OldHerkJock
Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2026
- Posts
- 5
In 1966. when I was 17 years old and a freshman in college, I walked by the ROTC office in Manhattan College and said, "I want to fly airplanes." The sergeant behind the desk looked at me and said, "Working on a degree in electrical engineering. 20/20 eyesight. Willing to get shot at. ... Sign here."
At the time I had never been in any kind of an aircraft at all. I didn't even have a driver's license (I lived in NYC - didn't need a car - couldn't afford a car).
My first experience with flying came about a year later as a cadet and it was in the back seat of a T-33 jet trainer at Suffolk Air Force Base at the end of Long Island. I was airborne 5 minutes before we were doing acrobatics.
In my Senior year we were enrolled in a flight evaluation program run by a civilian school (RamAir at Ramapo Valley Airport - now apparently an apple orchard). I started my flying in October and got my license the day after Thanksgiving. I flew on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and twice on Sunday. I did not want to "lapse" between lessons. It's easier when Uncle Sam picks up the tab.
I started UPT a week after graduation at Moody AFB.
My first operational assignment was as a Forward Air Controller with the 704 Tactical Air Support Squadron at Shaw AFB, S.C. flying O-2As. I had a stop over at Cannon AFB in N. M, for fighter training in T-33s. I spent a lot of time camping out with the 82nd Airborne Division.
I went from O-2As to C-141's at Norton AFB in San Bernadino where I participated in the evacuation of Saigon.
My next assignment was to fly an LSD-6D: Large Steel Desk - 6 Drawer as a Program Manager with the Electronic Systems Division in Bedford, MA (the E. E. degree triggered that one). While there, I was operations officer in the flying club. I would drool every time I taxied past the P-51 that was hangared at Hanscom. I often flew up to Tew-Mac (Tewksbury-McDonald's airport) for lunch often. Tew-Mac is now part of a golf course.
While there I had a big role in the airshow that featured the Thunderbirds (I basically transformed the aeroclub into a base operations center and arranged transport for the crews). So I got invited as a VIP to the reception for the T-Birds and the following day got to watch the airshow from the top of the wing of the C-141 that was the support aircraft for the team.
Then it was off to C-130s in Japan. When people ask where I was stationed in Japan, I reply "Korea." I spent more time on the peninsula than I did at home. The rest of the time was spent visiting little dots on the map of the Pacific Ocean. They are little dots today but were big headlines in WW II.
The last time I officially had an aircraft in my hands was in 1982.
I've flown a few times with friends since then. One of the times was on the administrative aircraft for Seattle's Museum of Flight which is a restored O-2A and is hangared at the big building where the 747s were built - it is now the restoration center for the museum. I got close up and personal with vintage aircraft under restoration. I now know how as 6-year-old would feel in Santa's workshop. This is a whole 'noter story.
My civilian career has been mostly managerial and technical in nature. My latest assignments have been part time gigs with various small businesses to automate their processes using Excel. If you need any aviation-related application and are willing to use Excel, I'm your man. And yes, It will probably be free.
At the time I had never been in any kind of an aircraft at all. I didn't even have a driver's license (I lived in NYC - didn't need a car - couldn't afford a car).
My first experience with flying came about a year later as a cadet and it was in the back seat of a T-33 jet trainer at Suffolk Air Force Base at the end of Long Island. I was airborne 5 minutes before we were doing acrobatics.
In my Senior year we were enrolled in a flight evaluation program run by a civilian school (RamAir at Ramapo Valley Airport - now apparently an apple orchard). I started my flying in October and got my license the day after Thanksgiving. I flew on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and twice on Sunday. I did not want to "lapse" between lessons. It's easier when Uncle Sam picks up the tab.
I started UPT a week after graduation at Moody AFB.
My first operational assignment was as a Forward Air Controller with the 704 Tactical Air Support Squadron at Shaw AFB, S.C. flying O-2As. I had a stop over at Cannon AFB in N. M, for fighter training in T-33s. I spent a lot of time camping out with the 82nd Airborne Division.
I went from O-2As to C-141's at Norton AFB in San Bernadino where I participated in the evacuation of Saigon.
My next assignment was to fly an LSD-6D: Large Steel Desk - 6 Drawer as a Program Manager with the Electronic Systems Division in Bedford, MA (the E. E. degree triggered that one). While there, I was operations officer in the flying club. I would drool every time I taxied past the P-51 that was hangared at Hanscom. I often flew up to Tew-Mac (Tewksbury-McDonald's airport) for lunch often. Tew-Mac is now part of a golf course.
While there I had a big role in the airshow that featured the Thunderbirds (I basically transformed the aeroclub into a base operations center and arranged transport for the crews). So I got invited as a VIP to the reception for the T-Birds and the following day got to watch the airshow from the top of the wing of the C-141 that was the support aircraft for the team.
Then it was off to C-130s in Japan. When people ask where I was stationed in Japan, I reply "Korea." I spent more time on the peninsula than I did at home. The rest of the time was spent visiting little dots on the map of the Pacific Ocean. They are little dots today but were big headlines in WW II.
The last time I officially had an aircraft in my hands was in 1982.
I've flown a few times with friends since then. One of the times was on the administrative aircraft for Seattle's Museum of Flight which is a restored O-2A and is hangared at the big building where the 747s were built - it is now the restoration center for the museum. I got close up and personal with vintage aircraft under restoration. I now know how as 6-year-old would feel in Santa's workshop. This is a whole 'noter story.
My civilian career has been mostly managerial and technical in nature. My latest assignments have been part time gigs with various small businesses to automate their processes using Excel. If you need any aviation-related application and are willing to use Excel, I'm your man. And yes, It will probably be free.
