Many of you will remember the days when it was a struggle to get
flying time. The problem was worse for pilots who generally had
to fly planes similar to those they were qualified to fly, but
for navigators it was only a little easier. While stationed at Edwards AFB, California in 1969, I badly needed some flight time so that my pay wouldn't be jeopardized for not meeting periodic minimums. Our JC-130's were down for overhaul and some of us had to scrounge near and far to book a slot on something, anything, that we could. I managed to corral a slot aboard a T-29 flying out of Los Angeles airport (LAX). That meant driving the hour and a half from Edwards to LAX and finding my way to the south side airport access gate.
I was one of a half dozen navigators who managed to hitch a ride that day. It was scheduled to be a five-hour "round robin" flight, departing from and returning to LAX. As it happened, I was the only one aboard still familiar with the AN/APQ-24 radar system. It had been years since I used to teach navigation and bombing with that 1950's vintage set, but it was like riding a bicycle, I felt right at home as soon as I settled in to the main console position.
We were cleared to fly up the coast toward San Francisco, turn around and return to LAX. It couldn't have been an easier flight. The coastline looks on radar just like it does on the charts. You really have to work at getting lost on that route, and we didn't.
But the most memorable thing, for me, was getting to see "up close and personal" a missile rocket launch from Vandenberg AFB, west of Santa Barbara. That was a sight to make your jaw drop. Like WOW !!!
Just as we approached Vandenberg, our pilot called out to us on the interphone that we would be witnessing a rocket launch off to the port side. Immediately all of us headed for a window on that side and, like whale-watchers on a cruise ship, everything else paled in importance. We were getting a real treat. Navigation could wait. We were barely 30 miles east of the launch site and got a view of the whole thing, from rocket ignition to the missile's eventual disappearance in space over the Pacific. The accompanying picture of a more recent shot is just about what it looked like. It was awesome.
Yes, I got that all-important flight time, but I also got a sight to remember.