Good Monday Morning! EnJOY today’s message &
video!
1. Question – Pilots often, as well as many of
us, must be humbled: Have you ever been put in your
place because of your cockiness?
2. Thought – There were a lot of things we
couldn’t do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest
guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow
aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because
of this fact, if it was fun to fly the jet.
Walt (the backseater) was so good at many things, but he
couldn’t match my expertise at sounding smooth on
the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with
years in fighter squadrons. Just to get a sense of what
Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle
switches and monitored the radio frequencies along with
him. The predominate radio chatter was from Los Angeles
Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their
sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit
briefly), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally
would not talk to them unless we needed to descend into
their airspace.
We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot
asked Center for a readout of his ground speed: Center
replied:
November Charlie 175, I’m showing you at 90
knots on the ground.
Now the thing to understand about Center controllers,
was whether they were talking to a rookie pilot in a
Cessna, or to Air Force One, they always spoke in the
same, calm, deep, professional, tone that made one feel
important.
Just moments after the Cessna’s inquiry, a Twin
Beech piped up on the frequency, in a rather superior
tone, asking for his ground speed.
Ah, Twin Beech,
I have you at 125 knots of ground speed.
Boy, I thought, the Beechcraft really must think he is
dazzling his Cessna brethren.
Then out of the blue, a Navy F-18 pilot out of NAS Lemoore
came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Navy
jock because he sounded so cool on the radios.
Center, Dusty 52 ground speed check.
Before Center could reply, I’m thinking to myself,
hey, Dusty 52 has a ground speed indicator in that million
dollar cockpit, so why is he asking Center for a readout?
Then I got it, ol’ Dusty here is making sure that
every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows
what true speed is. He’s the fastest dude in the
valley today, and he wants everyone to know how much fun
he is having in his new Hornet.
And the reply, always that same, calm, voice, with more
distinct alliteration than emotion.
Dusty 52, we have you at 620 on the ground.
And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or
what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mike
button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of
the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done – in
mere seconds we’d be out of the sector and the
opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die
now.
Then I heard it. The click of the mike button in the back
seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I
had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no
emotion, Walter spoke:
Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground
speed check?
There was no hesitation, and the reply came as if it was
an everyday request.
Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and
forty-two knots, across the ground.
I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked best, so
accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information
without hesitation, and you knew he was smiling. But the
precise moment at which I knew that Walt and I were going
to be really good friends for a long time was when he
keyed the mic once again to say, in his most
fighter-pilot-like voice:
Ah Center, much thanks,
we’re showing closer to nineteen hundred on the
money.
For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a
little crack in the armor of the Houston Center voice,
when L.A. came back with,
Roger that Aspen,
your equipment is probably more accurate than ours.
You boys have a good one.
It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short,
memorable sprint across the southwest, the Navy had been
flamed, all moral airplanes on freq were forced to bow
before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and
I had crossed the threshold of being a crew. A fine days
work. (Sled Driver, Flying the World’s Fastest Jet
by Brian Shul)
Below is a 3 minute video, not of the Sled, but of get
flying!
Have a great week!