E344: Fighter Pilot to 777 - Emergencies, 9/11 Scrambles and Flying Drew Brees

Former Air Force F-15 pilot Roy “Deacon” Qualls shares incredible stories from a 38-year aviation career that includes scrambling to intercept Air Force One on 9/11, crash-landing a burning OV-10 at McCarran Airport, and taking NFL legend Drew Brees for the ride of his life.

In this episode, Deacon reveals:

• How watching Top Gun literally changed his life in four days—from graduate student to Air Force recruit

• Landing a flaming OV-10 off-runway in Las Vegas after being given the wrong winds

• The Vice President’s authorization to shoot down aircraft on 9/11 and what it was like scrambling to intercept Air Force One

• Transitioning from F-15s to Boeing 777s—his first landing of anything bigger than a fighter was a triple seven at Charles de Gaulle with 290 passengers

• Why Drew Brees asked to pull MORE Gs and what made him such an incredible person to fly with

Deacon just released his book “Pilot’s Edge: Think, Train, and Fly Like a Pro” with 25% of profits funding aviation scholarships for the next generation.

Happy Flying,

Justin

What is Pilot to Pilot?

Pilot to Pilot is the podcast for anyone who flies — or dreams about it. Host Justin Siems sits down with airline captains, bush pilots, CFIs, and everyone in between for honest conversations about the path to the cockpit, the grind of the career, and the love of flying that keeps us coming back. Whether you're a student pilot chasing your first solo or a captain with 20,000 hours, there's a seat for you here. New episodes weekly.

Episode 344 of the pilot the
Pilot Podcast takes off now.

The Pilot the Pilot Podcast is
brought to you by Ground School from

the Finer Points, the
indispensable training app for new

and experienced pilots.

Visit learnthefinerpoints.com
justin to save 10% off your first

year hey, it's Justin.

If you've been flying long
enough to hit senior captain pay,

you probably also run into
senior captain problems.

Bigger tax bills, complex
benefit decisions, stock options

you're not sure how to handle.

And here's the thing most
advisors won't tell you.

Your financial life as a pilot
is more complex than most people

realize.

That's why Allworth Airline
Advisors put together the Pilot's

Wealth Planning Blueprint.

It's a step by step guide
built exclusively for high earning

pilots.

It shows you how to minimize
your taxes, optimize airline benefits

and plan for your final
descent with real confidence.

The best part?

It's totally free.

Plus you get access to smart
planning tools and a no cost call

with airline specialized
advisor who actually understands

your financial planning challenges.

Download it
[e-mail] pilothopilot

don't let mandatory retirement
sneak up on you.

Get smart about wealth
planning today and you can go to

AllworthAirlineFinancial
PilotToPilot fly with Garmin Avionics

then grab your mobile device
and make the Garmin Pilot app your

cockpit companion.

Get advanced functions you'll
use before, during and after every

flight, including updating
your aircraft's databases and logging

engine data.

Plus plan file.

Fly Log with Garmin Pilot all
pilots need the big weather picture

and I use Sirius XM Aviation
to check the fronts, airmets, segments,

turbulence, pireps and more
while I'm pre flighting and in route.

All to give my passengers and
me the most comfortable flight possible.

And now with the latest offer
from SiriusXM, there's never been

a better time to upgrade your
next flight with the Garmin GDL52

portable receiver to bring
SiriusXM and ADS B weather plus traffic

into your cockpit.

Roy Deacon Qualls.

Most people call me Deacon.

Was air Force for 26 years and
been with Americans since 1999.

AV Nation what is going on?

And welcome back to the Pilot
the Pilot Podcast.

My name is Justin Seams and I
am your host.

Today's episode is with Roy
Deacon Quails.

He's a military pilot and he's
currently flying a triple seven for

a major airline.

We scheduled this interview
within 10 days of him emailing me

because I read the kind of the
bio he sent me and I was like, oh

wow, 911 scrambled to
intercept Air Force One.

That's awesome.

First landing anything bigger
than F15 was a triple seven.

That's crazy.

Flew drew breeze around in F15
and a couple of emergencies that

you're definitely want to hear.

