SULLY

SULLY
My daughter Mary, and her husband Greg, gave me “Sully ” Sullenberger’s new book (“Highest Duty”) for my birthday. You may think that I am being presumptuous, in using the famous pilot’s nickname. But, when you consider his first name is “Chesley”, it makes sense. I didn’t realize that he had written a book (in conjunction with Jeffrey Zaslow). My first thought was, “another famous person getting on the bandwagon, and writing a book. (See Sarah Palin’s “Going Rogue”.) These days, it’s just a foregone conclusion. Too, there’s no equivalent to the exposure that one gets on Oprah’s Show. (Can the movies be far behind?).
I started to read Sully’s book, and it was so interesting, that I have a hard time putting it down. I am really impressed. It is very well written. (I am not sure whose words they are). Too, I can relate to a lot of Sully’s descriptions of his experiences and emotions. I am wondering why, when there is a 33 year -age difference between us. His Dad, and I, are cohorts! A lot of my identification with Sully’s writing can be explained, because we were both former military pilots. I can relate to a lot of his flying emotions and experiences - even though I had only a small percentage of his nearly 20,000 flying hours. We both have been exposed to similar theory of flight, and emergency procedures. I relate, too, to his life experiences - not because “I’ve been there - done that”, but because we both have been exposed to similar life experiences. After reading the book, I would classify Sully as a complicated and dedicated person, and a very skilled flyer.
I can still remember an event I had in the Army Air Corps - as if it had happened yesterday - rather than 65 years ago. We were flying dual, during my Primary flight training. I was fortunate to have John Langdon, as my instructor, riding in the rear seat. John had seen, and done it all. He was older - or a synonym - “more experienced.” John had flown the U.S. Mail. He had crop dusted. He had barn stormed with Tex Rankin (picked up a handkerchief from the ground - flying upside down - with a hook imbedded at the top of the vertical stabilizer! Now, that is about as skillful as you can fly - even compared to the precision formation -flying of the “Blue Angels”.)
One day we were flying near Rankin Field in the Tulare area. At about 3,000 feet, John, from his rear seat, chopped the throttle, and I lost the power of the engine. This was a common practice of Instructors, and it was a “signal” for me to start looking for the best place to put the Stearman down. In a simulated forced landing. I would pick the flattest - largest- field, free of obstacles like high voltage- power lines. Then, I would try and determine the direction of the wind ( from blowing smoke or such), and then set up my approach and landing plans. Remember, this is “dead stick” - no engine power. The prop is barely wind milling. It is very quiet. I am descending about 300 feet per minute to maintain our flying speed above “stalling”. All the time, I was very observant for other aircraft and obstacles in the vicinity, while descending. In his book, Sully calls it “situational awareness”. A lot of judgment is involved in knowing your altitude, by checking your altimeter, so that you can dissipate the height through your “downwind,” “base” and “final approach” legs.” You don’t want to land “long”, or “short” of the field. When I was about to touch down, John would advance the throttle, and the Lycoming radial engine would roar to life, once again. I was air-born, in a slow climb. Needless to say, the adrenalin was really flowing as if it were the real thing. I still remember John’s counseling, as I climbed out from the open field. John told me, through our inter-com tube, “Never stretch a glide! Maintain your flying speed, even if you have to plough into a stone wall. You will have a better chance for survival, than if you pull back on the stick to fly over the wall, and stall the aircraft. In a stall. You will head into the ground nose first (This is why we practiced “stalls” at higher altitudes. So, that we would recognize the feel of the “sloppy’ stick during the stall, and initial recovery.) Fortunately, I never had to apply John’s admonition. But, if I had, I know that I’d been prepared for the best outcome. This is why I remember John’s words, back in 1944, to this day. Again, “situational awareness.” I remembered my “dead stick“- landing training, when I heard about Captain Sullenberger landing his powerless Air Bus in the Hudson River, on January 15, 2009. His US Airways airliner hit a flock of geese shortly after the First Officer took-off from La Guardia. While my dead-stick landing -training and Sully’s water landing were far from being the same, the technique employed was similar, and there was his emotion, during the let-down, that I could relate to.
