Part 2 -My Soul is in the Sky

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

I’ve known since I was six years old that I wanted to be a pilot. Training in a civilian flight school will set you back an arm and a leg, but I took a gamble and chose the military as my way in. Don’t get me wrong, entering a military flight program will reduce the cost of paying for college and flight training, but in every branch of service you’re going to find it’s a highly competitive program. For one thing, all pilots are officers, so if you aren’t ready for the military structure, this isn’t the job path for you. Not to mention you have to serve in the military for ten to fifteen years. But the plus side, no student loans. And my military career qualified me for any flying job out there.

For me, it was the Navy. Mostly, that decision was because of the challenge and the fact that my grandfather was in the Navy, as were some of my Uncles. I had a legacy with the Navy, and the fact that only three in one thousand who apply to Annapolis make it to fighter pilot, yeah – I needed the challenge.

Anchors aweigh and all that, I loved it. But being a Navy pilot is for the young guys, and when it was time, I was ready. Once I got out I spent a few years with the commercials. Nothing wrong with them, you don’t take your work home with you, the pay and benefits are good, and my sister sure did like the family program. But the schedule was a little rough, since seniority rules when it comes to schedule.

Seniority. Yeah, seniority rules in the commercial airline biz.

Will you get the Captain’s seat? Absolutely, if you’re the most senior pilot, you’ll be the Captain.

Will you have Christmas off? No problem, unless someone with more seniority wants to be off for the holiday.

Will my schedule be flexible? Oh for sure, if you’re senior enough to get the scheduling preferences.

In terms of number of flights completed and the most flight time I had more seniority than a lot of guys; most of us who came from the military had more flight time, but the commercials, they base seniority on the time with the airline, and they mean their airline. That’s why most commercial pilots don’t job hop.

Then of course, we all had the benefit of free travel and seeing the world. Still, there seemed to be something missing when I worked for the big commercial outfits. It made me wish I’d hung on a little longer in the military.

Then, a friend of a friend of a friend, met me one long weekend when I was off for a few days. He was a pilot, although he was only part-time. He would fill in from time to time when a corporate pilot took vacation, or added a First Officer for a special trip. He worked through an agency, and loved it. Because his assignments varied from company to company, he’d get a pretty good feel for who was hiring. He told me about the opening at Wheeler International and suggested I apply. He even gave me the name of the person there at the company to contact.

It turned out to be the best thing to happen in my career since I left the military. Once I made the change to being a corporate pilot, I really loved the job, and I had a lot of respect for my boss, and his wife. Both of the Wheelers are awesome. They treated me like a professional from the beginning.

I started working for Wheeler International before Matthew Wheeler bought that place out in Westchester County. Let me tell you, I was a fan of that move from the beginning. Now that’s the sort of place you want to fly in and out of, where you can stay out of the madness that is the big city of New York. It made my life easier in an instant.

Once I made the leap to being a private pilot, I started to see more of the smaller airports. Private jets often use smaller airports, so I was able to see more locations than your average commercial pilot. Once we landed, my time was my own until Mr. Wheeler was ready to go again.

Of course, Mr. Wheeler is a great boss.

Not only did he pay me for all my time, not just the flight time, he never cared what I did when I was waiting on him. That gave me time to explore various locations, and try local cuisine.

By the way, it’s true what they say about the pilot and the co-pilot not eating the same food –they never do. Of course that could mean a negotiation over who’s having tacos and who’s having chicken and rice, but I like to think I’m a fair guy. Still, I rarely had a First Officer on the plane. The Wheeler International plane didn’t require two pilots. It carried standard seating for seven people, eight in a pinch and nine if someone sat in the co-pilot seat. More than nine would require a co-pilot. There are some other rules that come into it, and from time to time, there would be a co-pilot, but for the most part, it was just me. Many times it was just me and Matt Wheeler.

Sometimes I think that’s why the guy is so successful. He doesn’t have an entourage accompany him on business trips. I’ll never forget my job interview with him. I met with some corporate weenies first, of course, but everyone was upfront that the final decision would be made by Matthew Wheeler. I’m fairly sure it was the interview that got me the job. He asked me typical questions, how I liked to handle things, etc. Would I object to staying overnight, was there a limit on how many nights, etc. When we got to the end he asked me one of those trick interview questions. You know, the ones they tell you to have something prepared when it’s asked. He turned his head to one side, looked me right in the eye before asking.

“Mr. Murphy, is there anything that I asked you in this interview that you didn’t expect?”

“No sir,” I answered immediately with a smile. Naturally, my years in the military taught me to be prepared, and I was completely prepared.

“Very good. Was there anything I didn’t ask you during this interview that you expected me to ask?”

“Yes, sir, there was.” I gave him a tentative smile.

That seemed to surprise him. “Oh, what was that?”

“You didn’t ask me how many times I took off last year, Mr. Wheeler.”

He frowned. “You think that’s important?”

“Yes, sir, I think it’s very important. It’s also important to know how many times I landed. If those numbers aren’t the same …” I gave him another smile. He didn’t say anything, so I continued.

“My record is perfect, Mr. Wheeler. At least in actual flights. I’m not going to tell you it was perfect on the flight simulators, but that’s what training is for, to prepare you for the real thing. Throughout my career, both commercial and military, my flight record is strong. Safety is, and always will be, number one.”

“Hmmm….” He studied me more carefully. “Safety is number one. Not the job, huh?”

“That’s right, sir. If I don’t think it’s safe to take off in your plane, sir, I’m not going to take off. You can fire me later if you disagree but there is nothing more critical in flying that the human life. I will not jeopardize your life to get you somewhere by a certain time. More importantly, I won’t jeopardize mine. If you want a pilot that will defer to what you want because you’re going to miss a dinner, be late for a meeting, or some event, then you don’t want to hire me.” I paused just a moment, and in case he was getting the wrong idea I added some more. “Don’t get me wrong, sir. I’ll be on time. Weather and plane mechanics permitting, you’ll be delivered on time to your destination. But I will be checking the plane and I will be checking the weather.”

He nodded, stood and shook my hand. “Two things, Mr. Murphy, two things.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“First, if you’re going to work for me as my pilot, I’m gonna need you to drop the “sir”. I’m not your commanding officer. It’s Matt, if you don’t mind.”

“What’s the second thing?”

“Do you want to be called Captain or Bob, or something else?”

I laughed. “Bob will do just fine.”

And from that moment on, we had a certain trust between us. Later, after the man moved to that little town in Westchester County, he had me fly him places a few times without filing a flight plan. That’s totally on the up and up, by the way, provided you’ve met all the conditions. Which of course, I made sure we were good. But I could tell something was up with those trips. I didn’t ask and he didn’t tell. After all, I’ve served in the military, so I know how to keep my lips zipped. But those flights were curious. Damned curious.