Previously Held AFSC/MOS 27250A-Air Traffic Control Operator
27270-Air Traffic Control Technician
Service Years
1960 - 1980
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
What are you doing now:
My wife and I are both retired and travel a lot- mainly throughout the Southwestern USA. We both enjoy photography and music.
Other Comments:
After retiring from American Airlines in 1995, I worked as office manager for friends who owned 3 Port of Subs sandwich shops. Then I helped out another friend as office manager of Casino Gaming School. When the Las Vegas Gladiators came to town, I worked for them as Operations Manager. Great people to work with and a fun job!!! I also worked several years at House of Blues as a production runner. It was a lot of fun until they, because of insurance requirements, required the performers to use taxi or limo transportation. When I could no longer transport them in my vehicle, I bailed.
England AFB, Louisiana. Used for training the Vietnamese.
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A-37 Dragonfly Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly was born out of a need for close-support aircraft to assist in the Vietnam War. As such, the T-37 jet trainer was converted for the role and became the A-37 series of aircraft. The system would go on to see usage in that conflict and make its way into the inventories of other nations around the globe but in particular, throughout South America.
The A-37 differed from its training counterpart in that the Dragonfly was could field a variety of munitions on eight underwing hardpoints. Additionally, the crew of pilot and trainer was scaled down to a single pilot and increasingly powerful General Electric engines were used. The A-37A was the first of the Dragonfly series fielded and were bascially converted T-33 trainers with wintip fuel tanks and better engines. The A-37B model version featured larger fuel tanks, an inflight refuling probe for extended loitering time and a reinforced internal structure to combat the rigors of low-level combat. A Forward Air Control variant existed as the OA-37B.
Standard armament for the Dragonfly consisted of a six-barrel minigun. The underwing hardpoints could mount a variety of air-dropped munitions in the form of bombs. Additionally, the Dragonfly could engage ground targets with forward-firing high-explosive rockets and / or gunpods.
