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Interesting. Life history of John Lear (Bill's son)



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 14th 04, 11:56 AM
Big John
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Default Interesting. Life history of John Lear (Bill's son)

Do you think Zoooom could match this or maybe this is where he got his
'War' stories???......................................Bi g John


John Lear gave this talk on July 9th, 2004 to a group of fellow pilots
in Las Vegas called, the "Hangar of Quiet Birdmen". Each month one
pilot in the group gives a 15 minute talk on his career.


John Lear on John Lear:

One of the anguishes of advancing age is losing old friends. The up
side of that, though, is that I get to tell the story my way.

I learned to fly at Clover Field in Santa Monica when I was 14.
However before I got to get in an actual airplane Dad made me take 40
hours of Link with Charlie Gress. I can't remember what I did
yesterday but I guarantee you I could still shoot a 90 degree,
Fade-out or Parallel radio range orientation.

When I turned 16 I had endorsements on my student license for an Aero
Commander 680E and Cessna 310.

I got my private at 17 and instrument rating shortly thereafter. The
Lockheed 18 Lodestar was my first type rating at age 18. I went to
work for my father and brother flying copilot on a twin beech out of
Geneva Switzerland after I got out of high school. Dad was over there
trying to peddle radios to the European airlines.

However just after I turned 18 and got my Commercial I was showing off
my aerobatic talents in a Bucker Jungmann to my friends at a Swiss
boarding school I had attended. I managed to start a 3 turn spin from
too low an altitude and crashed. I shattered both heels and ankles and
broke both legs in 3 places. I crushed my neck, broke both sides of my
jaw and lost all of my front teeth. I managed to get gangrene in one
of the open wounds in my ankles and was shipped from Switzerland to
the Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque where Randy Lovelace made me well.

When I could walk again I worked selling pots and pans door to door in
Santa Monica. In late 1962 Dad had moved from Switzerland to Wichita
to build the Lear Jet and I went to Wichita to be work in Public
Relations until November of 1963 about 2 months after the first flight
when I moved to Miami and took over editing an aviation newspaper
called Aero News.

I moved the newspaper to El Segundo in California and ran it until it
failed. I then got a job flight instructing at Progressive Air Service
in Hawthorne, California. From there I went to Norman Larson Beech in
Van Nuys flight instructing in Aircoupes.

In the spring of 1965 I was invited by my Dad back to Wichita to get
type rated in the model 23 Learjet. I then went to work for the
executive aircraft division of Flying Tigers in Burbank who had
secured a dealership for the Lear.

In November of 1965 my boss Paul Kelly crashed number 63 into the
mountains at Palm Springs killing everybody on board including Bob
Prescotts 13 years old son and 4 of the major investors in Tigers. I
took over his job as President of Airjet charters a wholly owned
subsidiary of FTL and flew charters and sold Lears. Or rather tried to
sell them. It turns out that I never managed to sell one Learjet in my
entire life.

In March of 1966 2 lear factory pilots Hank Beaird, Rick King and
myself set 17 world speed records including speed around the round the
world, 65 hours and 38 minutes in the first Lear Jet 24. Shortly after
that flight I got canned from Tigers and moved to Vegas and started
the first 3rd level airline in Nevada, Ambassador Airlines. We
operated an Aero Commander and Cherokee 6 on 5 stops from Las Vegas to
LAX. This was about the time Hughes moved to Las Vegas and I was doing
some consulting work for Bob and Peter Maheu.

The money man behind Ambassador was Jack Cleveland who I introduced to
John Myers in the Hughes organization. Cleveland and Myers tried to
peddle the 135 certificate to Hughes without success and Jack ended up
selling Howard those phony gold mining claims you all may remember. I
went back to Van Nuys and was flying Lear charter part time for Al
Paulson and Clay Lacy at California Airmotive, the Learjet
distributor.

That summer I started a business called Aerospace Flight Research in
Van Nuys were I rented aircraft to Teledyne to flight test their
Inertial Guidance Systems. We had a B-26, Super Pinto and Twin Beech.
I think we lasted about 4 months.

I then went to work for World Aviation Services in Ft.Lauderdale
ferrying the Cessna O2 FAC airplane from Wichita, fresh of the
assembly line to Nha Trang in Viet Nam with fellow QB Bill Werstlein.
We were under the 4440th ADG Langley VA. and hooked up with a lot of
other military pilots ferrying all manner and types of aircraft.

Our route was Wichita to Hamilton, Hickam, Midway, Wake, Guam, Clark
and then in country. The longest leg was Hamilton to Hickam an average
of 16 hours, no autopilot, no copilot, and one ADF. We also had 3
piddle packs. Arriving in Nha Trang we would hitch a ride to Saigon
and spend 3 days under technical house arrest, each trip, pay a fine
for entering the country illegally, that is being civilians and not
coming through a port of entry,catch an airline up to Hong Kong for a
little R and R and straight back to Wichita for another airplane. I
flew this contract for 4 years.

During some off time in 1968 I attempted to ferry a Cessna 320 from
Oakland to Australia with the first stop in Honolulu. About 2 hours
out from Oakland I lost the right engine and had no provisions for
dumping fuel. I went down into ground effect (T effect for you
purists) and for 3 hours and 21 minutes flew on one engine about 25
feet above the waves and made it into Hamilton AFB after flying under
the Golden Gate and Richmond bridges. An old friend Nick Conte, was
officer of the day and gave me the royal treatment. Why did I go into
Hamilton instead of Oakland? I knew exactly where the O club was for
some much needed refreshment.

In September of 1968 between 0-2 deliveries I raced a Douglas B-26
Invader in the Reno Air Races. It was the largest airplane ever raced
at Reno, and I placed 5th in the Bronze passing one Mustang. It was
reported to me after the race by XB-70 project pilot Col. Ted
Sturmthal that when I passed the P-51, 3 fighter pilots from Nellis
committed suicide off the back of the grandstands. In the summer of
1970 I helped Darryl Greenamyer and Adam Robbins put on the California
1000 air race in Mojave California. That's the one where Clay Lacy
raced the DC-7.

I flew a B-26 with Wally McDonald. I then started flying charter in an
Aero Commander and Beech Queen Air for Aero Council a charter service
out of Burbank. They went belly up about 3 months later and I went up
to Reno to work for my Dad as safety pilot on his Lear model 25. After
my Dad fired me I was personally escorted to the Nevada/California
border by an ex-Los Angeles police detective who worked for Dad and
did the muscle work.

I went back down to Van Nuys and was Chief Pilot for Lacy Aviation and
was one of the first pilot proficiency examiners for the Lear Jet. In
the summer of 1973 I moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia as Chief Pilot and
Director of Operations for Tri Nine Airlines which flew routes
throughout Cambodia for Khmer Akas Air.

