Dc3 to A 330 part II
needless to say, i was a youngster of 35, late starter too. family back in españa, wife bringing up the son, thousands of miles away. vocational ? you can bet on it. lonely nights, pager existence and 1-800 toll free call backs for latest flight orders. 30 minutes to wheels-up, summer winter spring and fall. hip hoping across the vast lands of continental north america. crew crash pad, single run-down airport wheels, used excess drained 100 LL to fill the tank, enjoying the extra whooomph it gave the cheap pinto...late night weekend drinking sprees with the rest of the ypsilanti airplane-driver-boozers, then two days rest and back at it. leave a wednesday and not be back before the following thursday week...no autopilot, no radar. never fixed routing, running parts ofr general motors, ford, chrysler, ups, fedex, you call we haul.
cheapest motels, food simulator location experts. no time but to sleep, find a burger joint and bum a ride with the FBO courtesy drivers to the ramp, carrying tons of paperwork, charts, flight plans, extra fruit and water and the holy marlboros...
wait hours on end in mexico for the lazy deliveres to show up. pagers beeping all day long, hurry up, fords got 75,000 dollars in seat buttons to be picked up in Kentucky. Take em to Atlantic City, chop chop. Weathers marginal. get Flight Watch brief, tale off VFR, pick up atc clearance climbing through3000 feet. Hermosillo to Atlantic City....trucks passing us underneath on the highway...dme roller barely rolling. deathly slow....and i know i can meet my bills when, when, i finally get some time to bank a little and call home, thousands of miles away.
when we were exhausted we´d fall asleep. yes, for up to thirty minutes. our faithful N 302 SF minus autopilot would fly straight and level on its own. wake up startled, chechk heading. right on course. atitude...302 plugging along dolphining between 17,500 feet and 18,000...the days before three sweeps and you´re out....but thats another story as well
ML