Fresh out of the USAF control tower operator school at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, I found myself working shift duty at the Military Flight Service Center processing flight plans and relaying messages to and from pilots in a 14 state area. It was not a particularly glamorous job, for I spent hours sitting in front of a typewriter with headphones over my ears. When a pilot wished to file his flight plan, he'd call our center on the telephone, using a link called "Drop 62" or "Plan 62" lines connected to the board in front of me.
I'd cryptically type the information about the intended flight, tear off the yellow form and place it on a conveyor belt . From my station the form went to the weather officer and then the clearance officer. Each would review the request and add notes or comments to the form, including weather forecast information and approvals for the proposed flight. Then the yellow form came back to my console for me to read the information to the waiting pilot. It was not a very difficult job, but my training as a control tower operator helped in understanding what the pilot wanted, what the weather and clearance officers were saying, and what was expected by those involved at both ends of the phone lines.
There were two great advantages to being at Wright-Patterson AFB (WPAFB) and a part of the air traffic control system. Firstly, I got to see a great number of unique airplanes up close, for the Center was located above Base Operations on the flight line. To get to the snack bar for a coffee break or quick lunch snack, we had to walk through the hangar and past dozens of planes being repaired or modified. For a young squirt of 20, it was a great thrill to see those planes and talk with the people flying them. I even got to meet then-major Chuck Yeager and other test pilots. For a little one-strip airman that was very motivating.
The second benefit was getting airplane rides. The unit had two or three C-45 Twin Beechcraft planes, used to fly our pilots to the many civil and military airfields in our area. Each year we had to visit every field to gather information about the runways, service and repair facilities, lighting and radios available to pilots who might need them. That information was published in the Facilities Handbook carried by all flight crews. I got to go along from time to time. It was very interesting and exciting for me.
One of our pilots even took a special interest in the fact that
I was a candidate for flight training and would soon be off to
the Aviation Cadet program. That meant that one day I would get
my commission as a second lieutenant and earn my wings as an Air
Force aviator. That pilot said that he would give me a head
start toward my flight training and a chance to actually fly the
C-45.
There I was, a lowly one-stripe enlisted man, sitting at the controls of an Air Force plane and receiving private instructions. It was terrific. I learned a lot from that experience and became even more anxious than ever to get into the Cadet program.
I also became attuned to the opportunities for "catching hops" aboard military planes. It was a kind of hitch-hiking that served as one of the greatest "perks" of being in the business. With a set of military leave orders, or even a three-day pass, one could catch a hop to practically every part of the country. And it was free. Free, that is, unless you happened to get stranded someplace. Then you had to buy a return commercial ticket to get back on time. But most often it was an easy way to get around. Knowing the system helped too.
So even before I got to go to Cadets and officially become an Air Force flyer, I was tooling about the country as a hitch-hiker and as an unofficial pilot. No wonder I stayed in the military and completed a full career. Oh, I did it as a navigator and R&D engineer. I failed the eye test when I got to cadets so the sent me to nav school. It was still a great life and experience.