I flew a Convair 440 an average of 130 hours a month. We had unlimited
quantities of 115/145 fuel and ADI and were able to use full CB-17
power (which was 62" for any of you R-2800 aficionados). In November
of 1973 I moved to Vientianne, Laos and flew C-46's and Twin Otters
for Continental Air Services Inc. delivering guns and ammo to the Gen.
Vang Pao and his CIA supported troops.

We got shot down one day and when I say we, Dave Kouba was the
captain. We were flying a twin otter and got the right engine shot
out. Actually the small arms fire had hit the fuel line in the right
strut and fuel was streaming out back around the tail and being sucked
into the large cargo opening in the side of the airplane and filling
the cockpit with a fine mist of jet fuel.

I held the mike in my hands, "Should I call Cricket and possibly blow
us up or...?" (Some of you may remember "Cricket"... "This is Cricket
on guard with an air strike warning to all aircraft".)

But Davy found us a friendly dirt strip and we were back in the air
the next day. When the war came to an end in 1973 I moved back to Van
Nuys and started flying Lears for Lacy again until October when I went
up to Seattle and sat in on a Boeing 707 ground school for Air Club
International on spec.

3 weeks later I ended up in the left seat of the 707 with a total of 8
hours in type. Air Club begat Aero America and we flew junkets out of
Vegas for the Tropicana and Thunderbird Hotels. I left Aero having not
been fired and in the summer of 1975 I was Director of Ops for
Ambassador Airlines 2 flying 707 junkets also out of Vegas. After that
airline collapsed I moved to Beirut, Lebanon in September of 1975 and
flew 707's for 2 years for Trans Mediterranean Airways a Lebanese
cargo carrier.

It was a very interesting job in that they had 65 stations around the
world and you would leave Beirut with a copilot that had maybe 200
hours in airplanes and fortunately a first rate plumber and off you'd
go around the world. My favorite run was Dubai to Kabul, Afghanistan
with a stop in Kandahar. Kabul is a one way strip, land uphill and
take off downhill, it was 6000 foot elevation with no navaids.

During those 2 years I made many round the world trips and many over
the pole trips. In 1977 I moved back to Vegas and was Director of
Operations for Nevada Airlines flying DC-3's and Twin Beech's to the
Canyon. In September of 77 I was called to Budapest for another CIA
operation flying 707's loaded with arms and ammo to Mogadishu.

Leaving Budapest then refueling in Jeddah we flew radio silence down
the Red Sea trying to avoid the MiGs based in Aden, whose sole purpose
on earth was to force us down. The briefing was simple. If you guys
get into trouble DON'T CALL US. Back to Vegas in December of that year
I was hired as Chief Pilot for Bonanza Airlines 2 operating DC-3's and
a Gulfstream 1 from Vegas to Aspen.

After that airline collapsed I was hired by Hilton Hotels to fly their
Lear 35 A. In my spare time I flew part time for Dynalectron and the
EPA on an underground nuke test monitoring program. I flew their B-26,
OV-10, Volpar Beech and Huey helicopter. I also flew the Tri Motor
Ford part time for Scenic Airlines. In 1978 my Dad passed away and
left me with one dollar, which incidentally, I never got.

In 1980 I ran for the Nevada State Senate district 4. I lost miserably
only because I was uninformed, unprepared and both of my size 9 triple
E's were continually in my mouth.

I got fired from Hilton shortly after that and moved to Cairo, Egypt
to fly for Air Trans another CIA cutout. After the Camp David accords
were signed in 1979 each country, Egypt and Israel were required to
operate 4 flights a week into the others country. Of course, El Al
pilots didn't mind flying into Cairo but you could not find an
Egyptian pilot that would fly into Tel Aviv. So an Egyptian airline
was formed called Nefertiti Airlines with me as chief pilot to fly the
4 flights a week into Tel Aviv. On our off time we flew subcontract
for Egyptair throughout Europe and Africa. All this, of course was
just a cover for our real missions which was all kinds of nefarious
gun running throughout Europe and Africa which we did in our
spare time.

And now that our beloved 40th president has passed on I can tell you
that in fact (with my apologies to Michael Reagan) the October
Surprise was true. The October surprise for those of you that don't
remember happened during October of 1980 when Reagan and Bush were
running against Carter and Mondale George Bush was flown in a BAC 111
one Saturday night to Paris to meet with the Ayatollah Khomeini. Bush
offered the Khomeini a deal whereby if he would delay the release of
the hostages held in Tehran until Reagans inauguration, the
administration would supply unlimited guns and ammunition
to the Iranians.

In order to get Bush back for a Sunday morning brunch so that nobody
would be alerted to his absence he was flown back in an SR-71 from
Reims field near Paris to McGuire AFB.

Of course Reagan won, the hostages were released and one of my jobs in
Cairo was to deliver those arms from Tel Aviv to Tehran.

Unfortunately, the first airplane in, an Argentinean CL-44 was shot
down by the Russians just south of Yerevan and Mossad who was running
the operation didn't want to risk sending my 707. The arms were
eventually delivered through Dubai, across the Persian Gulf and
directly into Terhan.

During the 2 years I was in Cairo I averaged 180 hours a month with a
top month of 236 hours in a 31 day period. I spent a 6 week tour in
Khartoum flying cows to Saana, North Yemen in an old Rolls Royce
powered 707.

Back in Las Vegas in December of 1982 I sat on my ass until I was out
of money, again, and then went to work for Global Int'l Airlines in
Kansas City, another CIA cutout run by Farhad Azima, an Iranian with a
bonafide Gold Plated Get Out of Jail Free card flying 707's until they
collapsed in October of 83.

During the summer of 1983 the FAA celebrated its 25th Anniversary at
the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. There was much
fanfare and speech making and 2 honored guests. Bill Conrad from
Miami, Florida who had the most type ratings, I think over 50. And
myself. I had the most airman certificates issued of any other airman.

After Global's collapse I went went to work for American Trans Air
flying 707's. I wrote their international navigation manual as MNPS
for North Atlantic operations was just being implemented and became
the first FAA designated check airman for MNPS navigation. ATA then
added 727's and then Lockheed L-1011's. For a very brief time I was
qualified as captain in all three.

After getting fired from ATA in July of 1989 I became a freight dog
flying DC-8's for Rosenbalm Aviation which became Flagship Express and
after that airline collapsed I was hired as Chief pilot for Patriot
Airlines out of Stead Field in Reno, flying cargo 727's from Miami to
South America. After getting fired from Patriot I went to work for
Connie Kalitta flying DC-8s then the L-1011 on which I was a check
airman. Kalitta sold out to Kitty Hawk International which went
bankrupt in May of 2000.

