Flight Engineers, reciprocating engines, turbo-prop

[b29flteng]

Any good engineer stories out there? Military or civilian? I've flown for 13 years as an FE on C-130s and was current, along with Gary Austin on the CAFs B-29 FIFI. Gary was the best student I've ever had as an instructor, military or civilian.

[T33driver]

When I was a brand new C-130 copilot in the early 90s, one of the first FEs I met was an unforgettable character--the late Paul Hill. Pauly was a chearful, blunt, highly competent red-faced little guy with stark, white hair. He favored gin as his beverage of choice. He had more stories on his 40+ years of Air Force flying starting when he was a B-29 gunner in the early 1950s. He went on to be an FE in many aircraft including B-50s, KC-97s, C-121s, C-119s, KC-135s and C-130s and logged over 10,000 hours of flying time. I may have missed a few aircraft types but those are the ones I remember. Pauly was a real pro and taught me a lot about the Herc and how to survive the rigors of a long TDY, to work hard, play harder and the finer points of staying out of the trouble and out of the commander's office. He was buried in his flight suit with a bottle of gin and his wife and girlfriend in attendance at the funeral. What a character...Mickey Rooney would have played him in an old movie!

[airnutz]

T33Driver wrote,

He was buried in his flight suit with a bottle of gin and his wife and girlfriend in attendance at the funeral

Well now, there's a Gent who played his cards well to the edge..what was his gin? Long may you run Paul...

[retroaviation]

Gary was the best student I've ever had as an instructor, military or civilian.

Thanks for the kind words, John. It's certainly appreciated.

I have a funny story about when I was in the F.E. position in FIFI when we were coming to Midland from Chattanooga, back in 2004, but it's kind of long and wordy (aren't allllll of my stories that way). I don't know if I should post it here or not.

Gary

[krlang]

A friend of mine had his piston flight engineers cert. I think that was the only rating he had. He was a manager at a speedy muffler I used to deliver parts to. I have not seen him in years.

I keep saying that would be better than a private pilot cert for me and I need to get one as a conversation piece.

Hmmm, another project?

[b29flteng]

During "Desert Storm" we put a crew together from the TX, TN, and MO ANG, everyone on the crew had over 10,000 hrs. military flight time, a lot of it in old recips. Thats a pretty remarkable amount of time for military flying. All of my FE instructors in the TX ANG had over 10,000 hrs. most of it in KC-97s.

When I got my certificate I had the FAA giving an examiner, giving my examiner a check ride, giving me an exam! Figure that one out!

[T33driver]

T33Driver wrote,

He was buried in his flight suit with a bottle of gin and his wife and girlfriend in attendance at the funeral

Well now, there's a Gent who played his cards well to the edge..what was his gin? Long may you run Paul...

I think his favorite gin was the one he was drinking at the time. I'm glad I got to crew a Herc with guys like Pauly Hill from another era. Looking back, he and a handful of other old timers I flew with were a glimpse into the old USAF. God rest his soul.

[tom d. friedman]

t33, your friend sounds like he was a colorful, piss & vinegar filled type of guy who loved his job because he loved his country. i'll bet he had a backbone made of steel, & character harder than steel. no doubt he is sorely missed by you. god bless him.

[b29flteng]

My first C-130 trip as a crew chief ( I was an Airman "two" strip) was to Lajes, the FE was an old head C-97 type. We lost a generator on final to Lajes, and so I figured that will keep me up all night working! NOT! The FE said to change clothes and follow him. We went "downtown" to Pria? and had a meal and then went to a local bar that just served wine. We just pointed to bottles and the owner sent them over. What a great time! We got back to the base, changed back into our uniforms and went out to "pad" the generator in the rain at 0100. We finished about 0300 and the FE said lets go to the NCO club! Back then it was open 24 hours, and we watched the sunrise drinking beer and bloody marys! We went to our rooms to shower and to check out as we had a 0900 takeoff back to the states! I slept most of the way but that "old head" FE managed to make it all the way through, I guess about 30 some hours... I don't know how they did it.

[Tom Swindle]

John, drove by the house a couple of weeks ago, and it look great. Great post. I love the stories. Sorry that I dont get by more often. Let me hear from you.
Tom. aka:Ghost