Saturday, August 26, 2006
Not a Clue!
(4)
Much later, as I was preparing for my Instrument Rating, I would have cause to regret my insolence concerning ice. I was a flight instructor at Columbine and was taking the instrument curriculum. My instructor was 'Dave.' I think Dave was Jewish. It would be some time before it dawned on me that 'Vaughn Cole' himself was Jewish and that several other of my co-workers were Jewish, including pretty much everybody I had been associated with in aviation. Dale Ruoff, who was my boss at Littleton and who had formerly (tap) worked as Chief Pilot at Columbine, was probably also Jewish. I was an innocent Irish Catholic Atheist who was literally surrounded by Jews, and I didn't have a clue. Not a clue!
Anyway, there came the flight to Goodland, Kansas. We took off in the afternoon. We had one illegal passenger in the rear compartment (4247 Juliet, our instrument trainer, had only front seats). He was there to 'learn something.'
My voice eventually failed me (thump) during the flight as I attempted to communicate via radio with ATC, and Dave took over. I was content to simply fly the airplane. As the sun went down the weather got nasty. I loved the time when we were 'between layers,' but my joy disappeared with sunset.
We approached Goodland in total darkness. We were advised by ATC to do an approach from roughly east to west (I have forgot the Goodland runway numbers). The advice was really advice - not a recommendation, because Goodland was way below minimums for a VOR Approach, and we only had the VOR. Everybody, including me, knew that this approach was a simulation: we were not crazy enough to actually try to land there.
Much later, as I was preparing for my Instrument Rating, I would have cause to regret my insolence concerning ice. I was a flight instructor at Columbine and was taking the instrument curriculum. My instructor was 'Dave.' I think Dave was Jewish. It would be some time before it dawned on me that 'Vaughn Cole' himself was Jewish and that several other of my co-workers were Jewish, including pretty much everybody I had been associated with in aviation. Dale Ruoff, who was my boss at Littleton and who had formerly (tap) worked as Chief Pilot at Columbine, was probably also Jewish. I was an innocent Irish Catholic Atheist who was literally surrounded by Jews, and I didn't have a clue. Not a clue!
Anyway, there came the flight to Goodland, Kansas. We took off in the afternoon. We had one illegal passenger in the rear compartment (4247 Juliet, our instrument trainer, had only front seats). He was there to 'learn something.'
My voice eventually failed me (thump) during the flight as I attempted to communicate via radio with ATC, and Dave took over. I was content to simply fly the airplane. As the sun went down the weather got nasty. I loved the time when we were 'between layers,' but my joy disappeared with sunset.
We approached Goodland in total darkness. We were advised by ATC to do an approach from roughly east to west (I have forgot the Goodland runway numbers). The advice was really advice - not a recommendation, because Goodland was way below minimums for a VOR Approach, and we only had the VOR. Everybody, including me, knew that this approach was a simulation: we were not crazy enough to actually try to land there.
