AM met Ralph in August of 1996 when AM was a 16-year-old sophomore in high school, and Ralph took him on his introductory flight lesson.
This was just the beginning, as AM would continue with his aviation goals, later becoming a flight instructor himself as well as a pilot (including captain) for several major US airlines.
When I once asked Ralph who some of his most memorable students were, AM was on the top of Ralph’s list. And Ralph was on the top of AM’s list too. AM shared: “I truly love Ralph and all he has done for me in my life.” And: “Hopefully we can live up to your grandparents’ examples and make them proud. I am so thankful for the man Ralph is and how devoted he was to Ella.”
Here’s a memorable experience from AM as a rookie pilot and Ralph as patient and compassionate instructor, in the face of an unexpected and unpleasant mess (or rather, an unexpected and unpleasant mess in their faces!) In AM’s words:
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As an early student Ralph always wanted me to push myself. … I remember flying out over the railroad tracks that follow interstate 80 towards Wendover, Nevada. Ralph decided we needed to practice "turns around a point," as the maneuver is called, so we found some good spots to turn to the left and turn to the right and repeated this for close to an hour. My body was not prepared for the back and forth and back and forth, but I knew Ralph was doing it for a reason.
Soon my stomach started "talking to me." I told Ralph I needed to level off and I wasn't feeling good. I decided to open the side window and just barf outside the airplane. This brought another lesson of physics to our flight about ambient air pressure and how barf won't simply go outside the aircraft in flight. In fact it spins around and hits you and your instructor (poor Ralph) in the face and makes a huge mess. I remember at the age of 16, in this moment, Ralph pleading with me, "Andy not outside, not outside!" I quickly shut the side window, found some paper towels, and we continued back to Salt Lake for the dreaded debrief.
I learned many things that day but most importantly, I learned my instructor had faith in me and a sense of love and compassion as he found a warm bucket of water and showed me how to clean the frozen barf off the side of the rented aircraft, as well as a good wipe down of the interior.
Ralph and I kept touch over the years as I made it to the Airlines. I started off at Pinnacle Airlines in Memphis, TN, then Skywest Airlines in Utah for 10 yrs where I served as a co-pilot and then captain after really 8 yrs of sitting in the right seat. The captain position is the goal of a pilot’s career—the absolute top. [He now flies for another major US airline.]
Over the years, I became an airline instructor and had truly come full circle as I had co-pilots get sick on me in flight and barf in the flight deck. I couldn't help but remember the love that was once shown to me years earlier when I was in this same position. I attribute Ralph's patience and love in many moments in my career and try to pay it forward.
I kept my CFI rating current over the years and would often call Ralph to get advice if I was teaching things correctly. He always had the answer and would love to chat about anything aviation.
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| “This is a picture of my very first logbook entry from Ralph. I now have over 13,500 hours of flight time and currently fly for [a major airline.]” |
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Source: From messages exchanged with AM on Facebook Messenger on 1 November 2020 and 23 November 2020.