So much of Sully’s life seemed to parallel a lot of mine, even with our age difference. I could relate to his thoughts, sights and emotions. He and his wife Lorrie adopted two girls. I could even relate to this event. Marie and I didn’t have our first child until nearly seven years after we were married. In the meantime, we had given up on “coupling,” and placed our “request to adopt” with the “Children’s Home” in Oakland. The year was 1950. They accepted our request, and made visits to our home in Antioch. (I was working for U.S. Steel, as an Industrial Engineer, at the time). The Home’s approval of our adoption request seemed imminent. But, when the Home’s representative learned, during one of her visits to our home in the spring of 1951, that I had been recalled by the Air Force, as a pilot, during the Korean War, she “nixed” our adoption. She said that, “The Home couldn’t place a child in a potentially fatherless home!”. We were both very devastated by the bad news. At that very time, Marie was experiencing an upset stomach. We both thought that she was coming down with the flu. A friend of ours said, “Marie, do you think that you might be pregnant?” Our friend was very prophetic. Marie found out later, that she was indeed pregnant with Anne.
Back to Sully. Our backgrounds differ in that his Dad was a very good self-taught carpenter. He even built their home - with the help of his wife, daughter and Sully. My Dad didn’t have those same “hammer” skills so I never learned them . But, my Mother was good with the tool. Our daughter Mary is “hammer wise”, too. She must have inherited my Mother’s “hammer” genes.
Sully grew up in Texas, which is a long way from Michigan and Ohio, where I grew up. Still, we had similar experiences growing up. His parents instilled responsibility and accountability in Sully as my parents did in me. Sully’s parents gave him a rifle at a young age. They taught him gun safety and responsibility for his actions. My parents let me work at a very young age - 9 or 10 years old - selling magazines, door to door. In the winter, I would be delivering magazines in the dark. (This was before Daylight Saving Time.) In the summer, I would put a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my pocket, and be gone all day. We would play a pickup game of baseball with kids on the other side of town, “skinny dip” in the deep, cold water in an abandoned sandstone quarry, in Berea, Ohio, or, we would just hang out at each others’ houses. (Our Mom’s were all home in those days.)
Sully spoke of “hazing” at the Air University, before he graduated. I could relate to that, having gone through the Aviation Cadet program twice during WWII - once for bombardier training and once for pilot training.
The author mentioned that his first airplane ride was out of Dallas in a Convair 440. This is an improved model of the military version, the T-29 - a twin-engine turbo prop. I flew this airplane out of Mather Field for two years, during the Korean War. It was easy to fly, and very forgiving of pilot errors.
Sully also mentioned a few times in his book that the flying schedule of an airline pilot is not conducive to a normal family relationship. As a pilot you are gone a lot. Sully mentioned being gone for four days flying different legs on the East Coast. Too, he was commuting to his hub in Charlotte, from San Francisco.
I can verify his conundrum of trying to balance career and family life. While flying out of Mather field, I was gone just a couple of nights. Because of the heavy tule fog in the Sacramento area, the base was closed to air traffic. One time, they diverted me to Travis, and another time to Merced AFB. Just being gone was very traumatic for Anne - a year old. When I did return home she would cry! - a “stranger” in the house! So, when my 21 month recall was over, I wanted to stay in the Air Force as a career - primarily, because I enjoyed flying. (And the pay was good). But, Anne’s pediatrician suggested that I leave the Service because such a life was too traumatic for our daughter. His suggestion was enough for me to resign my commission and return to civilian life. I complained later to Marie about my decision. She told me that I made a good decision. If I had signed on for an extension of my active duty, I would have gone to Korea and been “killed in action”. She was probably right. I no longer second guessed my decision. I had peace of mind.
“Highest Duty” really illustrates how one person can make a difference. The book also depicts how many lives Sully touched. My parents apparently instilled his same philosophy of life in me. I have tried to live by the very same credo, I truly believe that it is our duty to use our God-given talents, and ingenuity, and make our best effort to help our fellow man, in order to help make the world a better place than it was, when we entered.
I have flown in a few flights on US Airways and PSA (absorbed by US Airways). I wonder if Sully piloted any of those flights?
I heartily recommend your reading “Highest Duty”. Parts of your life, and philosophy, will resonate with Sully’s, I’m sure. Your spirit will be lifted up, and you will never look at “Life” the same way again!
RCL - 11/20/09.