Southlake...

Hope you're doing well and enjoying your retirement.

Kinda crazy why I'm starting this thread. I was shopping at my default grocery store in East Tennessee this afternoon, which is Wal-Mart (I'm cheap). As I was shopping, I bumped into a Gulf War Veteran (his hat was the give-away). We started talking, and turns out he supported the A-10 (which is my all time favorite jet). It was such a kick to find out that A-10 pilots were so damn cocky. Personally, I love the A-10...I compare it to the badass fullback in football.

Don't know why, but again, I thought about you. So....

• Which commercial airline did you fly for?
• What commercial jet did you fly?
• What was your favorite commercial jet to fly?

When you weren't flying commercial, what did you fly to attain your commercial rating?
In your entire career, what the your favorite aircraft to fly?

Sidebar...my dad flew the Hump in WWII (C-46). He rarely talked about it. Thankfully, I have his flight log from WWII. It's crazy to read some of the stuff he did at the age of 25.

As I age, I'm more impressed with pilots, and love to hear their story.

So, if you're willing, the floor is yours. TIA.

My grandfather flew 92 trips in a C47 for the Army Air Corps AKA North Burma Airlines, Inc.

The US supported Chiang Kai-Shek but gave mothballed equipment to Mao. One time my grandfather flew a road grader with a 10' blade in a C47 by cutting it in half and it hung out the sides, and over the Himalayas it went.

Sorry for the hijack!

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The US supported Chiang Kai-Shek

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Oh my gosh, that's not a hijack.

Kind of crazy you mention Chiang Kai-Shek. Late in my work career (2016-2024) I worked with a Chinese American who was born in 1985. He didn't really have any knowledge of WWII. He goes on to tell me one day that his great grandfather was Chiang Kai-Shek's assistant. I was stunned. Ironically, I talked to him this past week, the first time I'd talked to him in about two years.

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My grandfather flew 92 trips

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That is crazy! My dad never talked about flying the Hump. It was only after he died that I did some research, and talked to a couple of WWII historians. Any one that survived and came home from that assignment was a true hero.

My grandpa talked about it a lot and was a member of the Hump Pilots organization for life. After the war he became a commercial airline pilot.

He actually trained in Bryan, Texas at one point, possibly in C97A school, but I might have my dates wrong for what he did when in TX.

Another anecdote is that the pilots carried a ransom note for 100 rupees in silver, and gold coins to pay the Naga hillmen to escort them out if they crashed. They also wore new boots in case they had to walk out to prevent foot rot, and then changed back into their old boots later.

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Another anecdote is that the pilots carried a ransom note for 100 rupees in silver, and gold coins to pay the Naga hillmen to escort them out if they crashed.

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That is absolutely true! When I lived in Euless I went to the C.R. Smith Museum on the American Airlines campus (he was the CEO of American Airlines). Prior to his time at AA, he commanded the fleet that flew the hump. In that museum, they have that ransom note on exhibit. When I saw it (this was about 25 years ago), I called my father and asked him about that. To my surprise, he acknowledged it and said he carried one as well. As you said, it was a note that if he was captured, the United States would pay a ransom for his safe return. How Crazy!