I really hope you enjoy this episode.

It's a lot of fun talking with
Deacon and I'm very excited to release

this.

He also has a book and he's
into mentoring.

So make sure you listen all
the way through and buy his book

to try to help out some other pilots.

Avia Nation, I hope you are
having a great day.

There is some cool stuff
coming out.

Something that me, Nick, we've
worked very, very, very hard on countless

nights.

Nick's probably tired of
hearing me talk to him and email

him, but it's going to be
really cool.

I think it's something that
you're not going to be expecting.

It's something that we're all
really excited and cannot wait to

share.

So make sure you sign up for
our email list which is on our website.

Follow us on Instagram.

We're going to be announcing
it hopefully sometime soon.

But AV Nation, I want to give
a new shout out to a brand new sponsor

that we have and it is Textron Aviation.

Full circle moment for me.

My most of my career has all
been in Textron Aviation and I flew

probably 4 to 5,000 hours in
the Cessna Citation Latitude.

So I've flown it from a 152
all the way up to one of their nicest

and best jets that they have
outside of Longitude.

So I'm very excited to bring
on Textron Aviation.

I look forward to this
partnership and who knows, maybe

one day you'll be seeing me in
a 182 or even better, a 206 or maybe

Mustang.

Dream big, right?

Let's dream big.

Let's get a Mustang, a pilot
to pilot Mustang.

Yeah, we'll keep dreaming.

But AV Nation, I hope you
enjoy this episode.

Without any further ado,
here's Roy.

Deacon Quails.

Roy, what's going on?

Welcome to the Pilot the Pilot podcast.

Or I should say Deacon.

You said most people call me Deacon.

Yeah, yeah.

Thanks for.

Thanks for having me on, Justin.

Appreciate it.

Yeah, anytime.

I'm excited to have you on.

I'm excited to share your story.

Military flying is something
that's pretty foreign to me.

Well, I shouldn't say foreign
anymore because I've interviewed

a ton of military pilots, but
I love the stories.

I love the opportunities you
have and what you can do flying in

the military.

And it's not always, you know,
it's not always going to shoot down

people.

It's.

It's flying in hurricanes,
it's doing cool mission support on

the ground.

It's supporting the air.

It's just.

It's really wild what you can do.

So I'm excited to dive into that.

The first thing we'll do,
though, is kind of just touch on

why you got into aviation in
the first place.

Yeah.

Interesting story.

I was 24 years old, going to
graduate school, working as a lifeguard

in the summer.

And a buddy goes, you want to
go to an air show?

And it was.

I go, sure.

So I was just trying to get
away for a little while.

Went to an air show, saw the
Thunderbirds perform.

That's pretty cool.

It's not like I hadn't been
around aviation before.

I grew up near Naval Air
Station Corpus Christi.

But I saw the Thunderbirds go.

That's cool.

Next day, I went to a
bookstore, just.

I like bookstores.

I was just walking around, I
saw a new book, book by Richard Bach

called the Gift of Wings.

Had a story about people who
fly, A little short story, and it

kind of motivated me a little bit.

But, man, I was eating ramen
noodles and Mac and cheese, trying

to put myself through graduate
school, and flying was not in my

budget.

Not even close.

And then two days later, the
same guy that invited me to the air

show asked me to this new
movie that was out, little blockbuster

starring Tom Cruise's Maverick.

And I literally.

I left the movie and I walked
in the recruiter's office and I said.

I said, hey, I want to fly jets.

And he looked at me and he
says, did you just see Top Gun?

I go.

I go, I did, like five minutes ago.

I did.

And he just rolled his eyes
and he said, how much flying time

do you have?

I go, I've never flown a plane
in my life.

And he says, this is a quote,
dude, that's not how it works.

And I said, well, do you have
a test?

I test pretty good.

So he reluctantly set me up
for this test.

I took the test, did pretty well.

And he kind of acted surprised.

And he said, yeah, you're
going to get a pilot slot.

And about six months later, I
was in officer training school and

on my way.

Within a year, I was flying T37s.

You know, first plane ever
flew in my life was an Air Force

trainer.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

No, I would love if they had
the stats of how many pilots were

produced because of one movie.

