Audiobook - Rotorheads by. W.R. Spricer - Chapter 5 - \"Mel\"
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Chapter five Mel Training Squadron two Basic flight training N A s. Whiting Field, Milton, Florida January, February 1966 Lieutenant Walter Melvin Gibbs and I had known each other since the first day in the Marine Corps. He was in my O. C s and basic school classes at Quantico. Although we were in the same classes, I hadn't come to know him real well until we were both assigned to Flight 18 at softly Field and soloed the same week. We'd made it through softly without too much trouble. Although Mel had some serious problems with air sickness, he managed to hang in there and finish with a very high flight. Grade. A Navy 40 was perfect, but nobody got that. But anything over 3.5 was considered pretty damn good. Mel was a native Floridian born and raised in Jacksonville, a true Southern gentleman in every sense. At softly, he'd helped me immensely with memorizing flight procedures and was always good at passing along the word on how certain maneuvers were completed. The first phase of flight in the T 28 was called T P a transition precision and aerobatics. There were seven dual hops and then a check right to ensure you were safe for solo on the eight hop. After the eight check you were considered, Nate Tops qualified in model and moved on to the next phase of training in the T 28. Just like softly field. Most of our flight instructors were Marine helicopter pilots who had flown you age 34. He lows in Vietnam and had only been back a very short time. My instructor was named Kingston and Mills instructor was named Luci. The two instructors were very good friends, and we all thought they were squadron mates in Vietnam. We were all getting pretty close to our A check hop, which would be flown with a different instructor than our regular one. Not only was it a flight check, but there was a pretty extensive aural exam conducted during the flight. I wonder to my check ride instructor would be and hoped I would get a good guy and not a screamer hadn't seen Mel in a couple of days, and I noticed he wasn't on the flight schedule, either. So I was surprised when I saw him in the pilots ready room, talking to my instructor, Captain Kingston. I waited till the conversation was over, and a soon as Mel saw me, he came straight over. Hey, Mel, Where you been? Haven't seen you in a couple of days. Bend down at Main Side Pensacola messing with a damn shrink. Shrink. What the **** do you mean, a shrink? I mean a damn shrink. A nut doctor? What the **** for? You remember that air sickness ****? I had back it softly. Well, my instructor, Captain McAdams, never reported me because although I was throwing up in the air plane during the flight, it never stopped me from flying the aircraft. Of course, I always had to clean up the damn plane when we got back, which made me throw up even Mawr. But McNasty student's name for Captain McAdams never wrote me up for it. It didn't happen on the first two hops out here, but on the last couple, it's happened every time. And the instructors are supposed to report any incident like that. Captain Luci reported it. I got temporarily grounded and sent to main side for another flight physical. There wasn't anything physically wrong with me, so they sent me to this damn navy shrink. Wow. What the **** did he have to say? He said that as far as he was concerned, all this throwing up in an airplane was all in my head. And I had to eat es extra times and a recheck flight with a different instructor. If I threw up on any of these flights, I was out. Out? What do you mean, out? I mean oh, you ******* tea out of the flight program. And most likely on my way to Vietnam as an infantry officer. Holy ****. When is this supposed to happen? I get my two e. T s today and tomorrow with my regular instructor, and then I get my check right with your instructor. That's why I was talking to him. Because I don't wanna wait. I didn't see mill for the next couple of days, but saw his name on the flight schedule with Captain Luci. When I checked the flight scheduled for the next day Friday, I saw that I was scheduled for a check with Captain Luci, and Mel was scheduled to fly with my instructor, Captain Kingston. The hops were scheduled for mid morning, so it would be all over one way or the other. By noon Friday morning, we were seated at the same briefing table in the ready room with Captain Luci and Kingston. Captain Luci didn't have much to say. So our brief didn't take very long and we took off a good 15 minutes before Mill and Kingston. It was one of those chilly but crystal clear days in the Pensacola area and the ceiling and the visibility were unlimited. Initially, there might be a little bumpy, but it would be a great day for flying. I liked Captain Luci from the first time you spoke to me and was really ready for this hab. So far, in my very short flying career, I've had days when I really had toe work at making the aircraft do exactly what it was supposed to do. And then there were days when it felt like the aircraft was a part of me and I could make the aircraft slips seamlessly from one maneuver to the next. Shortly after takeoff. I knew it was going to be one of those days. I did every maneuver Captain Luci had briefed me to do in exactly that order. And he never said a word until after my last touch and go at the outlying field up in Bruton, Alabama, When he said, Good hop, Take me home. We were back on deck in the flight line shack siding off the aircraft maintenance report called the Yellow Sheet. When we saw Milan Captain Kingston taxi into a parking place. When they got out of the aircraft, Captain Kingston headed straight for the line shack and Mel headed for the squadron. Ready room. I really didn't know what this meant, but hoped it wasn't bad. I could tell Captain Lucci was taking his time because I was pretty sure he wanted to know how the hop went. As Captain Kingston entered the line check and started signing off his yellow sheet, I decided to step outside. But stay close enough that I could eavesdrop on any conversation. As soon as I stepped outside, I could hear Captain Luci start speaking to Captain Kingston. Well, Bill, how to Gibbs do Mike? He was one of the damndest things I've ever seen. What do you mean by that? Did he pass or not? Before I give you my answer, I want you to just listen. Take off, climb out and all the high work. We're fine. He did this. Spin stalls and aerobatics. No problem. Performed well on the high and low altitude emergencies I gave him. I told him to take us into the landing pattern at Bruton and put a couple approaches in the carrier box. His pattern entry and break in the overhead were perfect downwind. Perfect. As he came off the 1 80 of being position for landing. I thought I saw I'm retching. I said, Gibbs, are you getting sick? He simply shook his head and I kept watching him very closely. And I could clearly see him retching. I said, Gibbs, are you getting airsick? And again? He shook his head. I said, God damn it! Don't lie to me. I can see puke running out of the left side of your mouth. He shook his head again. I said, you better put them all in the damn carrier box or you're finished. That kid did five perfect touch and goes into the carrier box. And I told him to exit the landing pattern and head back here as soon as he got us out of the pattern and leveled off for the trip home. I took the aircraft. Now get this, Mike. I said, Lieutenant Gibbs, I just want to know how a guy with a mouthful of puke conf life I've perfect approaches. After slight pause, he says, Well, sir, I just kept swallowing the juice and put the big pieces off to the side. Uh huh. So, Mike, no matter what the rules are, I can't turn somebody and that wants to fly that bad. As far as I'm concerned, he passed with flying colors. I never told Mill. I overheard that conversation. And to my knowledge, he was never airsick again during flight school.