|
|
| | I met Doc Baldwin when I drove the fuel truck over the grass in front
of his hangar right after a big rain, and he got on my case for it. I
backed the truck up a little and then fueled his Extra 300L, all the
while asking him non-stop, rapid fire questions about the plane and
aerobatics. Eventually, I more or less told him I would saw my own leg
off for a ride, and he told me I could have one if I'd wash and wax the
underside of the plane. So I did.
And then we went up in the Extra, and I had the TIME OF MY LIFE doing
all kinds of loops and rolls and spins and crazy tumbling maneuvers. We
pulled 5 Gs and 2.5 negative Gs, and I discovered that my absolute
favorite landscape view of the Earth is when the sky is below the
ground.
So then it became a regular thing-- I would wash and wax the Extra
after an airshow when the smoke oil had caked itself all over the belly
of the plane, and he would take me up and teach me aerobatics. I got to
do my own rolls, loops, Cuban 8's, low passes, and spins, and then he
would take the controls and go absolutely WILD. Inverted low passes,
tail slides, lomcevaks (my favorite), hammerheads, and pretty much
anything you could even think to do with an airplane and then some. I
loved every second of it.
Doc also introduced me to the T-6 guys, a group of pilots who fly old
T-6 Texans around in formation to airshows, and I got a few amazing
rides in those airplanes. One time they took me with them to
Bartlesville's fly in and turned me loose to wander around looking at
all the planes on the field. Doc introduced me to Tex Hill, one of the
last Flying Tigers alive, and I bought his book and had him and his
wife autograph it for me. Then Doc let me fly his T-6 (yeah, he had one
of those, too) back to Tulsa, and we jumped in the Extra to go do some
stunts.
So I guess it's a little weird now that he's gone. He was one of those
guys who knew everyone, and everyone loved him. Every time I was at his
hangar, his family and five or so friends were always sitting around in
lawn chairs drinking coke and talking about flying. I can only imagine
what they're going through over there in Tulsa.
He died in the Extra two days ago at an airshow in Tucumcari, NM doing
what he loved. Everyone has been pretty vague about it so far, and I
guess they will be until the NTSB report comes out, but he was coming
out of a square loop when he lost control and hit the ground. My guess
is an accelerated stall. I think we all took the news pretty hard, and
seeing the wreckage on the news that night certainly didn't help.
So, Doc, we'll miss you. You truly were a one-of-kind guy. A doctor, a
pilot, a husband, father, flight instructor, friend to all, and a hell
of a role model, and you made flying mean that much more to me. Not to
mention I have without a doubt the most awesome facebook profile pic
ever because of you.
I'm going to keep flying down here, aerobatically someday, and maybe
I'll have as many ratings and hours as you, and maybe I'll have my own
Extra. We had some good times, and it sounds really cliche, but I'll
never forget them, ever. And I won't forget Isaiah 40:31 either. You
always did have "wings as eagles" just like your tail said, and now you
can really soar with them because as Jeremy put it, you don't need an
airplane to fly anymore. | | | Posted 10/10/2006 4:29 PM - 1 view - 4 comments
- recommend
  - recs0
- give stars
- votes0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
|
