Anchorage had been hit by an earthquake about 2 month's before we arrived. They were still clearing the debris. It was a very beautiful city and was enjoyed by all. Now on to Fairbanks via Mt. McKinley. It had been some 20 years since I had flown close to that beautiful mass of rock and ice. It was majestic. [You may view Mt. McKinley by clicking here with a quick return using your back button.] Fairbanks was still a frontier town and hadn't changed much since 1955 when I was stationed at Eielson Air Force Base located at Mile 26 South on the ALCAN Highway.

Our return was via Seattle, refueled and continued on and went West of Mt. St Helens that had erupted. We were at flight level 43,000. It was awesome to see the ash and smoke spewing from the crater. A telephoto picture was taken from 100 miles West of the crater. It shows a lot of detail. I have an enlarged copy hanging in the guest bathroom and always tell anyone who uses it, that if any funny noises were sounded that they could blame it on Mt. St. Helens. It was a no no to fly through the ash as it would have severely damaged the engine rotors and blocked up the air intakes. Awesome Awesome!. The flight on to Kansas City was uneventful.

It was unusual for anyone to stay longer that 8 or 9 months. On a Twin Beechcraft that he owned, he would have the flight crew clean the bugs off the cylinders with a toothbrush. Thank the Good Lord that he did not allow smoking.

With fuel prices, insurance, maintenance and hanger fees increasing so fast, it was time to make a change. The company was sold. A business card was sent to many different owners and operators stating that I was available as a freelance pilot.

Within a week, a fixed base operator called me and asked if I would ferry a Lear 25 overseas. “Yes” was my reply. Then he asked if I would be interested in a position overseas. “Yes, depending on where it is.” “Would you consider going to the Mideast?” “Only if it were Kuwait,” was my reply. “Well, stand by and I will call the owner of the Learjet and speak with him. He is in New York waiting for the call to be returned.” I contacted TWA and there was a flight nonstop from Kansas City to Kennedy, departing at 1330 hrs. The phone had no more than hung up and it rang again, the question was, “How soon can you be in New York?” I mentioned that I had reservations departing at 1330 hours and would be in New York at 1700 hours at their hotel. Another call was received from New York. It was a close friend and business partner of the original caller, who was in the shipping business. The conversation started with a person who spoke broken English. “My name is Stanley Ciaputa. You know how to spell Stanley and my last name is Ciaputa, spelled Cia, no relation to the CIA, puta. (Ciaputa).” He stated, “Understand you want job in Kuwait! How much salary you want?” My reply was that I would be in New York and at their hotel at 1730 hrs and we could discuss the salary at that time.

TWA was on schedule and after a wild taxi ride in a New York cab, I arrived on time. I was ushered directly to the suite where they were staying. The father, son and Mr. Ciaputa were present along with some others. The conversation was a very interesting one. The son spoke perfect English. He was educated in England and a graduate of Berkeley. Some of the perks were that a 5 bedroom new condo would be where our crew would live with all expenses paid. The principal of this group was the General Motors distributor for the entire Mideast. They said a new car would be furnished and maintained by the company. Other perks were, 30 days a year vacation with air transport costs paid and expenses. Also “If your service is satisfactory, there will be a bonus at the end of the year.”

Back to Kansas City I went and packed enough clothes to get started. Off to Lincoln Nebraska I went to take delivery of the Lear 25, plus an ample amount of spare parts. Next day back to Kansas City to pick up additional things required. Off to Newark we WENT. Overnighted and scrounged some high altitude maps and borrowed a set of Jepperson approach charts for the trip to London. The routing was Newark, Goose Bay Labrador, Reykjavik, Iceland for refueling and then on to London Luton Airport. We were met by a chauffeur for the company in a Rolls Bently. Off to the London Hilton we go.