Lessons Learned from my first solo of a helicopter in 1969 till my last flight in a fixed wing..

I arrived in Vietnam on May 15, 1970. I wasn't scared and in fact, being a pilot in the military was a dream I had since Joe Messina, a World War II Veteran of the China, Burma, India Theatre, gave me my first airplane ride when I was 5 or 6 years old. That was sometime around 1953 or 54. Joe spent his time in the Second World War flying "The Hump" into China when we were supplying the Chinese with pilots and arms to fight the Japanese.

My Dad, Jules Leon Butler (J Leon), took me and my sister Linda to the airport, introduced us to Joe and off we went for our first ride. We were so little, both of us fit in the back seat of the Piper Cub that Joe bought as surplus after the war. I'm pretty sure that Joe established the first professionally operated flight school in North Louisiana but I'll ask Leland to be sure.

If you ever visit the main terminal at the downtown airport in Shreveport, you will see pictures of a group of men who are Shreveport's Hall of Fame pilots. Joe is there and so is Maurice Head. Maurice knew Joe and, as a coincidence, he gave me my fixed wing transition course after I returned from Vietnam and, at that time, I became what is known as a dual rated pilot. I could fly helicopters or fixed wing airplanes. It was a proud moment especially since I had managed to pull all that off by the ripe old age of 23.

There were lots of lessons learned from the day I soloed a Hiller OH 23 in August of 1969 and the day I returned from Vietnam and started flying Piper Cherokee 140s and Cessna 150s. Before I lost my medical in 1988, I ended up flying everything I could get my hands on. That ranged from all the helicopters that the Army had except for the Flying Crane and the Chinook CH 47.  When I decided to leave the Army instead of continuing with my desires to make a career as an Army Aviator, I had approval to report to Hunter Army Airfield where I was to take the transition course and add the Chinook to my ratings.

If you've read some of the older posts here and know who Wilbert the Dilbert was, you already know why I decided to leave the Army. Despite that, I didn't decide to stop flying. I flew the Cessna 150s, 172s and eventually owned a 206. Not long after that, I bought a Piper Seneca II twin but I never liked that one as much as the others. Too much yaw.

I had some experiences flying turbo props like the Turbine Aero Commander and the Beech King Air but my heart really belonged to the smaller stuff and the 172 was the most fun of all to fly. That was the airplane that Tim Jr took his first ride in and we've talked about it often.

I even had time flying the EAA's Boeing B 17 named "Aluminum Overcast". That was the nuts but it was easily the most impractical thing for me to fly because it was so expensive to rent the left seat in the cockpit.

In any event, as I think about all the experiences that came from the years I spent flying, I have to add the influences of all the men who led the way along that path. From my Uncles who fought the war, to guys like Joe Messina and Maurice Head, I always wondered what they would have thought about the things, outside of aviation, that go on today. I'm sure they would have been pleased to see how far I made it and they would totally understanding that my medical was the only thing that stopped me.

On the other hand, when I wonder about the thoughts they may have about today's society and how their sacrifices were somewhat tainted by today's situations, I have to add a thing about lessons learned.

They were still alive when Jane Fonda did her traitorous thing in North Vietnam and they knew about the killings at Kent State that happened in May of 1970. Neil Young produced "Four Dead in Ohio" and that song seems to surface more often now on some of the radio stations I listen to when driving.

Now, in today's news items, we hear about a zillion rounds of ammo bought by Homeland Security and further news about other things such as foreign troops training here and this amnesty deal for so many illegals. If you do that math and look at all the questions asked about "who are these bullets for" or "why are they buying all this stuff", you can't ignore the statements made when the POTUS said we needed an internal police force that was in addition to local law enforcement and projected to be as strong or stronger than the Armed Forces.

I guess the moral of this story is stimulated by the recent incident I had at the grocery store when the guy was laughing about Agent Orange. It cut me to the quick and apparently, even though nothing happened, I guess I'm still negatively effected by it. If there ever was a recipe of thoughts, I can't seem to separate those men who influenced me and the reasons that they fought so hard for our way of life.

I am somewhat pleased with all the advice I've gotten from friends at the Fighter Pilot's Association and most appreciative of the concerns that come from Guy, Waylon, Lisa, Roger and a number of people at the hospital. They didn't like the guy at the grocery store and his comments about Agent Orange anymore than I did.

In any event, if I haven't done anything through this post except point out the difference between lessons learned and how we must not become complacent by ignoring the things that men have fought and died for, I will consider this one as a success. Just stop a minute and take a closer look at the things we've seen with people like Jane Fonda and the idiot at the grocery store and try to realize that they are only two people out of 300 million. We may need to pay more attention to the other things that are going on around us. Thanks for the ear. Tim

Comments to TButler94@hotmail.com would be appreciated.







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