Sign-In
Cart
Pull the Chocks, I'm Launching
Hardcover
ISBN13: 9781662920028
Publisher: David Ward
Published: Feb 7 2022
Pages: 516
Weight: 1.60
Height: 1.13 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a pilot, and when I first saw F-80 fighter jets making practice gunnery passes on a firefighting training tower in Anchorage, Alaska, I knew I had to become a fighter pilot. This experience happened when I was 12 years of age and during the period of the Korean War. Seventeen years later I was invited to join the Oregon Air National and informed that I was going to become a fighter pilot in the 123rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron, in Portland, Oregon. The squadron is known as the Redhawks,
My journey in this chapter of my life began in Miles City, Montana, the place of my birth. Miles City bills itself as The Cow Capital of the West, holds an annual bucking horse sale in May of each year, and was the only American city in the contiguous United States to be bombed during World War II. That feat was accomplished by our own U.S. Army Air Corps. On both sides of my family, my grandparents were ranchers and farmers, and the hired workers on the ranch were trustees from the Miles City jail, reform school teenagers, and German POWs. I spent summers in the country and rode a full-size horse at the age of five. I didn't ride a bicycle, however, until the age of eight when my family moved west to Portland, Oregon.
Circumstances in my life, extending into early adulthood, generated a host of highly unusual real-life stories, ranging from the humorous to the tragic, several of which were woven into the fabric of then-current events that made their mark in history. The interesting people I came into contact with during these events contributed significantly to the richness of the experiences.
A divorce and remarriages by both of my parents sent my already active early life into a tumultuous spin. In eight grades of schooling, I attended six different elementary schools in three different states plus the Territory of Alaska. Although we were settled for my years in high school and college, those disruptive moves created a restlessness within me that made it a challenge at times to remain focused on my studies. My selection as the University's Air Force ROTC Drill Team Commander and the program's Flight Indoctrination Program in which I received my Private Pilot License, imbued me with the direction and confidence I needed to successfully complete Air Force pilot training which I did in South Georgia.
My first assignment after pilot training was as a T-33 jet pilot training instructor in Texas. The T-33 was the trainer version of the Korean War vintage F-80. In meeting my need for speed, I later converted as an instructor into the supersonic T-38 trainer. After four years of instructing basic flight training, I was reassigned to Korea as a Forward Air Controller and became the Air Division's T-33 flight program manager. When I completed this overseas tour, at the height of the Air War in Vietnam, I resigned from the Air Force and joined the Oregon Air National Guard. This started a new chapter in my life.
1 different editions
Also available
Also from
E. B. (Deb) Ward, David
Also in
Aviation & Nautical
Solo and Together: Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, an Enigmatic Life and Marriage
Hansen, James R.
Hardcover
The Last Flight: The Untold Story of the Search for JFK Jr. and the Race Against the Atlantic
Webster, W. Russell
Webster, Theresa M.
Hardcover
Cleared for Takeoff: A Pilot's Memoir of Purpose and Resilience After 9/11
Gilliam, Captain Nia
Hardcover
The Navigator's Letter: The True Story of Two WWII Airmen, a Doomed Mission, and the Woman Who Bound Them Together
Dondi, Jan Cress
Hardcover
From Typewriter to Takeoff: The Life of Journalist and Aviatrix Harriet Quimby
Tyler, Norman
Paperback
The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon
Shapiro, Laurie Gwen
Hardcover
Stone Age Astronaut: The Astonishing Adventures of America's Forgotten Flier
Callanan, Liam
Paperback
The Naval Academy - A Parent's Ponderings from Home Port: Untying the Bowline on I-Day
Wade, Steve
Paperback
The Lost Boys of Montauk: The True Story of the Wind Blown, Four Men Who Vanished at Sea, and the Survivors They Left Behind
Fairbanks, Amanda M.
Paperback
Titan Unfinished: An Untold Story of Exploration, Innovation, and the Oceangate Tragedy
Söhnlein, Guillermo A. M.
Hardcover
Ohio to Supersonic: Flying the Sr-71 Blackbird to the Secret World of the Skunk Works
Sheffield
Hardcover
Speed: The Life of a Test Pilot and Birth of an American Icon
Gilliland, Bob
Dunnavant, Keith
Hardcover
The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon (Large Print Edition)
Shapiro, Laurie Gwen
Hardcover
The Great Lakes Ships of Frank E. Kirby: America's Greatest Naval Architect
Gebhart, Richard
Paperback
Space Ace: A Combat Pilot's Journey from Vietnam to Beyond Earth
Gibson, Robert
Paustian, Anthony
Hardcover
Let's Make a Race Of It!: The Story of Those Daring Women Who Flew The Powder Puff Derby, 1947-1977
Rickman, Sarah Byrn
Paperback
A Sea of Possibilities: The Revolutionary Atlantic World of Captain Thomas Allen
Banks, Kenneth J.
Hardcover
Through the Yellow Visor: The Life and (Mis)Adventures of a US Navy Fighter Pilot
Aiello, E. Vincent Jell-O
Paperback
The Unlikely Voyage of Jack De Crow: A Mirror Odyssey from North Wales to the Black Sea
MacKinnon, A. J.
Paperback
Black Lion One: Topgun Trailblazer Capt. John Monroe Hawk Smith in Command of Vf-213
Auten, Donald E.
