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The Coast Guard Aviation career ended in what seemed to be a blink of an eye, but on 17 August 1979, just a few days before retirement, I had my last fight - in an HH-52A at Cape Cod. The crew surprised me as they had a local young female on-air TV reporter interview me after slapping a new name tag on my flight suit.
A bitter sweet time, as I was leaving the life I really loved, and truth be told, I would have remained for as many years as possible if I were able to remain in aviation. It was counterbalanced by my acceptance of a position with Aerospatiale Helicopter Corporation in Grand Prairie TX opening up a whole new horizon for me - and staying in the field I loved. |
I started flying the Grumman Albatross in September 1958 when I checked into CGAS Elizabeth City NC as a nugget CG aviator. It was a unique experience, but not unusual then, to find that there were two different models assigned: the short winged UF-1G and the stretched wing UF-2G with surprisingly different performance. Not only that, but they all had different electrical systems and avionics. That reflected the different sources from which the CG gained the ships.
By the time I gad my last flight in the HU-16E (UF-2G) in August of 1979, we had made great strides in standardizing their configurations and operating procedures.
Not a easy aircraft to extract its maximum potential, it nevertheless proved itself tme and again, and those of us who spent any time with her loved her.
By the time I gad my last flight in the HU-16E (UF-2G) in August of 1979, we had made great strides in standardizing their configurations and operating procedures.
Not a easy aircraft to extract its maximum potential, it nevertheless proved itself tme and again, and those of us who spent any time with her loved her.
