THE LAST FLIGHT PLAN,

I went back to Combs and Rocky Mountain Aviation after dusting in Georgia, got married, and one day I was approached on the ramp at Combs by Dick Kaiser. He was the Chief Pilot for Utex Exploration Co., the big uranium mining company in Moab, Utah. This was owned by Charles A. Steen, the first of the big strike uranium millionaires. It seemed that they needed a good mountain and desert qualified pilot. They hadn’t been able to find one, so, being desperate, they took me instead.

Actually, I was very lucky. Dick Kaiser knew several pilots in Denver, based at Stapleton. He was in Denver on a trip, and he asked four of his pilot buddies if they knew of any good mountain pilots looking for a job. I have to say luck has always played a big part in my life, starting right here. All four of them suggested that he contact me at Combs. He walked up to me on the ramp, we talked awhile, and I had a job. They were going to pay me $500 a month, and rent me a company house in Moab for $50 a month! It was like winning the lottery!

My assignment was to fly the Piper PA-23 “Apache” 4 seat light twin; the Cessna 310 light twin with 5 seats; the Cessna 180 single engine 4 place (when we needed to get into desert strips or small, rough runway airports), and to fly co-pilot on the large,12 seat, twin engine Lockheed L-18 Lodestar, when needed. Later, we added the Twin Beech D-18S, which I also flew.

I even got to help clean these aircraft, fuel them, and assist our mechanic if he needed an extra set of hands to get black and greasy. Wow! No wonder they were paying me so much.