It was a crisp, almost cold morning in Las Vegas. The kind of morning that you only get in the high desert with a deep blue sky and clean dry air that simply makes you want to go flying. Slip the surly bonds and all that.
I was a 2/Lt with the best job in the world. I'd just soloed in my first fighter two weeks before. I was an F-105 pilot and I was scheduled for a solo area flight. Two hours of dancing the sky on laughter silvered wings by myself, exploring the limits of my new steed.
I arrived at the airplane and climbed the ladder to pre-flight the cockpit. All the switches and strap-in gadgets were ready. I descended and read the entries in the AFTO-781. The airplane was fueled, serviced and in good condition. I walked the pre-flight with the smiling crew chief following me, watching as I checked out his airplane.
I'd put my helmet on the canopy bow already. Standing next to the ladder I bent over and zipped the thigh zippers to snug up my G-suit. I put my hand on that twelve foot ladder and started to mount.
The crew chief, stifling his grin interrupted my concentration, "Excuse me, Lieutenant. Are you planning on taking a parachute on this flight?"
Realization dawned. I wasn't going to look a fool. I turned and said, "Of course. But, it's cold this morning so I wanted to leave it in the squadron to stay warm until I was ready to get in..."
3 comments:
Ha, ha, ha! Classic!
This story should properly give rise to a new saying, or neologism, something like:
"I felt like a Thunderchief pilot without a parachute."
For example, the Dean calls you to his office and demands to know why you haven't bothered to enter student attendance data into the computer. Later on you tell the story: "I felt like a Thunderchief pilot without a parachute, and so I said_____."
You meet a babe on the beach on Antigua and she takes you home to her hotel room. After tugging on your clothes she says, "I love you, but do you love me?" Telling the story later you say, "And when she asked me this, well, I felt like a Thunderchief pilot without a parachute, so I said____"
Parachutes are for sissies.
Yeah, parachutes are like pistols. You don't need one til you need one, then you need one BAD!
Post a Comment