A few years ago I put some items on Craigslist, and when an older gentleman came to pick them up, he noticed my aviation art collection. After a few minutes of conversation I realized I was in the presence of one truly amazing man.

 

He was a retired United 747 Capitan with more than 29,000 hours. He retired before the advent of glass cockpits and had flown 60+ different aircraft. He started his career as a Marine helicopter pilot with HMM-263…the Thunder Chickens.

 

We spent many hours talking over the years and just listening to the stories was an experience mere words can’t adequately express.

 

I would love to hear from others who experienced meeting living legends.

 

As for me, here are a few other notable experiences I’ve had:

• Having lunch with the Air Force Thunderbirds at the Nellis Air Force Base Officers Club. Not a press get together…I just happen to be having lunch there at the same time they were.
  
• My first civilian flight instructor was a retired Vietnam era F-4 Phantom pilot (and a mean SOB)
  
• Meeting Navy Capitan (ret.) Dale “Snort” Snodgrass.
  Honor’s graduate from Navy Fighter Weapons School - TOPGUN
  Highest time F-14 Pilot ever, with 5,000 hours in the Tomcat
  7,800 hours in Fighters and10,000 hours total, including 1,287 Carrier Landings
  Tomcat Flight Demonstration Pilot
  

I can’t wait to read about your experiences.

 

Philip

I spent many summers as a kid hanging around the hanger of this man, a former navy blimp pilot. ----> http://www.vintageaircraft.org/programs/hof/hof_wicker.pdf

 

 

 

According to him, his D-1W was flown by lindbergh and earhart. Not sure if that's the truth or tall tale's to a kid. B) The previous owner of the D-1W was killed in it, and he still has the crumpled fusealge next to his hanger. The last year he flew the Davis to oshkosk, the engine died, and he had to bring it home in a truck. He spent the better part of a year putting it back together.

 

 

My job at the hanger mostly entailed crawling down the tail end of piper cubs pulling release cables for banner tow hooks and hoses for the smoke systems. For the most part though, i usually just stared at his airplanes all day.

 

 

Lots of fun, lots of cool memorabilia.

Ahh gotta love Craigslist. Thats where I bought my wife and an almost new thrustmaster hotas.

In the 80's I met the actor Robert Conrad who played Pappy Boyington in the tv series Baa Baa Black Sheep. He was flying in a Piper Malibu and when I started talking to him in the Concord, CA airport FBO, all I could think was "what a complete jerk". On that flight I was flying my flight instructors T-210, and I remember thinking how proud I was to be flying what I considered a better aircraft than the Malibu. Oh to be young again.

 

Philip