“I got back to the A-6 rag on the 12th of December, 1967,” Bob stated, a sense of relief and belonging hanging onto his words.
As a Landing Signal Officer (LSO), Bob instructed young pilots, communicating over the radio with them to ensure safe landings aboard the aircraft carrier. Understanding the intricacies of landing on a moving ship and the anxiety behind the difficult task, Bob walked them through the challenge.
“Depending on what the guy needed, a kick in the butt or a stroke on the back, you’re trying to get them to do what they need to do to bring them around. So you challenge them, tell them the truth, and encourage them to do something,” Bob explained. “I’m being very philosophical and I’m not sure if I’m making a whole lot of sense.”
At this point I understood that it wasn’t easy for Bob to explain his personal emotions within his intimate relationship with flying. Sensing him begin to back off, I continued for him.
“I think ‘challenge’ is definitely a word you use in terms of why you love flying,” I stated.
“Because it’s never the same,” he quickly jumped back in. “It’s always different. There is always something a little different in what is happening.”
“I like that,” Andrew chimed in. “How can we distill that down to something pithy? I like ‘challenges’ but why do you like the challenge? What’s a way to say that, but catchy?”
“It’s the reward of accomplishment,” Bob responded. “I just can’t explain it. I just love it. It never gets out of your blood. It’s something there that makes you feel good.”
Andrew continued to push the brainstorming session. He looked to his many sketches of planes he looked up on his computer while Bob had been talking. He began to ask Bob about the actual process of a plane landing on an aircraft carrier.
“You had a picture of coming in to land the plane and you said that you don’t aim at the deck you-“
“You aim it where the angle meets the straight and that’s called the ‘crotch,’” Bob said.
“Great. So… you aim at the crotch,” Andrew responded, smiling and shaking his head in disbelief.
Everyone in the room laughed.
“But you’re aiming for where the ship will be,” Andrew continued. “I like that as a metaphor for chasing a goal or challenge.”
“That’s the technique,” Bob verified.