My Buddy IP
Author: Bobo
Upon return from PIT, I was assigned to “O” Flight. Capt. Andy J. was our Flight Commander at the time, a great guy! Andy was a prior navigator who came back as an IP after pilot training. We had several of those guys in our squadron at the time and, for the most part, they all seemed to have their heads screwed on right.’ Andy did, and was a great Flight Commander and friend.
For the first 6 months, new IPs fresh from PIT were assigned a ‘Buddy IP’ to help‘learn the ropes.’ Capt. Jay B., our Assistant Flight Commander, became my Buddy IP, and I couldn’t have asked for a better one. Jay was so thorough that at times I thought he was a pain in the ass! He would sit for hours to ensure I understood the intricacies of a particular maneuver. I remember once spending 2 hours discussing a T-38 single-engine pattern, from the loss of the engine on takeoff to recovery. The actual maneuver takes maybe 12 to 15 minutes. But when we finished our discussion, there wasn’t anything that I didn’t know about T-38 single-engine patterns!
Jay wasn’t ever afraid to share his ‘learning experiences’ with me, his ’screw-ups’ if you will. Once on a low-level mission, the speed brakes were inadvertently opened. The T-38 speed brake system could be operated from either cockpit. When operated from the rear cockpit, you had to ensure that the person in the front cockpit cycled the speed brake switch from the Up position to the Neutral position, then back to Up to confirm it was up and locked. Apparently, Jay had used the speed brakes very early in the mission and somehow neglected to have the student recycle them. (Or the student didn’t do it upon Jay’s command).
It was during the summer, and they were flying over Western Oklahoma at 5,000 feet! (This was ATC’s idea of a “low level” at that time. Hell, you could get hypoxia at that altitude! ) At any rate, Jay began to notice the fuel decreasing with each fuel check. First 100 pounds low, then 200 pounds short, and so forth. By the time they got to the furthest point away from the field, they were really low on fuel, to the point where they were ‘really low’ on fuel!
Trying to figure out why the higher-than-planned fuel burn, Jay had the student check the speed brakes - “Clunk,” they sounded as they retracted! Okay, now that made sense. Even at 5,000 feet, in western Oklahoma in the summer, with the thermals rising from the ground, it would have been difficult to detect ‘sagging’ speed brakes. So Jay immediately turned back towards Vance and initiated a climb to about 40,000 feet, declaring an Emergency. Once he got to his planned altitude, he retarded the throttles to idle for the descent into Vance. He didn’t have the gas to fly a normal pattern, so he flew to a base turn and landed. I don’t know what his actual fuel remaining was when he shut down, but it was less than 400 pounds!
Unfortunately, “the System” didn’t take kindly to Jay’s mistake, and he was hammered on his next OER (Officer Efficiency Report); actually, on his next 2 OERs! This, in turn, led to Jay being RIFed (reduced in force) shortly after I met him. Jay subsequently contested his second OER and won! He did get out of the Air Force, however, but later retired as a Colonel in the reserves.
I can not tell you how many times Jay’s words came back to me during my T-38 career. I will always be grateful for having Jay as my buddy IP, and my Friend.