I was 57 at the time and nobody is going to hire an old f*ck for two
and a half years except to fly sideways so I turned in my stripes and
ever present flask of Courvoisier. Except for one last fling in March
of 2001 where I flew the Hadj for a Cambodian Airline flying L-1011's
under contract to Air India. We were based in New Delhi and flew to
Jeddah from all throughout India. There was absolutely no paperwork,
no FAA, no BS and for 6 weeks we just moved Hadji's back and forth to
Saudi Arabia.

One final note, in October of 1999 I had the honor and extreme
pleasure to get checked out in a Lockheed CF-104D Starfighter. My
instructor was Darryl Greenamyer, the airplane was owned by Mark and
Gretchen Sherman of Phoenix. It was the highlight of my aviation
career particularly because I survived my first and only SFO in a high
performance fighter.

One other thing, some how I managed to get he following type ratings:
707/720/727, Convair 240/340/440, DC-3, DC-8, B-26, Gulfstream 1,
Lockheed Constellation, Lear Jet series, HS-125, Lockheed L-1011,
Lockheed L-18, Lockheed P-38, Martin 202/404, B-17, B-25, Grumman TBM
and Ford Trimotor. I also have single and multi engine sea, rotorcraft
helicopter and gyroplane,and lighter than air free balloon. I never
got all categories having missed the Airship. And in case you are
interested many, many airmen have lots more type ratings.

What I did get, that no other airman got was most FAA certificates:
these are the ATP, Flight Instructor with airplane single and multi
engine, instrument, rotorcraft helicopter and gyroplane and glider.
Flight Navigator, Flight Engineer, Senior Parachute Rigger, Control
Tower Operator, A&P, Ground Instructor, Advanced and Instrument and
Aircraft Dispatcher. I have 19,488 hours of total time of which 15,325
hours is in 1,2,3 or 4 engine jet. I took a total of 181 FAA
(or designated check airman) check rides and failed 2.

Of the thousands of times I knowingly violated an FAA regulation I was
only caught once but never charged or prosecuted.

The farthest I have ever been off course was 321 miles left over the
South China Sea in a 707 on New Years day 1977 on a flight from
Taipai. The deviation was not caught by Hong Kong, Manila or Singapore
radar and I penetrated six zero to unlimited restricted areas west of
the Philippines. I landed in Singapore 7 minutes late without further
incident.

How, you ask, did I get so far off course? The short answer is I was
napping at the controls. I have flown just about everywhere except
Russia, China, Mongolia, Korea, Antarctica, Australia or New Zealand.
I am a senior vice-commander of the American Legion Post No.1
Shanghai, China (Generals Ward, Chennault and Helseth) (operating in
exile) and a 21 year member of the Special Operations Association.

Now some of you may be asking why so many airlines collapsed that I
worked for and why I got fired so many times. My excuse is simple. I
am not the brightest crayon in the box, I am extremely lazy, I have a
smart mouth and a real poor f*cking attitude.


End
  #2  
Old September 15th 04, 10:55 AM
Ditch
external usenet poster
 
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Default

You know John Lear believes we have a secret base on the moon and also that the
US Government has an agreement with aliens who operate in underground complexes
(One in Dulce New Mexico and the other is the Tehachapi Ranch complex).
Apparently, according to Lear, the agreement is falling apart due to the aliens
excessive abudctions of humans used for genetic experiements and that war with
the aliens is imminent.
We have also had a few skirmishes where we didn't fare to well.
His words, not mine.

But, cool career.


-John
*You are nothing until you have flown a Douglas, Lockheed, Grumman or North
American*
  #3  
Old September 15th 04, 06:31 PM
Robert M. Gary
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A link to this was posted about a week ago. If this material is copy
protected it would be best to just post the link. Posting the actual
text could generate some trouble.

-Robert


Big John wrote in message . ..
Do you think Zoooom could match this or maybe this is where he got his
'War' stories???......................................Bi g John


  #4  
Old September 16th 04, 12:09 AM
Al Gerharter
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Default

Is this the same Lear that wrote "The Colonel" stories way back. Probably
the funniest stuff I have ever seen. "The Colonel learns about windshear"
was, I think, published in Air Classics Magazine in the early 80's. Has
anyone seen a copy of these things around anywhere? Al Gerharter


"Big John" wrote in message
...
Do you think Zoooom could match this or maybe this is where he got his
'War' stories???......................................Bi g John


John Lear gave this talk on July 9th, 2004 to a group of fellow pilots
in Las Vegas called, the "Hangar of Quiet Birdmen". Each month one
pilot in the group gives a 15 minute talk on his career.


John Lear on John Lear:

One of the anguishes of advancing age is losing old friends. The up
side of that, though, is that I get to tell the story my way.

I learned to fly at Clover Field in Santa Monica when I was 14.
However before I got to get in an actual airplane Dad made me take 40
hours of Link with Charlie Gress. I can't remember what I did
yesterday but I guarantee you I could still shoot a 90 degree,
Fade-out or Parallel radio range orientation.

When I turned 16 I had endorsements on my student license for an Aero
Commander 680E and Cessna 310.

I got my private at 17 and instrument rating shortly thereafter. The
Lockheed 18 Lodestar was my first type rating at age 18. I went to
work for my father and brother flying copilot on a twin beech out of
Geneva Switzerland after I got out of high school. Dad was over there
trying to peddle radios to the European airlines.

However just after I turned 18 and got my Commercial I was showing off
my aerobatic talents in a Bucker Jungmann to my friends at a Swiss
boarding school I had attended. I managed to start a 3 turn spin from
too low an altitude and crashed. I shattered both heels and ankles and
broke both legs in 3 places. I crushed my neck, broke both sides of my
jaw and lost all of my front teeth. I managed to get gangrene in one
of the open wounds in my ankles and was shipped from Switzerland to
the Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque where Randy Lovelace made me well.

When I could walk again I worked selling pots and pans door to door in
Santa Monica. In late 1962 Dad had moved from Switzerland to Wichita
to build the Lear Jet and I went to Wichita to be work in Public
Relations until November of 1963 about 2 months after the first flight
when I moved to Miami and took over editing an aviation newspaper
called Aero News.

I moved the newspaper to El Segundo in California and ran it until it
failed. I then got a job flight instructing at Progressive Air Service
in Hawthorne, California. From there I went to Norman Larson Beech in
Van Nuys flight instructing in Aircoupes.

