A day in the life, part 7 - Texas American Flight Academy

Ever since i was 7 years old I always wanted to be a pilot. It started when my family took our first flight to Orlando. It was a night flight and everything about that flight was awesome. My dad brought me to the airport so I could do one of those 20 minute scenic flights from our hometown airport and I was hooked. When I was 17 I took all the money I had and trained for my private pilots license, getting it when I was 18. In 1991, at the age of 19 I decided that flying was going to be my career choice but I needed to get more advanced ratings and I needed them fast. I decided to go to an accelerated flight school where I could receive all my training in about 6-9 months. I looked at three different schools, one in North Carolina, on in Tennessee, and one in Ennis Texas.
Ennis is a small town about 45 miles southeast of Dallas. When I moved there, I lived in a condo that was leased by the school. I already had a couple of things not going for me when I arrived. First off I was 19 and married and my wife at that time was in school in Massachusetts and could not go with me. Second, all I had with me for transportation was my bike because I could not afford a car out there. Third was my new roommate-Drew.
Drew was the opposite of me, outgoing, a party kind of guy that loved skydiving and nude sunbathing. He owned a white cockatoo that was loud and, well just really loud. Drew was also something of the ladies man. I remember one night he was running to the liquor store even tough he was waiting for two girls to arrive at our condo. He told me he would only be a couple of minutes but if the girls arrived to just keep then company. Of course they show up before he gets back. When they knocked on the door, I open it and find two blonde's standing in the doorway in jackets and lingerie. I knew how Drew wanted me to keep them company, after all I was 19, but I was also married. Drew was back shortly and took over where I could not. The next few hours I could hear all the fun through my bedroom wall.

In the 9 months I lived in Texas I made some great friends, though I do not have any contact with any of them now and I surely miss that. Rob Johnson was my flight instructor, a guy from Ct whose father was an American Airlines pilot. Rob was everything I wanted to be, a great pilot, a funny guy, all on his own with a goal in life. Bianca Entermann was a girl from California whose father worked for Boeing if I remember correctly. She brought her horse from California to Texas with her. She was a good pilot, she was also a good friend. She left TX for a couple of weeks and let me use her car because I did not have one. She also turned me onto The Cure, I listen to that music over and over. Bianca was involved in a gear up landing and she was not injured in the crash but I was very upset when i heard about it. At the time I did not know if she was hurt or not but she made out fine. Keith Keegan was another guy who was probably one of the best pilots I ever flew with. It's ironic that in all the years that I have been flying, I came close to crashing twice and both times were with Keith. Neither one was his fault, just happen that way. Keith was the person that everyone knew was on to bigger things in life. I heard he was involved in a DUI stop after graduation and we didn't think any airline would pick him up after that. I don't know what happen or where Keith is now. Connie Gust was a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines that wanted to be a pilot. I think she was Minnesota. She would spend a lot of time with me studying or just talking about flying and she was a good study partner. There were a few other guys as well, Greg, Pat, Jim, all guys that were very close to me then but gone now. Greg was the Vodka and orange juice guy. He would always have a bottle of vodka in the freezer for when we all gathered around the pool area to relax after school. He was also something of a practical joker. Once I was held up at a railroad crossing on the main street in town. There were two girls in the car next to me and one of them threw her underpants in my car and told me she was going to a party and I had to bring those back to her. Being married put a stop to that invitation. Anyway a couple of weeks later when my wife came out to visit, Greg came in to the classroom with a pair of womans panties and threw them at me and said that girl wanted them back. My wife was sitting right there with me and didn't think the joke was funny. At the time i didn't either but I do now.

When we left school we took down everyone's name and address and said we would write. I did a few times but after a while people stopped and I did as well.

Being in Texas was both the best and worst time in my life for so many reasons. It was the first time I was on my own but I really wasn't being married so all the fun things that most late teens are doing I was not able to. I loved Texas and wanted to move there, sometimes I still do. Dallas was a great city, I saw Van Halen play a free concert there once. I had great friends and I regret not having contact with them still. There were so many great times in that 9 months from sand volleyball games to skinny dipping in the pool, Al the flying I did, all the times I just hung out with other people in the Texas night time looking at big sunsets, talking about flying and where we were all going to be in life someday.

I know I am not in the same place I thought I would be and that is OK because the place I am at is great. I wonder if anyone else in that group of us feels the same way.