Takeoff : Career Adventures in General Aviation and the FAA

by Hull, John R.

• ISBN13: 9780738813790
• ISBN10: 0738813796
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-01
• Publisher: Xlibris Corp

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 13
Preface	p. 15
General Aviation Industry
The Preflight Years
What Do You Want to Be?	p. 23
The Roots of My Raising Run Deep	p. 27
From Agony to Ecstasy on My First Airplane Ride	p. 31
"You'll Never Be a Pilot"	p. 34
The Pretty Party Crasher	p. 37
School Daze	p. 41
The War Years
Civil Air Patrol Coast Patrol Duty	p. 47
Regaining Respect at Coastal Patrol Base #21	p. 52
I Join the Marines by Mistake	p. 57
Surviving Boot Camp at Parris Island	p. 61
Tragedy and Heartbreak at Cherry Point	p. 65
The Fatal Switch	p. 70
Finding My Niche in Marine Aviation	p. 75
Tarawa--My First Taste of War	p. 78
Night Fighter Action in the Marshall Islands	p. 84
Mopping up on Saipan	p. 89
I Almost Miss the Boat	p. 93
Back Home in the Good Old U.S.A.	p. 97
Marriage was Far from My Mind	p. 101
Thrills and Chills on My First Solo Flight	p. 105
I Learn to Fly Right	p. 110
They Almost Ship Me Out Again	p. 115
The Training Years
On-The-Job Training	p. 121
I Finally Become a Private Pilot	p. 126
We Take a Second Honeymoon in a J-3 Cub	p. 129
Iron Thumb Barretta	p. 131
Exciting But Insecure Work	p. 133
Three Strikes and I'm Out	p. 138
Mechanic School--a Big Tough Decision	p. 143
Cal Aero Technical Institute	p. 148
Looking for Work	p. 154
"You Can't Fly, You're Color-Blind"	p. 158
A Fast Track to a Commercial Pilot License	p. 163
A Home of Our Own	p. 168
An Airplane Becomes a Part of Me	p. 171
The Professional Pilot/Mechanic Years
Any Old Port in a Thunderstorm	p. 177
The Piper Pacer Wing Ding	p. 180
A Pilot's Most Embarrassing Moment	p. 183
The Pressure Pot	p. 185
Walking in High Cotton	p. 190
Helpful Influences	p. 194
The Wrestler	p. 198
My Transition from Airplanes to Automobiles	p. 202
"Where Are We?"	p. 206
We Called Him Steve	p. 210
The Phantom Runway	p. 214
Back Seat Airplane Driver	p. 218
The Clipped Tip Propeller	p. 222
Why I Quit Scud Running	p. 226
Caught in Violation	p. 233
From Norfolk to Amarillo with a Lunatic	p. 237
My Most Unforgettable Flight	p. 242
We Got a Bonus Instead of a Boy	p. 249
The Mexican Connection	p. 253
Just Turn it Loose	p. 259
Bill Piper's Tree Top Encounter	p. 263
Fixed Base Operator
Hull Aircraft Service	p. 267
Light Twin Airplanes Take Heavy Toll	p. 272
"I'll Show Him"	p. 277
What Do You Mean, "Totaled?"	p. 282
Foolhardy Ferry Flight	p. 287
Stretching Fuel to the Max	p. 291
From Hard Times to Good Times	p. 296
I Bought a Piper "Pig in a Poke"	p. 300
Within an Inch of a Gear Up Landing	p. 304
Uptight Ferry Flight	p. 308
Why I Went to Work for the FAA	p. 312
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA General Aviation Inspector
Tough Beginning of a New Career	p. 319
Prince of Chiefs	p. 325
Close Encounters of the Jump Zone Kind	p. 330
My First Enforcement Case	p. 333
Personality Clashes	p. 338
"I Suddenly Forgot How to Fly"	p. 343
The Fall of Trans-Air Lines	p. 347
The Church Takes Priority	p. 351
The Smoking Battle	p. 357
A Tale of Two Mysteries	p. 362
The Ultimatum	p. 367
FAA Academy Instructor and Course Developer
Me? ... Teaching College Courses?	p. 375
Blackout	p. 379
My Last First Solo Flight	p. 383
"Study to Show Yourself Approved"	p. 388
Cheated by the Suggestion Awards Program	p. 393
Right on Was Dead Wrong	p. 398
Can't Fly When You Want? ... Fly When You Can	p. 402
The Tables Turn	p. 407
Leaving Was Such Sweet Sorrow	p. 411
FAA Regional Office Aviation Specialist
Welcome to California	p. 417
Write Your Own Ticket	p. 421
Solving Compliance and Enforcement Problems	p. 425
Swap--A Most Controversial Program	p. 431
Simplifying Systems Analysis	p. 436
Living in Pasadena Was a Moving Experience	p. 442
Plane Sense Aircraft Alterations	p. 447
Clarifying Aircraft Maintenance Responsibilities	p. 452
Violation Prevention Program Perishes	p. 457
Persistent Problems with Noncompliance	p. 461
Wrapping Up and Moving on	p. 466
Ontario General Aviation District Office Chief
Problems of a New Gado Chief	p. 473
Stressing an Old Friendship to the Limits	p. 478
Three Unforgettable Ontario Flights	p. 484
From Affluence to Effluence to Paradise	p. 488
San Diego General Aviation District Office Chief
Welcome to America's Finest City	p. 493
Winners Again in Spite of Tragedy	p. 498
The Mystery Airplane of the PSA 182 Crash	p. 503
The Flight of the Terrible Typewriter Tiff	p. 507
Too Much Work and Too Few Workers	p. 511
The Agony of the Spiritual Quest	p. 516
Lost Weekend	p. 522
The Hull Report	p. 527
My Happiest Day in the FAA	p. 533
San Diego Flight Standards District Office Manager
Caught in a Reorganization Dilemma	p. 539
Grounded	p. 543
The Anonymous Whistle Blower	p. 547
Who's in Charge?	p. 551
What Makes a Good Supervisor?	p. 555
Multiple Awards for America's Finest FSDO	p. 559
An Old Pilot's Nightmare	p. 563
Best Way to Beat Burnout	p. 567
Organizational Turmoil	p. 572
Bamboozled into Retiring?	p. 575
The Postflight Years
Blackballed	p. 585
Post Retirement Reflections	p. 590
I Find a New Aviation Career	p. 595
Appendix
Appendix A.	p. 601
Appendix B.	p. 603
Appendix C.	p. 606
Appendix D.	p. 608
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.