In the spring of 1965 I was invited by my Dad back to Wichita to get
type rated in the model 23 Learjet. I then went to work for the
executive aircraft division of Flying Tigers in Burbank who had
secured a dealership for the Lear.

In November of 1965 my boss Paul Kelly crashed number 63 into the
mountains at Palm Springs killing everybody on board including Bob
Prescotts 13 years old son and 4 of the major investors in Tigers. I
took over his job as President of Airjet charters a wholly owned
subsidiary of FTL and flew charters and sold Lears. Or rather tried to
sell them. It turns out that I never managed to sell one Learjet in my
entire life.

In March of 1966 2 lear factory pilots Hank Beaird, Rick King and
myself set 17 world speed records including speed around the round the
world, 65 hours and 38 minutes in the first Lear Jet 24. Shortly after
that flight I got canned from Tigers and moved to Vegas and started
the first 3rd level airline in Nevada, Ambassador Airlines. We
operated an Aero Commander and Cherokee 6 on 5 stops from Las Vegas to
LAX. This was about the time Hughes moved to Las Vegas and I was doing
some consulting work for Bob and Peter Maheu.

The money man behind Ambassador was Jack Cleveland who I introduced to
John Myers in the Hughes organization. Cleveland and Myers tried to
peddle the 135 certificate to Hughes without success and Jack ended up
selling Howard those phony gold mining claims you all may remember. I
went back to Van Nuys and was flying Lear charter part time for Al
Paulson and Clay Lacy at California Airmotive, the Learjet
distributor.

That summer I started a business called Aerospace Flight Research in
Van Nuys were I rented aircraft to Teledyne to flight test their
Inertial Guidance Systems. We had a B-26, Super Pinto and Twin Beech.
I think we lasted about 4 months.

I then went to work for World Aviation Services in Ft.Lauderdale
ferrying the Cessna O2 FAC airplane from Wichita, fresh of the
assembly line to Nha Trang in Viet Nam with fellow QB Bill Werstlein.
We were under the 4440th ADG Langley VA. and hooked up with a lot of
other military pilots ferrying all manner and types of aircraft.

Our route was Wichita to Hamilton, Hickam, Midway, Wake, Guam, Clark
and then in country. The longest leg was Hamilton to Hickam an average
of 16 hours, no autopilot, no copilot, and one ADF. We also had 3
piddle packs. Arriving in Nha Trang we would hitch a ride to Saigon
and spend 3 days under technical house arrest, each trip, pay a fine
for entering the country illegally, that is being civilians and not
coming through a port of entry,catch an airline up to Hong Kong for a
little R and R and straight back to Wichita for another airplane. I
flew this contract for 4 years.

During some off time in 1968 I attempted to ferry a Cessna 320 from
Oakland to Australia with the first stop in Honolulu. About 2 hours
out from Oakland I lost the right engine and had no provisions for
dumping fuel. I went down into ground effect (T effect for you
purists) and for 3 hours and 21 minutes flew on one engine about 25
feet above the waves and made it into Hamilton AFB after flying under
the Golden Gate and Richmond bridges. An old friend Nick Conte, was
officer of the day and gave me the royal treatment. Why did I go into
Hamilton instead of Oakland? I knew exactly where the O club was for
some much needed refreshment.

In September of 1968 between 0-2 deliveries I raced a Douglas B-26
Invader in the Reno Air Races. It was the largest airplane ever raced
at Reno, and I placed 5th in the Bronze passing one Mustang. It was
reported to me after the race by XB-70 project pilot Col. Ted
Sturmthal that when I passed the P-51, 3 fighter pilots from Nellis
committed suicide off the back of the grandstands. In the summer of
1970 I helped Darryl Greenamyer and Adam Robbins put on the California
1000 air race in Mojave California. That's the one where Clay Lacy
raced the DC-7.

I flew a B-26 with Wally McDonald. I then started flying charter in an
Aero Commander and Beech Queen Air for Aero Council a charter service
out of Burbank. They went belly up about 3 months later and I went up
to Reno to work for my Dad as safety pilot on his Lear model 25. After
my Dad fired me I was personally escorted to the Nevada/California
border by an ex-Los Angeles police detective who worked for Dad and
did the muscle work.

I went back down to Van Nuys and was Chief Pilot for Lacy Aviation and
was one of the first pilot proficiency examiners for the Lear Jet. In
the summer of 1973 I moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia as Chief Pilot and
Director of Operations for Tri Nine Airlines which flew routes
throughout Cambodia for Khmer Akas Air.

I flew a Convair 440 an average of 130 hours a month. We had unlimited
quantities of 115/145 fuel and ADI and were able to use full CB-17
power (which was 62" for any of you R-2800 aficionados). In November
of 1973 I moved to Vientianne, Laos and flew C-46's and Twin Otters
for Continental Air Services Inc. delivering guns and ammo to the Gen.
Vang Pao and his CIA supported troops.

We got shot down one day and when I say we, Dave Kouba was the
captain. We were flying a twin otter and got the right engine shot
out. Actually the small arms fire had hit the fuel line in the right
strut and fuel was streaming out back around the tail and being sucked
into the large cargo opening in the side of the airplane and filling
the cockpit with a fine mist of jet fuel.

I held the mike in my hands, "Should I call Cricket and possibly blow
us up or...?" (Some of you may remember "Cricket"... "This is Cricket
on guard with an air strike warning to all aircraft".)

But Davy found us a friendly dirt strip and we were back in the air
the next day. When the war came to an end in 1973 I moved back to Van
Nuys and started flying Lears for Lacy again until October when I went
up to Seattle and sat in on a Boeing 707 ground school for Air Club
International on spec.

3 weeks later I ended up in the left seat of the 707 with a total of 8
hours in type. Air Club begat Aero America and we flew junkets out of
Vegas for the Tropicana and Thunderbird Hotels. I left Aero having not
been fired and in the summer of 1975 I was Director of Ops for
Ambassador Airlines 2 flying 707 junkets also out of Vegas. After that
airline collapsed I moved to Beirut, Lebanon in September of 1975 and
flew 707's for 2 years for Trans Mediterranean Airways a Lebanese
cargo carrier.

It was a very interesting job in that they had 65 stations around the
world and you would leave Beirut with a copilot that had maybe 200
hours in airplanes and fortunately a first rate plumber and off you'd
go around the world. My favorite run was Dubai to Kabul, Afghanistan
with a stop in Kandahar. Kabul is a one way strip, land uphill and
take off downhill, it was 6000 foot elevation with no navaids.

