40 min listen
RFT 601: Marine/Airline Pilot Tom Speer
FromReady For Takeoff - Turn Your Aviation Passion Into A Career
RFT 601: Marine/Airline Pilot Tom Speer
FromReady For Takeoff - Turn Your Aviation Passion Into A Career
ratings:
Length:
91 minutes
Released:
May 22, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
During the Vietnam War, with two years of college, Tom Speer was facing the draft. Out of curiosity, he visited a Marine recruiter and saw a photo of an F-4 and was hooked. The recruiter sent him to take numerous tests - which he aced - and he signed up to be a Marine Aviation Cadet. He had a bit of incentive when he received his draft notice! Tom attended Navy/Marine flight training and was selected to fly jets. He was dogged in his pursuit of flying the F-4, turning down other jet offers until he prevailed. After F-4 training he was sent to Chu Lai, South Vietnam for his combat tour. Returning from Vietnam he finished college and flew F-8s in the Marine Reserves, retiring as a Colonel. At the same time, he flew for Eastern, and honored the strike. Following Eastern, he was hired by United Airlines, and was selected to manage the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) project, flying 747s at high altitude for NASA scientific research. Tom now flight instructs on Beech 1900 aircraft.
Released:
May 22, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
RFT 026: Aviation Safety Expert Captain Rusty Aimer: Captain Ross "Rusty" Aimer has an entire closet full of airline uniforms, and has flown all over the world, including a stint as the pilot for the Shah of Iran. He is now a much-sought-after aviation safety expert for all of the news shows. by Ready For Takeoff - Turn Your Aviation Passion Into A Career