Sled Driver

A flurry of excitement greeted us on the ground. Every agency with a radio
wanted to issue Instructions or request our intentions for a moment I felt like I was
in complete control of the airport. If I had asked to taxi to the United terminal and
have the Marine Band playing for us, someone would have made it happen. I finally
told everyone to clear the frequency and informed them we would park on the
military ramp. I inquired if there were any empty hangars, or ones that could be
emptied immediately. There weren't. We ended up parking on the far end of the
ramp, much like a normal military transient aircraft. As I tied to our parking area, I
noticed a crowd gathering along the road near the ramp.
During training, we had been thoroughly briefed on what actions to take if we had
to shut down the engines without the assistance of ground personnel. Now that
time was here, and we felt a little naked without the normal assistance of PSD and
maintenance specialists. The landing away procedure required the RSO to unstrap
himself, and with the engines still running, climb out of the aircraft. He would slide
down the side of the plane and locate the landing gear safety pins, which were
stored in an outer compartment of the airplane. The procedure of inserting them
into the landing gear prevented inadvertent retraction of the wheels on the ground.
After completing this step, the RSO signaled the pilot to shut down the engines, and
monitored fuel venting as the engines spooled down. During this series of events
performed by the RSO, the pilot sat in the cockpit with his feet on the brakes. I was
glad I was the pilot.
Walt did a masterful job of locating and disconnecting all the straps and hoses
holding him in the airplane. While he carefully stowed secret materials in the
backseat, I noticed the crowd standing a few hundred feet away, had grown in size.
The same look of wonder I had seen at airshows appeared on their faces. Walt told
me he was ready to climb out of the airplane, and I thought how this maneuver was
going to dazzle the crowd. Sure enough, the people stared in wonder as a space man
popped out of the backseat, slid down the curved fuselage, and walked around
underneath the jet. Many had the distinct look of people witnessing an alien
landing.
Once I had shut down the plane and extracted myself, I noticed a blue staff car
approaching. The base personnel helped us with our unusual requests. Security police
were dispatched to guard the jet around the clock. We stored our classified materials
in an appropriate facility. An airman was sent to Supply to pick up flight suits for us to
wear. With instructions from us, base operations people helped us remove our space
suits. Before we could even put on our new clothes, a Sergeant wanted to know when