an ancient Lieutenant Colonel…
Uncertainty--a word which was intertwined in many parts of the job of the Charleston AFB C-130 navigator, circa 1965. It was also what made the job interesting, annoying, challenging, rewarding,…
What does an 85-year old retired Air Force colonel and long time educator do at 2 AM Monday? He has just awakened from his first short nap of the night.…
Once upon a time (circa 1998), iPhones didn’t exist. Cell phones were rare. And generally, when the duty day was over, you were off. I was working late at the…
What’s the Statute of Limitations on dumb-ass things a group of pre- high school boys would do in Flushing, NY (a city within the City of New York, in the…
I've mentioned before that one thing I loved about the C-130 Hercules ( Herk) was its short legs. It needed to land and get fuel frequently. Ergo. I got to…