During those 2 years I made many round the world trips and many over
the pole trips. In 1977 I moved back to Vegas and was Director of
Operations for Nevada Airlines flying DC-3's and Twin Beech's to the
Canyon. In September of 77 I was called to Budapest for another CIA
operation flying 707's loaded with arms and ammo to Mogadishu.

Leaving Budapest then refueling in Jeddah we flew radio silence down
the Red Sea trying to avoid the MiGs based in Aden, whose sole purpose
on earth was to force us down. The briefing was simple. If you guys
get into trouble DON'T CALL US. Back to Vegas in December of that year
I was hired as Chief Pilot for Bonanza Airlines 2 operating DC-3's and
a Gulfstream 1 from Vegas to Aspen.

After that airline collapsed I was hired by Hilton Hotels to fly their
Lear 35 A. In my spare time I flew part time for Dynalectron and the
EPA on an underground nuke test monitoring program. I flew their B-26,
OV-10, Volpar Beech and Huey helicopter. I also flew the Tri Motor
Ford part time for Scenic Airlines. In 1978 my Dad passed away and
left me with one dollar, which incidentally, I never got.

In 1980 I ran for the Nevada State Senate district 4. I lost miserably
only because I was uninformed, unprepared and both of my size 9 triple
E's were continually in my mouth.

I got fired from Hilton shortly after that and moved to Cairo, Egypt
to fly for Air Trans another CIA cutout. After the Camp David accords
were signed in 1979 each country, Egypt and Israel were required to
operate 4 flights a week into the others country. Of course, El Al
pilots didn't mind flying into Cairo but you could not find an
Egyptian pilot that would fly into Tel Aviv. So an Egyptian airline
was formed called Nefertiti Airlines with me as chief pilot to fly the
4 flights a week into Tel Aviv. On our off time we flew subcontract
for Egyptair throughout Europe and Africa. All this, of course was
just a cover for our real missions which was all kinds of nefarious
gun running throughout Europe and Africa which we did in our
spare time.

And now that our beloved 40th president has passed on I can tell you
that in fact (with my apologies to Michael Reagan) the October
Surprise was true. The October surprise for those of you that don't
remember happened during October of 1980 when Reagan and Bush were
running against Carter and Mondale George Bush was flown in a BAC 111
one Saturday night to Paris to meet with the Ayatollah Khomeini. Bush
offered the Khomeini a deal whereby if he would delay the release of
the hostages held in Tehran until Reagans inauguration, the
administration would supply unlimited guns and ammunition
to the Iranians.

In order to get Bush back for a Sunday morning brunch so that nobody
would be alerted to his absence he was flown back in an SR-71 from
Reims field near Paris to McGuire AFB.

Of course Reagan won, the hostages were released and one of my jobs in
Cairo was to deliver those arms from Tel Aviv to Tehran.

Unfortunately, the first airplane in, an Argentinean CL-44 was shot
down by the Russians just south of Yerevan and Mossad who was running
the operation didn't want to risk sending my 707. The arms were
eventually delivered through Dubai, across the Persian Gulf and
directly into Terhan.

During the 2 years I was in Cairo I averaged 180 hours a month with a
top month of 236 hours in a 31 day period. I spent a 6 week tour in
Khartoum flying cows to Saana, North Yemen in an old Rolls Royce
powered 707.

Back in Las Vegas in December of 1982 I sat on my ass until I was out
of money, again, and then went to work for Global Int'l Airlines in
Kansas City, another CIA cutout run by Farhad Azima, an Iranian with a
bonafide Gold Plated Get Out of Jail Free card flying 707's until they
collapsed in October of 83.

During the summer of 1983 the FAA celebrated its 25th Anniversary at
the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. There was much
fanfare and speech making and 2 honored guests. Bill Conrad from
Miami, Florida who had the most type ratings, I think over 50. And
myself. I had the most airman certificates issued of any other airman.

After Global's collapse I went went to work for American Trans Air
flying 707's. I wrote their international navigation manual as MNPS
for North Atlantic operations was just being implemented and became
the first FAA designated check airman for MNPS navigation. ATA then
added 727's and then Lockheed L-1011's. For a very brief time I was
qualified as captain in all three.

After getting fired from ATA in July of 1989 I became a freight dog
flying DC-8's for Rosenbalm Aviation which became Flagship Express and
after that airline collapsed I was hired as Chief pilot for Patriot
Airlines out of Stead Field in Reno, flying cargo 727's from Miami to
South America. After getting fired from Patriot I went to work for
Connie Kalitta flying DC-8s then the L-1011 on which I was a check
airman. Kalitta sold out to Kitty Hawk International which went
bankrupt in May of 2000.

I was 57 at the time and nobody is going to hire an old f*ck for two
and a half years except to fly sideways so I turned in my stripes and
ever present flask of Courvoisier. Except for one last fling in March
of 2001 where I flew the Hadj for a Cambodian Airline flying L-1011's
under contract to Air India. We were based in New Delhi and flew to
Jeddah from all throughout India. There was absolutely no paperwork,
no FAA, no BS and for 6 weeks we just moved Hadji's back and forth to
Saudi Arabia.

One final note, in October of 1999 I had the honor and extreme
pleasure to get checked out in a Lockheed CF-104D Starfighter. My
instructor was Darryl Greenamyer, the airplane was owned by Mark and
Gretchen Sherman of Phoenix. It was the highlight of my aviation
career particularly because I survived my first and only SFO in a high
performance fighter.

One other thing, some how I managed to get he following type ratings:
707/720/727, Convair 240/340/440, DC-3, DC-8, B-26, Gulfstream 1,
Lockheed Constellation, Lear Jet series, HS-125, Lockheed L-1011,
Lockheed L-18, Lockheed P-38, Martin 202/404, B-17, B-25, Grumman TBM
and Ford Trimotor. I also have single and multi engine sea, rotorcraft
helicopter and gyroplane,and lighter than air free balloon. I never
got all categories having missed the Airship. And in case you are
interested many, many airmen have lots more type ratings.

What I did get, that no other airman got was most FAA certificates:
these are the ATP, Flight Instructor with airplane single and multi
engine, instrument, rotorcraft helicopter and gyroplane and glider.
Flight Navigator, Flight Engineer, Senior Parachute Rigger, Control
Tower Operator, A&P, Ground Instructor, Advanced and Instrument and
Aircraft Dispatcher. I have 19,488 hours of total time of which 15,325
hours is in 1,2,3 or 4 engine jet. I took a total of 181 FAA
(or designated check airman) check rides and failed 2.

Of the thousands of times I knowingly violated an FAA regulation I was
only caught once but never charged or prosecuted.