Hardcover
Pursuing the Leviathan: The Heroic Life of New England Whaling Captain Benjamin Clough
Magid, Paul
Hardcover
No Straight Lines to the Stars: An Unlikely Journey from Lifeguard Tower to Launchpad
Kisco, Ken
Paperback
80 Years, a Tribute to the Pby Catalina: The Ultimate Color Photo Album of the Best Flying Boat Ever Made
Wiesman, Hans
Hardcover
Military Aircrafts in the Sky: Air Combat from World War II Planes to Modern Fighter Jets That Changed History
Modern Daily Press
Paperback
The Stone from Halfway Rock Revisited: A Lifetime of Adventures on the Coast of Maine
Blachly, Peter M.
Paperback
Prairie Flyers of Central Illinois: A Century of Aviation in America's Heartland
Brady-Lunny, Edith
Hambucken, Denis
Warner, John
Paperback
Battle of Britain Spitfire Ace: The Life and Loss of One of the Few, Flight Lieutenant William Henry Nelson Dfc
Usher, Peter J.
Hardcover
Smuggler's Flight: The High-Flying Adventures and Daring Aerial Exploits of a Bootlegging Black Market Pilot
Stewart, Chuck
Paperback
Flying Rocks: Stories from the air flying some of the biggest rock n' roll stars of the world.
Lofton, Michael J.
Paperback
The 600 m.o.l. - Black Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam: Tuskegee Glory - Second Edition
Ponds, Joe
Paperback
The Aviatrix: The Daredevil Life of Bessie Coleman, the First Black Woman to Fly
Andrews, Lena S.
Hardcover
The Great Lakes Ships of Frank E. Kirby: America's Greatest Naval Architect
Gebhart, Richard
Hardcover
Up in the Air: The Real Story of Life Aboard the World's Most Glamorous Airline
Riegel, Betty
Paperback
Unbreakable Wings: Piloting the Impossible Journey Through Cancer and Naval Aviation
Adametz, Derek
Paperback
Whitney Straight: Racing Driver, War Hero, Industrialist - The Authorised Biography
Kenny, Paul
Hardcover
The Man in the Arena: The Story of an Aviator's Roller-Coaster Ride to the Clouds and Back
Cooper, Thomas
Paperback
The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex (Warbler Classics Annotated Edition)
Chappel, Thomas
Chase, Owen
Pollard, George, Jr.
Paperback
When the Lights Go Out: A Vietnam US Army Pilot Reflects on His Service and Beyond
Doherty, Francis A.
Hardcover
Smuggler's Flight: The High-Flying Adventures and Daring Aerial Exploits of a Bootlegging Black Market Pilot
Stewart, Chuck
Hardcover
New England's Lifesaver: Coast Guard Legend Master Chief Jack Downey
Webster, W. Russell
Cicalese, Michael A.
Paperback
Rocket Boys: The Exhilarating Exploits of the Early Mach Busters from 1945 Onwards
Baker, David
Hardcover
Oh Yeah? Watch This!: A Retired Rear Admiral's Journey from the Valleys to the Mountaintops
Allen, Ed
Hardcover
Single Seat Wisdom: Practical and Valuable Life Advice From America's Fighter Pilots
Jelinek, Aaron
Curran, Michelle
Anderson, Kevin
Paperback
The Battlin' Bastards of Bravo: Bravo Company, 1/506th, 101st Airborne, in Vietnam and Beyond
Ziobro, Melissa
Hardcover
Only the Light Moves: Flying Covert Reconnaissance Missions in the Vietnam War
Doherty, Francis A.
Paperback
Saber 27: A Memoir: A Female Cobra Pilot's Story of Betrayal, Redemption, and Combat in the War on Terror
Armstrong, Anne J.
Hardcover
Covert Skies: Ron Sutphin's Road to Civil Air Transport (CAT) and Covert Operations in Laos (Large Print Edition)
Sutphin, Ronald J.
Hardcover
The Heroes We Needed: The B-29ers Who Ended World War II and My Fight to Save the Forgotten Stories of the Greatest Generation
McIntyre, Trevor B.
Hardcover
Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men's Epic Duel to Rule the World
Rose, Alexander
Paperback
The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus: His Discovery and Exploration of the Americas
Irving, Washington
Paperback
The Boy Who Fell to Shore: The Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Thomas Thor Tangvald
Doane, Charles J.
Paperback
Where Dolphins Walk: A Memoir of Bridging National Lifestyles, Positive Change and Powers of Silence
Keehn, Douglas a.
Paperback
Soaring with Destiny: A USAF Pilot's Memoirs of Challenges, Experiences & Accomplishments
Miller, Usaf (Ret ). Lt Col Chuck
Paperback
India's Forgotten Rocket Pioneer: Stephen H Smith - From Pigeon Mail to Rocket Mail
Singh, Gurbir
Hardcover
Unbreakable Wings: Piloting the Impossible Journey Through Cancer and Naval Aviation
Adametz, Derek
Hardcover
Planes, Trains, Automobiles, & More!: Frederick J. Hooven and His Brilliant Inventions
Braun, Becca
Paperback
So There I Was...: Warrant Officer Stories of Leadership, Laughter, and Lessons Learned
Natalio, Emilio B.
Paperback
Completely Mad: Tom McClean, John Fairfax, and the Epic Race to Row Solo Across the Atlantic
Hansen, James R.
Paperback
Goodbye, Papa Golf: "The Riskiest Thing I Do" - A Memoir of Flying, Family, and Self-Discovery
Bearden, Chip
Paperback
Dunkirk and Battle of Britain Top Gun: Ww2 Ace Pilot Officer William McKnight
McElroy, Shelly
Hardcover
The Haddock Family of English Seafarers: Merchant Mariners and Naval Officers 1327-1941
Purcell, Judy S.
Hardcover
Spitfire Girls Trailblazer: Helen Marcelle Harrison: Ata Ferry Pilot, Wartime Instructor, and Flying Boat and Jet Aviator
Serup, Sheila C.
Hardcover