You know, like, if Tom Cruise
and the people that made the original

Top Gun really know the effect
that they had on a whole generation

of pilots and aviators in general.

Because I'm sure it would just
be insane.

Yeah.

Most guys probably won't admit
it, but, you know, but.

But it was.

It was the truth.

Literally left a movie, went
to the recruiter, and never went

back to school.

And it.

It was life changing for me.

And I'm sure there.

Sure, there's a lot of guys
that are in the same boat.

That's crazy.

So, obviously, there's kind of
like a timeline of events that happened.

Right.

Like your buddy said, let's go
to an air show.

You read a book, you saw the
movie, you.

Do you think just seeing the
movie would have been enough to push

you forward?

Or do you think that because
it followed in those series of events

that it kind of.

You're like, I think this is
something I need to do.

You know, I think it was cumulative.

It was all the things combined.

And the Richard Bach book,
honestly, was powerful.

He told a story about meeting
a guy on a plane who'd been in the

war in World War II.

And the guy had said, anyway,
I've been with this company for the

last 23 years.

And then Box goes on to say.

He goes, man, this guy had
just summed up a quarter of a century

with, I've been with this company.

He said, if you talk to
pilots, none of them sum up a quarter

of a century with, well, we'll
go with this company.

There's always more to it, you
know, and that's.

That's a paraphrase.

He said it much more
eloquently than I could ever say

it, but it was.

I went, man, I don't want to
sum up a quarter century with, yeah,

I've been with this company,
you know, and so that's.

That was.

It was.

It was cumulative.

Maybe I'd have done it with
just the movie, but the other thing

certainly helped.

Absolutely.

Would you go to the air show?

What air show was it?

Yeah, it was just an air show
at what was in Carswell Air Force

Base.

Now I think it's Navy Fort Worth.

Cool.

You know?

Yeah, I went to the air.

I went to the air show.

First book was about two days
later or the next day, and then it

was all within four days.

Oh, wow.

Dang.

Yeah.

It's crazy how fast life can change.

You talk to yourself five days
before that, you have a time machine.

Like, you're gonna be a pilot.

You're like, no, I'm not.

Right.

Literally.

Never thought, had never
thought about it before that.

Yeah, what, what kind of
support system did you have?

Did you tell your parents,
tell your friends, girlfriend, whatever,

just like, hey, I'm gonna go
be a pyro?

They're like, how, What?

Yeah, I think I was, I think I
was dating some of the time.

But my, I told my parents, you
know, my parents, it was nothing

serious dating.

Told my parents, they were
very supportive.

Yeah.

Said, you know, whatever,
whatever you want to do, you gotta.

I don't think anyone initially
thought my chance would be very good

because of, you know, because
of I'd never flown before.

And most people don't
understand the, the, you know, the

path to get to be a pilot.

Sometimes they just think it's insurmountable.

Including myself, to be honest
with you.

I was just, I was sure they
weren't going to let me.

I was just going to run with a
football till he tackled me.

You know, I was like, I was
the 98 pound lineman.

I mean the 90, the lineman
running for the, with an interception.

Just startled to find myself
in the, in the end zone all of a

sudden.

Yeah, that's really funny.

If you didn't have the support
from your family, if your parents

would have been like, hey,
this is kind of strange.

Why are you doing that?

Do you think you still would
have done it, like, or was it too

late at that point?

You're like, hey, I already
signed up, it's gonna happen.

No, I hadn't signed up yet.

I still would have done it.

And my parents were just never
gonna say that.

There was not, you know, they
were, they were fully supportive

of whatever it was, you know,
whatever honorable activity I was

gonna follow.

Yeah.

And you mentioned that you
were just going to run with the football

as far as you could until they
tackled you.

Was there a point or.

I guess I'm sure there was.

Was there a point when you
were like, whoa, all right, I might

have signed up for a little
bit too much here.

Or were you always just like, no.

I never thought I'd sign up
for too much.

I was, I thought I wouldn't
get through the physical.

I had some eye problems that I
talk about in this, in this book,

Death Perception.

And I couldn't get through the
initial depth perception test.

