Steve Pierce
BENEFACTOR
Graham, TX
Subject: Interesting pilot..........
>
>
>
> 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
> upside 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".)
>
> VBut 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.
>
> V3 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 where
> 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 3.
>
> 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 eeks 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
>
>
>
>
> 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
> upside 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".)
>
> VBut 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.
>
> V3 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 where
> 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 3.
>
> 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 eeks 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
>
