http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/morgan ... &fhid=7724http://www.hickoryaviationmuseum.org/pa ... ance.shtmlI met Doc at Sun N Fun in 2002. He was instrumental in arranging a flight in Hank Avery's EA-1E for a dear friend who had flown USAF Skyraiders in Vietnam. My friend had said on a number of occasions, "If I could just fly that thing one more time ...". I appealed to Doc and the eventual deal he was able to offer was, "You buy the gas, give Hank a bottle of Scotch, and pay our mechanic for his time". I also presented Doc a bottle of wine from a recent trip to Germany. What a deal!
The flight was initially disappointing because Doc said we wouldn't be doing any aerobatics in order to save the instrument gyros. Then he mentioned that he wouldn't be able to let my friend fly in the pattern, either. We were still so happy to be there, but I was afraid this wasn't meeting my buddy's expectations.
The flight was a blast. Doc knew that I really wanted some stick time and motioned me to squeeze my shoulders in between the pilot seats and take the stick. I wagged the wings and logged my 6 seconds of time. At the end, Doc brought that beautiful A-1 in, smooth as silk. The canopies came back, we taxied clear, and then I noticed we'd missed the turnoff for the parking ramp. We continued back to the end of the runway, the canopies closed, and we blasted off again. I was puzzled until I realized my buddy was flying! The A-1 glided around the pattern and touched down every bit as nice as Doc had done; it was his first A-1 landing since 1969. This time, we taxied in and shut down. Everyone climbed out but Doc and my buddy. They sat and talked, hands waving as only fighter pilots can do. I snapped a few photos and kept a distance; I didn't want their moment to end. Later on, I thanked Doc for letting my buddy fly. He put his arm around me and said, "There was a second there ... but he did great!". Big smiles all around.
Thanks for your generosity, Doc. It was a pleasure meeting you, I'm better for having known you.
Blue skies & tailwinds,
Ken
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