The farthest I have ever been off course was 321 miles left over the
South China Sea in a 707 on New Years day 1977 on a flight from
Taipai. The deviation was not caught by Hong Kong, Manila or Singapore
radar and I penetrated six zero to unlimited restricted areas west of
the Philippines. I landed in Singapore 7 minutes late without further
incident.

How, you ask, did I get so far off course? The short answer is I was
napping at the controls. I have flown just about everywhere except
Russia, China, Mongolia, Korea, Antarctica, Australia or New Zealand.
I am a senior vice-commander of the American Legion Post No.1
Shanghai, China (Generals Ward, Chennault and Helseth) (operating in
exile) and a 21 year member of the Special Operations Association.

Now some of you may be asking why so many airlines collapsed that I
worked for and why I got fired so many times. My excuse is simple. I
am not the brightest crayon in the box, I am extremely lazy, I have a
smart mouth and a real poor f*cking attitude.


End



  #5  
Old September 17th 04, 03:07 PM
SelwayKid
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Al Gerharter" wrote in message news:1095289809.7UynsX8IzMqvfvNYwA/Qtw@teranews...
Is this the same Lear that wrote "The Colonel" stories way back. Probably
the funniest stuff I have ever seen. "The Colonel learns about windshear"
was, I think, published in Air Classics Magazine in the early 80's. Has
anyone seen a copy of these things around anywhere? Al Gerharter

Al
Yes its the same guy. I think I have some copies of it around here
someplace in my files. As for the QB thing that is posted, you have to
keep in mind it was for presentation to a bunch of professional pilots
and some of it was tongue in cheek to a group who had been imbibing of
adult beverage as is normal for QB hangar meetings. No doubt in my
military mind that some of the statements done at such QB meetings are
to be taken with a grain of salt if not a 50# sack. For such
statements, it requires a bit of seasoning and to realize much is
true and some is embelished for entertainment purposes.
Flyinrock

"Big John" wrote in message
...
Do you think Zoooom could match this or maybe this is where he got his
'War' stories???......................................Bi g John


John Lear gave this talk on July 9th, 2004 to a group of fellow pilots
in Las Vegas called, the "Hangar of Quiet Birdmen". Each month one
pilot in the group gives a 15 minute talk on his career.


John Lear on John Lear:

One of the anguishes of advancing age is losing old friends. The up
side of that, though, is that I get to tell the story my way.

I learned to fly at Clover Field in Santa Monica when I was 14.
However before I got to get in an actual airplane Dad made me take 40
hours of Link with Charlie Gress. I can't remember what I did
yesterday but I guarantee you I could still shoot a 90 degree,
Fade-out or Parallel radio range orientation.

When I turned 16 I had endorsements on my student license for an Aero
Commander 680E and Cessna 310.

I got my private at 17 and instrument rating shortly thereafter. The
Lockheed 18 Lodestar was my first type rating at age 18. I went to
work for my father and brother flying copilot on a twin beech out of
Geneva Switzerland after I got out of high school. Dad was over there
trying to peddle radios to the European airlines.

However just after I turned 18 and got my Commercial I was showing off
my aerobatic talents in a Bucker Jungmann to my friends at a Swiss
boarding school I had attended. I managed to start a 3 turn spin from
too low an altitude and crashed. I shattered both heels and ankles and
broke both legs in 3 places. I crushed my neck, broke both sides of my
jaw and lost all of my front teeth. I managed to get gangrene in one
of the open wounds in my ankles and was shipped from Switzerland to
the Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque where Randy Lovelace made me well.

When I could walk again I worked selling pots and pans door to door in
Santa Monica. In late 1962 Dad had moved from Switzerland to Wichita
to build the Lear Jet and I went to Wichita to be work in Public
Relations until November of 1963 about 2 months after the first flight
when I moved to Miami and took over editing an aviation newspaper
called Aero News.

I moved the newspaper to El Segundo in California and ran it until it
failed. I then got a job flight instructing at Progressive Air Service
in Hawthorne, California. From there I went to Norman Larson Beech in
Van Nuys flight instructing in Aircoupes.

In the spring of 1965 I was invited by my Dad back to Wichita to get
type rated in the model 23 Learjet. I then went to work for the
executive aircraft division of Flying Tigers in Burbank who had
secured a dealership for the Lear.

In November of 1965 my boss Paul Kelly crashed number 63 into the
mountains at Palm Springs killing everybody on board including Bob
Prescotts 13 years old son and 4 of the major investors in Tigers. I
took over his job as President of Airjet charters a wholly owned
subsidiary of FTL and flew charters and sold Lears. Or rather tried to
sell them. It turns out that I never managed to sell one Learjet in my
entire life.

In March of 1966 2 lear factory pilots Hank Beaird, Rick King and
myself set 17 world speed records including speed around the round the
world, 65 hours and 38 minutes in the first Lear Jet 24. Shortly after
that flight I got canned from Tigers and moved to Vegas and started
the first 3rd level airline in Nevada, Ambassador Airlines. We
operated an Aero Commander and Cherokee 6 on 5 stops from Las Vegas to
LAX. This was about the time Hughes moved to Las Vegas and I was doing
some consulting work for Bob and Peter Maheu.

The money man behind Ambassador was Jack Cleveland who I introduced to
John Myers in the Hughes organization. Cleveland and Myers tried to
peddle the 135 certificate to Hughes without success and Jack ended up
selling Howard those phony gold mining claims you all may remember. I
went back to Van Nuys and was flying Lear charter part time for Al
Paulson and Clay Lacy at California Airmotive, the Learjet
distributor.

That summer I started a business called Aerospace Flight Research in
Van Nuys were I rented aircraft to Teledyne to flight test their
Inertial Guidance Systems. We had a B-26, Super Pinto and Twin Beech.
I think we lasted about 4 months.

I then went to work for World Aviation Services in Ft.Lauderdale
ferrying the Cessna O2 FAC airplane from Wichita, fresh of the
assembly line to Nha Trang in Viet Nam with fellow QB Bill Werstlein.
We were under the 4440th ADG Langley VA. and hooked up with a lot of
other military pilots ferrying all manner and types of aircraft.

Our route was Wichita to Hamilton, Hickam, Midway, Wake, Guam, Clark
and then in country. The longest leg was Hamilton to Hickam an average
of 16 hours, no autopilot, no copilot, and one ADF. We also had 3
piddle packs. Arriving in Nha Trang we would hitch a ride to Saigon
and spend 3 days under technical house arrest, each trip, pay a fine
for entering the country illegally, that is being civilians and not
coming through a port of entry,catch an airline up to Hong Kong for a
little R and R and straight back to Wichita for another airplane. I
flew this contract for 4 years.

