GoldPilots.com/ThereIWas
Today is Sunday - February 5, 2012
Mr. Malet
As I was learning to fly helicopters in the Army's flight school, I had several instructor pilots, and I learned something from all of them. Yet, the one IP that I recall most often, and always with special fondness, is Mr. Malet.
Mr. Malet was a civilian instructor pilot in the Huey transition phase of flight training at Ft. Rucker, Alabama. That was the part of flight school where we Army helicopter student pilots were introduced to the UH-1 “Huey”. Prior to that, all of our flight instruction had been in vintage Army helicopters left over from the Korean War or ones specifically made for training. The Huey, however, was a part of the Army’s current combat fleet and it was the helicopter that most Army aviators flew after they had earned their wings.
I entered the Huey transition phase of flight school in a state of disbelief. I couldn't believe I had made it that far. Contrary to the opinion I had about my aptitude for flying before I actually attempted to fly anything, my experience in flight school had knocked the notion from my mind that I had some natural talent for this profession. The evidence and the testimony were conclusive. In addition to the evidence of my own first-hand experience testifying to the difficulty I had getting a helicopter to do what I wanted, several of my IPs shared with me their opinion of my ineptness in grasping the skills of flying a helicopter. Therefore, based upon the evidence and opinions of expert witnesses, I was convicted in my mind, and beyond any reasonable doubt, that the only reason why I kept passing from one phase of flight training to the next was because each IP feared that if he flunked me, I might be recycled through the phase and he would get me again. Now, there I was, starting the Huey transition phase and nearing the end of flight school. I wondered, how long was the Army going to let me get away with this?
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