207 unknown quantity of ale, they jokingly told them that “anyone could jump out of the back of an airplane”. The result was that the next day Frank and Ted were both presented with parachutes. What could they say? It was decided that the place for this giant leap for pilot-kind would be the upcoming sergeant’s mess picnic. Of course, any training would be superfluous to the whole operation, and the fact that this was going to be a pretty small drop zone didn’t seem to matter either. So, on the appointed day, these two masters of aviation put on a brilliant flying display for those gathered below, and then passed over control to yours truly, and headed back to the cargo hold and strapped on their chutes. Meanwhile I was thinking to myself, “what could possibly go wrong” and with the exuberance and confidence of youth, I headed around and lined myself up with the field. At what seemed the appropriate time I semi-confidently called “green go”, and off the ramp jumped these two intrepid airmen. Having to get the bird back to base, what happened after their jump relied on the accounts of others. The good news is that the chutes worked as advertised but somehow Ted managed not to hit mother earth directly but landed on a fence. Perhaps a little instruction on how to manage a chute would have been helpful, but who knows. However, Ted did break his ankle and wound up at the base hospital. This of course was going to require an explanation and Ted simply claimed that the break was the result the result of jumping off a fence which seemed to be the best explanation without having to stray too far from the truth. Frank meanwhile drifted down in his chute and just happened to find solid ground again very near to where his wife Jenny and the kids were getting into the car. The kids shouted out for their mom to look as they saw this parachute descending and then as it got closer, they shouted, “it’s Dad!” Frank managed to land injury free and everything was fine again when, after a couple of weeks had passed, Jenny started speaking to him again. Not privy to Frank and Jenny’s domestic issues I might have allowed my imagination a little poetic license there, but Jenny definitely was not amused. Fortunately, the CO at the time was Lt. Col. KC Lee who “kinda” appreciated guys with a sense of adventure and could think outside the box, much like himself and probably held a fair bit of appreciation for their cunning and derring-do. As a result, these two spirited individuals were able to successfully charm their way out of trouble. As a simple innocent bystander, I avoided any questioning which is a good thing as our account of the day’s events might not all have been consistent. The time I spent instructing at the TAL school was the most enjoyable flying I ever experienced. I flew with so many great guys on 435, and Frank Fay, in particular was such a huge part of my squadron experience. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to learn, fly and share a brew or two with him.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==