I had to go back a second time.

And so I was just, I was
certain I wouldn't get through.

Right.

And I just made them.

But they said, well, we'll
Test you again, come back in a couple

of weeks.

And when it was really, when I
got through that and they go, yeah,

you're good.

And I walked out the door from
that physical and I went, holy cow.

You know.

And a couple weeks later I got
a class date.

It was sometime in the future,
but got a class date for ots and

I mean, it was off to the
races after that.

It was, you know, non stop OTS
and pilot training and then the,

you know, the replacement
training, what they call in the Air

Force.

And that was, that was 38
years ago.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

Was there, I guess what was
like the moment like of finally flying

an airplane for the first time?

Was it everything you thought
it was going to be?

Was it more than you thought
it was going to be or was it kind

of like, huh, it was like
driving a car.

It's not bad.

No, I would say.

So.

The first plane I flew at the
Air Force at the time, if you didn't

have a private pilot's
license, you started out in T40.

They called it a T41 Mescalero.

It's a Cessna 172.

So that was the first plane I flew.

I think we got about 11 hours
in it, enough to solo and then went

to ots.

And that's really just to see
if you can learn at the rate that

the Air Force teaches, pretty
fast pace and if you're get airsick

and they try to weed that out
early at low cost.

But I was so, I think I was
just so engaged and you know, try

not to wash out doing well
that I never really had that moment

probably until later, you
know, maybe T38s, maybe solo cross

country in a T38, you know,
you're sitting in a supersonic trainer

by yourself.

Yeah, I forgot where we went.

I think Tulsa or somewhere
from Lubbock.

But I think when you're solo
by yourself, no instructors around,

that was when, that's when it
first kind of, you know, kind of

went, wow, this is happening.

Can't believe, I can't believe
they're letting me do this.

Yeah, I've talked to a lot of
military friends.

They're like, how did I end up here?

Like, who let me fly a
supersonic airplane by myself?

Absolutely.

There was a lot of that
looking over my shoulder going, am

I okay?

In a camera.

They actually gonna let me do this.

Yeah.

Talk about the training though.

Talk about.

I mean, obviously we talked
about flying a Textron Aviation Cessna,

which what they said they
called a T41 T41 Mescalero.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You can't just call it a T172
or anything like that.

Gotta have your own damning
system, right?

Yeah.

Gotta have something on it.

That was pretty rapid fire.

I mean, again, I think we got.

I think we got 11 hours total.

Yeah.

But it was designed to be
pretty tense.

Designed to stretch out a
little bit, make sure you could handle

the stress.

And again, just the pace at
which the Air Force teaches the syllabus.

And it started with the
morning stand up, which is always

little.

And that went all the way
through pilot training.

Start off the day with
instructors up at the front and says,

you're out there flying in the area.

This happens.

What are you gonna do?

And he looks around the room,
finds somebody, points at him, and

go, you know, officer training quals.

You have the aircraft, and you
stand up and you rattle off what

you were gonna do.

And if you don't do it right,
they have a seat, and have a seat

means you messed it up, and
they pick someone else and they keep

going until you get it right.

And, you know, day starts like
that with a good safety brief, and

then it's off the race.

It's just fast.

I would say the proverbial
fire hose exists.

Yeah.

And it stayed that way for a
while, I bet.

Yeah.

I don't think it slows down.

It only gets faster, probably.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

Only gets faster.

Talk about those.

Those kind of roll call moments.

Like, was that something you
had to get used to, or was it.

I mean, 172.

You know, the.

The actual procedures aren't
too crazy, but first time in an airplane,

it could seem intense, it
could seem crazy, it could seem like

a lot.

The roll calls themselves, was
that something that was a big stressor?

Was that something you just
had to get used to?

And then all of a sudden,
like, you kind of knew how to look.

You knew how to blend in.

Maybe don't look like.

You don't know with your head down.

Right.

So we call them stand up the
morning stand up.

I don't know if they still
call it that or not, but, you know,

and T41 is, like you said, a
pretty simple airplane.

It's not like a T37 was a comp.

You know, extremely complex, either.

