Going solo can be scary
When I first rode a bike, my dad, Kayle, helped me “balance” as he ran alongside me to ensure my stability and safety. Wobbling and shaking, he helped me learn a lot on that bicycle. Then, one day, my father wasn’t alongside – I was riding “solo.” When I realized that, it scared me, but it gave me such a thrill!
Skip ahead a few years; a kind neighbor, John Lakey, let me drive his car alone on a farm road to practice before I got my license. My dad also taught me a great deal. The first time he let me take his car out alone, it was scary, but thrilling and liberating!
Fast forward to the spring of 1971: I am at Williams Air Force Base near Phoenix, Arizona, performing initial Air Force flight training. As part of a screening process, we prospective pilots first flew the T-41, a modified Cessna 172. At first, we flew dual (with an instructor); then, one day, I was very nervous as the instructor stepped out of the aircraft and I finally soloed in the T-41. It was just a small prop plane, but what fun!
My next exciting thrill was soloing the T-37 “Tweet,” a side-by-side seating subsonic jet trainer. After some simulator work and some dual flights, I soloed in the Tweet in the summer of 1971. Although the Tweet was not that impressive a bird, it was my first “jet” solo, slightly scary, but satisfying.
My next thrill was flying the gorgeous T-38 Talon, the supersonic jet flown in the program. The Talon was much more graceful, powerful and exciting to fly than the Tweet. We first learned to master the jet in a simulator; the T-38 was light and powerful, with very quick flight controls, so learning its flight characteristics in a simulator was wise before flying the actual jet. The T-38 had “tandem” seating – the student was in the back seat (for instrument flights) and in the front seat (for aerobatics and formation and night flights). It was fun to fly dual – but I very much anticipated my first solo in the supersonic jet.
Finally, in October 1971, I climbed into the Talon’s front seat, knowing the back seat was empty. Nervous, I taxied out, pushed up the throttles, accelerated to about 178 miles per hour in full afterburner, and leaped into the air, soloing the sleek, sexy trainer. It was the thrill of a lifetime – at least until my next solo in an even more powerful aircraft.
During pilot training, I amassed around 300 hours of simulator and actual flight in the three planes: the T-41, the T-37 and the T-38. I was now an Air Force pilot! Upon graduation, I was chosen to be an instructor in the T-38 at Williams AFB. By the time I finished my three-year assignment teaching students to fly, I had acquired 1,000 hours in what was also called the “White Rocket.” Teaching gave me great satisfaction.
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