Reminiscences of an almost fighter pilot.

[trof]

A recent acquaintance asked about my military flying career and that elicited the following. Just thought I'd share.
Don't really know why.
Maybe only to show what a self-effacing, humble guy I am.
But you already knew that. ;-)
The lines with the >>> are from the e-mail that I was replying to.

Hi Tommy.

I flew the RF-84/F "Thunderflash"
http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/republic/rf-84f.htm
in the ANG in Birmingham, AL, '63-'71. It was really obsolete by the end of the Korean "conflict", but it was what we had.
"RF" denotes "Reconnaissance Fighter". We had huge cameras in the nose bays.
Our unofficial motto was "We killum with fillum."
The official one was "Alone, unarmed, and unafraid", although we were "armed" with two .50 cal machine guns in each inboard wing root. We got to shoot them once a year on a practice range over in Mississippi.
One of the most dangerous things in the air is a so-called, self-styled fighter pilot who gets to practice air-to-ground gunnery for only a few days annually. I remember a lot more drinking than shooting going on. I guess it's a tribute to the gods of aviation that none of us got killed.

The first plane I ever flew (USAF pilot training) was a jet, the T-37. http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=125
Then the T-38 Talon. http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=126
God, was THAT a rush.
Didn't fly my first prop plane until the late 60s.

F-4s were (I think) the first aircraft used by Air Force, Navy, and Marines.
Our unit got RF-4s about a year after I got out. Sorry I missed it.

I never did basic training. As much as I abhor George W., he does get a bit of a bad rap on at least his initial guard service.
Although I preceded him by a few years, I'm assuming the program I came in under was the same for him.
The basic deal (without all the hows, whys, and wherefores):
Requirements were 2 years of college credits (which I barely had), passing the 4 hour written Air Force Officer Qualification Test (AFOQT) and 4 hour written Flight Aptitude test, passing an Air Force flight physical, and undergoing an FBI background check for security clearance purposes.

A couple of months after I'd done all that, a sergeant in the guard squadron called me and told me I'd made the grade and could come on down and get sworn in. I mulled it over for a few days and finally said "What the hell. Why not?" and did it. As soon as I swore "to protect and defend" I was a second lieutenant and, as they used to say, "An officer and a gentleman by act of congress." No basic, no boot camp, no screaming drill sergeants, no push-ups, no nuthin'. It was a sweet deal.

Promotion to first lieutenant was automatic after 3 years, as was captain 2 years after that. Automatic as long as you didn't seriously screw up. That's ONE of the telling things about Bush's "service". He was mustered out as a 1st. Lt. hmmm

>>> trof: Really wanted to go to Viet Nam and be a "real" fighter pilot at the time.

>>Tommy:Sure, why wouldn't you? You'd want to go and put your skills to the test and do your part. I can appreciate that. There would have been quite an element of excitement to it. Did any of your colleagues/peers "graduate" to active combat duty in Vietnam?

Naw, I just wanted to go shoot stuff. At the time I was jam-full of the fighter pilot mystique. A real hot rock. Bulletproof and probably immortal. Tom Wolfe pretty much covered the syndrome in "The Right Stuff".
I can't remember that I had any understanding (or even thought very much) about why we were in Viet Nam, and certainly no political awareness back then. That began to come later, in my 30s.

In fact, I considered myself to be a political independent until I watched the slow motion train wreck that was the 2000 sElection. That made me a yellow-dog Democrat and I don't think I'll ever change.

[Blue-Jay]

1. The T-38 certainly is a beautiful bird!

And thank you for posting a bit of your personal experiences. Very interesting reading, trof.

[trof]

2. Hottest thing I ever flew.

Ain't nothing like TWO engines to make a guy feel like he might make it to somewhere past age 30.

[Blue-Jay]

3. Do you still fly?

[trof]

4. Nope. Retired in '99.

I was with TWA and, later, Nippon Cargo Airlines.
It was an interesting career, but flying was a job for so long it's no longer "fun" for me.
I especially hate it as a passenger now.
Avoid it whenever possible.

[trof]

5. Oh, what the hell. My last bird:

Boeing 747-200
sweet

[Blue-Jay]

6. That's quite the Caddy.

[trof]

7. T'was. More like the Rolls-Mercedes.

Safest bird I ever flew.
Back-up systems for the back-up systems.
Japanese maintenance was more than top-notch.
Literally white-glove.