And I would say most of us,
you know, we studied so much, and

by a month in, I felt like I
could build a T37 out of popsicle

sticks and toothpicks.

So you knew it.

There weren't a lot of
surprises as Far as emergency procedures,

they could throw in there at you.

But nonetheless, you know, it was.

The standup was designed to
kind of simulate the stress of an

airborne emergency.

You need.

There's some immediacy to it.

You're in front of everybody.

You don't want to look like a
clown, that kind of thing, you know.

So, yeah, you kind of breathe
a sigh of relief when it's not you

that gets picked.

But do the math.

I mean, there's 30 of us in
about 30 of us in a class.

So about once a month and a
half you were going to get.

They're going to call your
name and you're going to do the.

And most guys did it fine.

I don't, you know, there was
maybe once a month someone would

bust it or whatever, and they
sit them down and then you hope you're

not the next guy called.

Yeah.

What came next after the 172, the.

T41 T37s at up.

So.

Well, T41.

Then officer training school
for, I don't know, four months.

And then right off to.

I went to Reese Air force base
for T37s.

Then, you know, that's about
five months, I think about 100 hours,

90 hours in the T37 and then
ride to the T38.

And you know, when people ask
me about training, I always tell

them I thought Air Force pilot
training was designed to make me

feel like an idiot because,
you know, first you fly a T37, you're

in a jet for the first time.

I mean, it flies downwind at
150 knots.

It's not too fast or anything,
but, you know, you get to where you

can land it and do patterns
since a basic acro.

And they go, let's throw you
under a hood with these archaic instruments

on the, on the tweet.

And then you start doing some formation.

And then, you know, next thing
you know, you're at 90 degrees of

bank, tucked in on leads wing
going, hey, I'm feeling like somebody.

Then they go, hey, why don't
we go fly the T30 for a while?

But I just figured this out.

Yeah, right.

Exactly right.

So about.

I found that it's about the
time I felt comfortable with one

activity.

They moved to another one
pretty quickly.

And the T38 was really, you
know, downwind.

Instrument pattern was flown
at 250 knots.

I can remember a no flap,
heavyweight landing immediately after

takeoff.

You're on final at 190 knots.

That's, that's cruising me and
my, me and my 90 hours of tweet time

suddenly doing, you know, 190
knots on final.

With the.

With the wing, you know, very
small wing.

An airplane that is
notoriously close to the stall in

the final turn.

You know, the.

The difference between success
and failure in the final turn that

IPs would teach you because
it'll buff it.

And they would say, okay, you
want it.

You want rats dancing on the.

On the wingtips.

If you start feeling
elephants, that means you've stalled

it, you know, and so you're
riding the edge between.

Between, you know, max
performing it and stalling it and.

And yeah, there's a lot of
folks that killed themselves in the

final turn of a T38.

I bet.

I still find it remarkable
that we ever bought it as a trainer

because it's such a. Yeah.

Relatively unforgiving airplane.

Seems like a design flaw.

It's a beautiful airplane.

It's a beautiful airplane.

It was so fun to fly.

I loved it.

Haven't flown it since, you
know, I don't know, 93 or something.

But what a.

What a beautiful airplane.

Has trained a ton of Air Force
pilots through the years.

Oh, for sure.

And you mentioned.

Not the same story, obviously,
but you mentioned coming in to land

at 190 knots and just that how
much faster.

That wasn't what you're used
to, right.

From what you're flying.

Before I transitioned to the
airlines, I flew a Citation almost

at a longitude.

I flew a Citation latitude.

And our final.

Our ref.

Speed was anywhere from 99 to
105 knots, 110 knots.

And then I go up to the 7 3.

And I'll never forget the very
first time I was looking down, I

was like 150 knots.

I was like, holy smokes, I'm
flying way too fast.

We got slow down.

It just.

It felt just what you're used
to, Right.

Like whether you have 100
hours in it or 4,000 hours in it.

When you are just used to
doing something a certain way.

When anything changes in the
kind of, like, your flow, you're

like.

You just feel uncomfortable
until you.

Until you.

That absolutely.

Well, hell, I can remember the
first time sitting in the jump seat

of a triple seven, and the guy
started to flare.