During some off time in 1968 I attempted to ferry a Cessna 320 from
Oakland to Australia with the first stop in Honolulu. About 2 hours
out from Oakland I lost the right engine and had no provisions for
dumping fuel. I went down into ground effect (T effect for you
purists) and for 3 hours and 21 minutes flew on one engine about 25
feet above the waves and made it into Hamilton AFB after flying under
the Golden Gate and Richmond bridges. An old friend Nick Conte, was
officer of the day and gave me the royal treatment. Why did I go into
Hamilton instead of Oakland? I knew exactly where the O club was for
some much needed refreshment.

In September of 1968 between 0-2 deliveries I raced a Douglas B-26
Invader in the Reno Air Races. It was the largest airplane ever raced
at Reno, and I placed 5th in the Bronze passing one Mustang. It was
reported to me after the race by XB-70 project pilot Col. Ted
Sturmthal that when I passed the P-51, 3 fighter pilots from Nellis
committed suicide off the back of the grandstands. In the summer of
1970 I helped Darryl Greenamyer and Adam Robbins put on the California
1000 air race in Mojave California. That's the one where Clay Lacy
raced the DC-7.

I flew a B-26 with Wally McDonald. I then started flying charter in an
Aero Commander and Beech Queen Air for Aero Council a charter service
out of Burbank. They went belly up about 3 months later and I went up
to Reno to work for my Dad as safety pilot on his Lear model 25. After
my Dad fired me I was personally escorted to the Nevada/California
border by an ex-Los Angeles police detective who worked for Dad and
did the muscle work.

I went back down to Van Nuys and was Chief Pilot for Lacy Aviation and
was one of the first pilot proficiency examiners for the Lear Jet. In
the summer of 1973 I moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia as Chief Pilot and
Director of Operations for Tri Nine Airlines which flew routes
throughout Cambodia for Khmer Akas Air.

I flew a Convair 440 an average of 130 hours a month. We had unlimited
quantities of 115/145 fuel and ADI and were able to use full CB-17
power (which was 62" for any of you R-2800 aficionados). In November
of 1973 I moved to Vientianne, Laos and flew C-46's and Twin Otters
for Continental Air Services Inc. delivering guns and ammo to the Gen.
Vang Pao and his CIA supported troops.

We got shot down one day and when I say we, Dave Kouba was the
captain. We were flying a twin otter and got the right engine shot
out. Actually the small arms fire had hit the fuel line in the right
strut and fuel was streaming out back around the tail and being sucked
into the large cargo opening in the side of the airplane and filling
the cockpit with a fine mist of jet fuel.

I held the mike in my hands, "Should I call Cricket and possibly blow
us up or...?" (Some of you may remember "Cricket"... "This is Cricket
on guard with an air strike warning to all aircraft".)

But Davy found us a friendly dirt strip and we were back in the air
the next day. When the war came to an end in 1973 I moved back to Van
Nuys and started flying Lears for Lacy again until October when I went
up to Seattle and sat in on a Boeing 707 ground school for Air Club
International on spec.

3 weeks later I ended up in the left seat of the 707 with a total of 8
hours in type. Air Club begat Aero America and we flew junkets out of
Vegas for the Tropicana and Thunderbird Hotels. I left Aero having not
been fired and in the summer of 1975 I was Director of Ops for
Ambassador Airlines 2 flying 707 junkets also out of Vegas. After that
airline collapsed I moved to Beirut, Lebanon in September of 1975 and
flew 707's for 2 years for Trans Mediterranean Airways a Lebanese
cargo carrier.

It was a very interesting job in that they had 65 stations around the
world and you would leave Beirut with a copilot that had maybe 200
hours in airplanes and fortunately a first rate plumber and off you'd
go around the world. My favorite run was Dubai to Kabul, Afghanistan
with a stop in Kandahar. Kabul is a one way strip, land uphill and
take off downhill, it was 6000 foot elevation with no navaids.

During those 2 years I made many round the world trips and many over
the pole trips. In 1977 I moved back to Vegas and was Director of
Operations for Nevada Airlines flying DC-3's and Twin Beech's to the
Canyon. In September of 77 I was called to Budapest for another CIA
operation flying 707's loaded with arms and ammo to Mogadishu.

Leaving Budapest then refueling in Jeddah we flew radio silence down
the Red Sea trying to avoid the MiGs based in Aden, whose sole purpose
on earth was to force us down. The briefing was simple. If you guys
get into trouble DON'T CALL US. Back to Vegas in December of that year
I was hired as Chief Pilot for Bonanza Airlines 2 operating DC-3's and
a Gulfstream 1 from Vegas to Aspen.

After that airline collapsed I was hired by Hilton Hotels to fly their
Lear 35 A. In my spare time I flew part time for Dynalectron and the
EPA on an underground nuke test monitoring program. I flew their B-26,
OV-10, Volpar Beech and Huey helicopter. I also flew the Tri Motor
Ford part time for Scenic Airlines. In 1978 my Dad passed away and
left me with one dollar, which incidentally, I never got.

In 1980 I ran for the Nevada State Senate district 4. I lost miserably
only because I was uninformed, unprepared and both of my size 9 triple
E's were continually in my mouth.

I got fired from Hilton shortly after that and moved to Cairo, Egypt
to fly for Air Trans another CIA cutout. After the Camp David accords
were signed in 1979 each country, Egypt and Israel were required to
operate 4 flights a week into the others country. Of course, El Al
pilots didn't mind flying into Cairo but you could not find an
Egyptian pilot that would fly into Tel Aviv. So an Egyptian airline
was formed called Nefertiti Airlines with me as chief pilot to fly the
4 flights a week into Tel Aviv. On our off time we flew subcontract
for Egyptair throughout Europe and Africa. All this, of course was
just a cover for our real missions which was all kinds of nefarious
gun running throughout Europe and Africa which we did in our
spare time.

And now that our beloved 40th president has passed on I can tell you
that in fact (with my apologies to Michael Reagan) the October
Surprise was true. The October surprise for those of you that don't
remember happened during October of 1980 when Reagan and Bush were
running against Carter and Mondale George Bush was flown in a BAC 111
one Saturday night to Paris to meet with the Ayatollah Khomeini. Bush
offered the Khomeini a deal whereby if he would delay the release of
the hostages held in Tehran until Reagans inauguration, the
administration would supply unlimited guns and ammunition
to the Iranians.

In order to get Bush back for a Sunday morning brunch so that nobody
would be alerted to his absence he was flown back in an SR-71 from
Reims field near Paris to McGuire AFB.

Of course Reagan won, the hostages were released and one of my jobs in
Cairo was to deliver those arms from Tel Aviv to Tehran.

