Final Approach
by Captain Wayne (Rusty) Baker
“I’ve had a ball. “
Charles 'Chuck' Yeager
"With an aviation career there are two bad things that can happen to you and one of them certainly will:
One day you will walk out to your plane knowing it will be your last flight.
Or,
One day you will walk out to your plane not knowing it will be your last flight.”
It was well past midnight. We were just east of St. Louis, beginning our descent into the Greater Cincinnati International Airport. “Ready for the approach briefing?” the First Officer asked.
I nodded. This was it. I would be landing the Boeing 767 for the last time, taking an early retirement at the young age of 56. But I knew it was time.
I began flying at age 19. I loved flying. It gave me a great sense of pride to say I was a pilot.
Someone once said that you begin your flying career with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience. The goal is to fill your bag of experience before you empty your bag of luck. I’d pushed my luck too many times over the years.
Of course, I made a lot of amateurish mistakes early on, like everyone does. I pushed too hard in weather,. I’m not proud to say it, but more than once I took foolish risks just to get the job done.
There’s an expression in aviation that summed up my flying career. “There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots. But there are NO old, bold pilots.” I was bold, back in those days, young and cocky.
Now, older and much more cautious, I was a Captain with ABX Air. It was a good life, once you adjusted to the weird hours of a night freight pilot.
Through the years, I accumulated a lot of knowledge, experience, and judgment. I knew my limitations. No longer bold, I was feeling old beyond my years.
“Approach briefing?” The First Officer prompted me again.
I turned to him and said with a grin, “Hang on Goose. We’re gonna buzz the tower!”
His eyes widened. “You’re gonna do what?!!!”
I laughed, then proceeded to brief the approach for real. Initial approach altitude, touchdown zone elevation, approach speeds and missed approach procedure. We would be landing to the east on a snow-packed runway with a quartering crosswind from the left. I wanted to make it a good one.
We cleared the runway, taxied to the ramp and shut down the engines. I took a moment in the cockpit, capturing the images of the instruments, the overhead panel, the ramp through the cockpit window. I wanted to linger, just a while. But the crew van was pulling up to the airplane. It was time to go.
A short ride our crew lounge, a call to debrief the flight, and then my final act, turning in my company manuals to the chief pilot on duty. I wanted to tell him I changed my mind. I wanted to stay a few more years. But, like I said, it was time. I said goodbye to a few friends I would never see again, turned in my ID badge, and next thing I knew I was driving home to Florida. I was now a retiree. A new chapter in my life was about to begin.
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