Flight lesson – take a camera

Flying to Texas Saturday morning with Bill, a little excitement at 9,000 feet interrupted our normally dull flight. The headset conversation with ground control went something like this.

Ground Control: N Eight Zero Yankee, do you have a camera?

Bill: No sir, I don’t.

Control: You’re going to regret it.

Bill: What have you got, over?

Control: F-15 Eagle coming your way in 6 minutes.

Plane 2: I have a camera.

Control: Sorry, you’re too far away.

Control: Eleven o’clock in two and a half minutes. Just above you. I’d appreciate if you didn’t shoot ‘em down.

Bill: Hear you. Looking but don’t see a thing.

Control: You’re a little faster than I thought. There’s six F-15’s a little behind to your left.

Bill: Yeah! I see four in formation – not six. Roger.

Plane 2: It’s Air Force. Two probably got lost.

Control: You probably didn’t hear but an F15 commented “Radar Contact.”

Bill: Took your advice and didn’t shoot.

Control: Appreciate that. And it was four, not six.

Bill: Glad to help any time, over.

And of course, I don’t have any pictures to show that the F-15’s really passed by!