Unfortunately, the first airplane in, an Argentinean CL-44 was shot
down by the Russians just south of Yerevan and Mossad who was running
the operation didn't want to risk sending my 707. The arms were
eventually delivered through Dubai, across the Persian Gulf and
directly into Terhan.

During the 2 years I was in Cairo I averaged 180 hours a month with a
top month of 236 hours in a 31 day period. I spent a 6 week tour in
Khartoum flying cows to Saana, North Yemen in an old Rolls Royce
powered 707.

Back in Las Vegas in December of 1982 I sat on my ass until I was out
of money, again, and then went to work for Global Int'l Airlines in
Kansas City, another CIA cutout run by Farhad Azima, an Iranian with a
bonafide Gold Plated Get Out of Jail Free card flying 707's until they
collapsed in October of 83.

During the summer of 1983 the FAA celebrated its 25th Anniversary at
the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. There was much
fanfare and speech making and 2 honored guests. Bill Conrad from
Miami, Florida who had the most type ratings, I think over 50. And
myself. I had the most airman certificates issued of any other airman.

After Global's collapse I went went to work for American Trans Air
flying 707's. I wrote their international navigation manual as MNPS
for North Atlantic operations was just being implemented and became
the first FAA designated check airman for MNPS navigation. ATA then
added 727's and then Lockheed L-1011's. For a very brief time I was
qualified as captain in all three.

After getting fired from ATA in July of 1989 I became a freight dog
flying DC-8's for Rosenbalm Aviation which became Flagship Express and
after that airline collapsed I was hired as Chief pilot for Patriot
Airlines out of Stead Field in Reno, flying cargo 727's from Miami to
South America. After getting fired from Patriot I went to work for
Connie Kalitta flying DC-8s then the L-1011 on which I was a check
airman. Kalitta sold out to Kitty Hawk International which went
bankrupt in May of 2000.

I was 57 at the time and nobody is going to hire an old f*ck for two
and a half years except to fly sideways so I turned in my stripes and
ever present flask of Courvoisier. Except for one last fling in March
of 2001 where I flew the Hadj for a Cambodian Airline flying L-1011's
under contract to Air India. We were based in New Delhi and flew to
Jeddah from all throughout India. There was absolutely no paperwork,
no FAA, no BS and for 6 weeks we just moved Hadji's back and forth to
Saudi Arabia.

One final note, in October of 1999 I had the honor and extreme
pleasure to get checked out in a Lockheed CF-104D Starfighter. My
instructor was Darryl Greenamyer, the airplane was owned by Mark and
Gretchen Sherman of Phoenix. It was the highlight of my aviation
career particularly because I survived my first and only SFO in a high
performance fighter.

One other thing, some how I managed to get he following type ratings:
707/720/727, Convair 240/340/440, DC-3, DC-8, B-26, Gulfstream 1,
Lockheed Constellation, Lear Jet series, HS-125, Lockheed L-1011,
Lockheed L-18, Lockheed P-38, Martin 202/404, B-17, B-25, Grumman TBM
and Ford Trimotor. I also have single and multi engine sea, rotorcraft
helicopter and gyroplane,and lighter than air free balloon. I never
got all categories having missed the Airship. And in case you are
interested many, many airmen have lots more type ratings.

What I did get, that no other airman got was most FAA certificates:
these are the ATP, Flight Instructor with airplane single and multi
engine, instrument, rotorcraft helicopter and gyroplane and glider.
Flight Navigator, Flight Engineer, Senior Parachute Rigger, Control
Tower Operator, A&P, Ground Instructor, Advanced and Instrument and
Aircraft Dispatcher. I have 19,488 hours of total time of which 15,325
hours is in 1,2,3 or 4 engine jet. I took a total of 181 FAA
(or designated check airman) check rides and failed 2.

Of the thousands of times I knowingly violated an FAA regulation I was
only caught once but never charged or prosecuted.

The farthest I have ever been off course was 321 miles left over the
South China Sea in a 707 on New Years day 1977 on a flight from
Taipai. The deviation was not caught by Hong Kong, Manila or Singapore
radar and I penetrated six zero to unlimited restricted areas west of
the Philippines. I landed in Singapore 7 minutes late without further
incident.

How, you ask, did I get so far off course? The short answer is I was
napping at the controls. I have flown just about everywhere except
Russia, China, Mongolia, Korea, Antarctica, Australia or New Zealand.
I am a senior vice-commander of the American Legion Post No.1
Shanghai, China (Generals Ward, Chennault and Helseth) (operating in
exile) and a 21 year member of the Special Operations Association.

Now some of you may be asking why so many airlines collapsed that I
worked for and why I got fired so many times. My excuse is simple. I
am not the brightest crayon in the box, I am extremely lazy, I have a
smart mouth and a real poor f*cking attitude.


End

  #6  
Old September 17th 04, 04:50 PM
Al Gerharter
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I've flown with my own "Colonel" in a LR24B. "The Colonel goes to
Hawaii", or the accounts of the "Colonel's Day Parade" somewhere in Mexico
are priceless. Is it legal to share a copy with the group? Al


  #7  
Old September 18th 04, 04:15 PM
SelwayKid
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Al Gerharter" wrote in message news:1095436250.k8ufTwHhLIM/WmTiJO5hoA@teranews...
I've flown with my own "Colonel" in a LR24B. "The Colonel goes to
Hawaii", or the accounts of the "Colonel's Day Parade" somewhere in Mexico
are priceless. Is it legal to share a copy with the group? Al

Al
I sure don't know about copyrights, etc but I suppose if you attribute
it on a public forum its OK? If so inclined I'd just post it. Ain't
like its gonna cost anyone millions of dollars for an old publication.
Do you have any of the pieces regarding Captain Pearl?
Ol Shy & Bashful
  #8  
Old September 20th 04, 05:24 PM
Al Gerharter
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

No, I was hoping you did. If you know John, may I ask, what is the deal
with him and UFO's? Al


"SelwayKid" wrote in message
om...
"Al Gerharter" wrote in message
news:1095436250.k8ufTwHhLIM/WmTiJO5hoA@teranews...
I've flown with my own "Colonel" in a LR24B. "The Colonel goes to
Hawaii", or the accounts of the "Colonel's Day Parade" somewhere in
Mexico
are priceless. Is it legal to share a copy with the group? Al

Al
I sure don't know about copyrights, etc but I suppose if you attribute
it on a public forum its OK? If so inclined I'd just post it. Ain't
like its gonna cost anyone millions of dollars for an old publication.
Do you have any of the pieces regarding Captain Pearl?
Ol Shy & Bashful



 




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