Hero Or the Zero1
“Hero or the Zero” Chapter 1 A True Story By COL GREGORY MARSTON (ret) Aviation is an exciting profession that has short, intense, high-energy periods that are often followed by fairly routine and even boring phases of flight. Yet, it is important to remember always that you’re flying a machine at relatively high speeds and/or high altitudes versus other man-made equipment like a car. Your happy little pilot bubble can be interrupted in a Nano- second by the rare, heart-stopping, bowel-loosening, emergency that must be dealt with correctly, quickly and coolly or you may die. Sometimes you die, even if you do everything right! This story is about one such moment. I was leading a routine flight of two A-37B “Dragonfly” aircraft on a cool, clear and very dark, early morning at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (DMAFB) in Tucson, Arizona on January 3rd, 1985. The A-37 was a relic from the Vietnam War, a small, green/grey camouflage, two-seat, two-engine, jet aircraft that was used for Attack (dropping bombs) or Forward Air Control (FAC – shooting rockets). As the solo Instructor Pilot (flying in the left seat) the plan was for me to takeoff first, followed 10 seconds later by my wingman (a student in the left seat and his Instructor Pilot in the right side). After takeoff, my wingman he would rejoin on me for a Close Air Support (CAS) training flight. I would lead the two-aircraft flight out to one of the massive bombing ranges located in southern Arizona.
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