Lawreston
En-Route
I first became aware of him when I was just starting flight lessons. Sitting at the round table in the club house with the usual group at Merrymeeting Airport 08B, Bowdoinham, ME, all paid attention to the buzz of a plane landing on #14. I knew nothing about a three-point landing but, apparently, there was one. The airport owner, a commercial pilot, commented, "That kid will go far."
He was flying the same N4065V C-150 that had trained many pilots over the years. The teenager on that day had plans. I came to know the kid who was and remains 39 years younger than I. Another plane he had been flying solo, not training in 65Victor, was sold. He was so highly recommended, I allowed him to use my Skyhawk. Often, he would "right seat" for me and I received a lot of left seat piloting, though I couldn't Log it because the teen-aged Private Pilot wasn't an instructor. This arrangement went on for a couple years. See Image #1.
When he graduated from high school he received an ROTC Full Scholarship to Embry Riddle/Daytona. Every time he was home on a break, chances are he'd take his parents for a flight in my plane. In Image #2 he's shown preparing to ferry the plane from Bowdoinham and after landing Wiscasset KIWI. At some point I had a second plane - C150 -and there we are in Image #3.
After he graduated from Embry Riddle he "owed" the USAF something like 9 or was it 11 years of "payback." Image #4 was his "new" plane when the Air Force sent him to somewhere in the south(Mississippi? Alabama? I don't remember).
The last time I saw him he was back here while being transferred to Washington State. At that time he had around 2500 hours in - I can't remember - either C-17 or KC-135. Then he took his lady friend flying in my plane.
Fast forward to June 14, 2014. I was picked out of a crowd at a church-sponsored carnival midway. In front of a very noisy(shall we say LOUD) band the lady said, "I'm Joel's mother." I hadn't seen her or Joel's Dad for that five year period, and Natalie could have passed for Joel's sister.
"So what's he at, now? Lieutenant? Captain?"
""Well, he has a new gig. He's now in California - Beal(sp?) Air Force Base.""
At that, his Dad brought out his iPhone and searched for a picture. Oh, there it was; but Joel's AF uniform was different from any I'd seen close-up. Then Richard ran the video which he's going to send me on a thumb drive. They had gone to California some time ago to witness(and video) Joel's "new" plane
coming in for a landing at 150mph. Beautiful! That different uniform was a space suit and Joel was flying the U-2, which he does once or twice a week.
Two fingers displayed by his Dad indicated how much is still "owed" to the USAF. Joel is already type-certificated for Boeing 737, so he's not too worried about his future, should he choose to leave the Air Force.
Yup; Wayne DeLong was right when he said, "That kid will go far."
Incidentally, the interview to get to the California gig was two weeks long; but that's another story, if anyone's interested.
HR
[EDIT] I forgot to include: when he's not flying the U-2, the other duty is T-38(if I remember correctly) fighter jet.
He was flying the same N4065V C-150 that had trained many pilots over the years. The teenager on that day had plans. I came to know the kid who was and remains 39 years younger than I. Another plane he had been flying solo, not training in 65Victor, was sold. He was so highly recommended, I allowed him to use my Skyhawk. Often, he would "right seat" for me and I received a lot of left seat piloting, though I couldn't Log it because the teen-aged Private Pilot wasn't an instructor. This arrangement went on for a couple years. See Image #1.
When he graduated from high school he received an ROTC Full Scholarship to Embry Riddle/Daytona. Every time he was home on a break, chances are he'd take his parents for a flight in my plane. In Image #2 he's shown preparing to ferry the plane from Bowdoinham and after landing Wiscasset KIWI. At some point I had a second plane - C150 -and there we are in Image #3.
After he graduated from Embry Riddle he "owed" the USAF something like 9 or was it 11 years of "payback." Image #4 was his "new" plane when the Air Force sent him to somewhere in the south(Mississippi? Alabama? I don't remember).
The last time I saw him he was back here while being transferred to Washington State. At that time he had around 2500 hours in - I can't remember - either C-17 or KC-135. Then he took his lady friend flying in my plane.
Fast forward to June 14, 2014. I was picked out of a crowd at a church-sponsored carnival midway. In front of a very noisy(shall we say LOUD) band the lady said, "I'm Joel's mother." I hadn't seen her or Joel's Dad for that five year period, and Natalie could have passed for Joel's sister.
"So what's he at, now? Lieutenant? Captain?"
""Well, he has a new gig. He's now in California - Beal(sp?) Air Force Base.""
At that, his Dad brought out his iPhone and searched for a picture. Oh, there it was; but Joel's AF uniform was different from any I'd seen close-up. Then Richard ran the video which he's going to send me on a thumb drive. They had gone to California some time ago to witness(and video) Joel's "new" plane
coming in for a landing at 150mph. Beautiful! That different uniform was a space suit and Joel was flying the U-2, which he does once or twice a week.
Two fingers displayed by his Dad indicated how much is still "owed" to the USAF. Joel is already type-certificated for Boeing 737, so he's not too worried about his future, should he choose to leave the Air Force.
Yup; Wayne DeLong was right when he said, "That kid will go far."
Incidentally, the interview to get to the California gig was two weeks long; but that's another story, if anyone's interested.
HR
[EDIT] I forgot to include: when he's not flying the U-2, the other duty is T-38(if I remember correctly) fighter jet.
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