And I would have sworn we were
at pattern altitude.

We were so.

We're so high up.

Only thing I'd ever flown
prior to that was an F15.

Yeah.

So, you know, I. I literally
was shocked at how high, you know,

and how high we were when we started.

Always start to flare.

Cause I had so many years of
so many years of something different.

That's really funny.

I. I had a problem with the
sight picture too coming because

the.

The latitude sat way lower to
the ground than what the 7:3 does.

So just figuring out where the
wheels were and.

Same thing I'm guessing you're
talking about.

It's like, where are.

Oh.

Oh, crap.

There they are.

Everyone felt that one.

Right?

Right, Right.

A plane's a plane.

You figure it out eventually.

The radar.

The radar altimeter doesn't
hurt any either.

Yeah, that helps too.

Trying to gauge like 50, 40, 30.

Right.

Okay.

Power.

Don't flare too much.

Yeah, absolutely.

That's awesome.

Going back to military for you.

So we're transitioning.

We're keep moving.

Obviously, when you are flying
in the military, there's different

paths that you can go on.

There's fighters, there's more
cargo carriers or there's bigger

airplanes.

When did you know that you
wanted to go the fighter route and

kind of did that line up with
how you're training and what you're

pushing for?

Yeah, so I knew I wanted to go
to the fighter route about three

minutes in a Top Gun, right?

That was when I.

It's kind of like when, you
know, I was listening to Ryan Graves.

When you interviewed Ryan, and
he said he joined the.

He joined the Navy to land on
a carrier.

Right.

And that was really me.

I wanted to fly fast and
upside down.

Right.

So I knew then I want to go
fly fighters.

And at the time in pilot
training in the Air Force, Everybody

flew the T37, T38.

Regardless of where you're
going afterwards, there was no separated

GPT like they have now.

Okay.

And so I knew I had need to
graduate near the top of my class.

You have to get that time.

They called it fighter attack
or reconnaissance rated.

You had to get far rated.

All the IPs got in a room and
decided who was going to be qualified

to fly it.

A fighter or attack or
reconnaissance airplane.

And if you didn't get that
rating, then for the rest of your

career you weren't going to
fly those.

Oh, dang.

Yeah.

So I knew going into pilot
training that's what I wanted to

do.

You know, there's.

There was not a doubt in my mind.

I think it probably made it a
little bit more stressful for me

because I.

It wasn't that I had to graduate.

I had to graduate near the top
of my class or I wasn't going to

get the airplane that I want
to fly so that.

That, you know, incentive to perform.

I mean, it helped.

There's no doubt it helped.

But it was also sitting on my
shoulder that, you know, and I'm

sure, look, I'm sure I would
have been.

I would have been happy with
however it ended up eventually.

Yeah, right.

But at the time, that's what I
wanted to do.

And so that kept me in the
books, kept me preparing, you know,

that was just that I was determined.

I wanted to fly fighters.

Yeah.

I mean, you did say it brought
a little bit more stress on you,

but it also could have kind of
lit the fire.

Right.

Like you were actually
training for something where some

people are kind of like, eh, I
don't know, you know, maybe.

Maybe you have a little bit of
edge rhythm because you know what

you want and you know what
you're going.

For 100% and a lot.

You know, most guys, when
pilot training starts, you know,

they'll ask everybody in the
class, what do you want to do?

Most guys, not everybody, 80%
will say, I want to fly a fighter.

You know, I want to fly an
F15, F16, whatever is the time.

And then T38s roll around.

And that's kind of the great equalizer.

Some guys get to T38s and they
go, yeah, I probably need to not

be flying fighters.

Or maybe they just read the
handwriting on the wall and knew

based on class standing and
stuff they weren't going to.

But for me, look, I had a
blast at pilot training.

I was roommates with a guy, a
class behind me.

So we weren't competing, Right.

We weren't competing for
assignments because we were in the

same class, which was great.

He ended up graduating first
in his class.

But we had a ton of fun together.

But come, you know, Friday and
Friday and Saturday, that was for

relaxing.

But by Sunday afternoon, man,
I'm back in the books, you know,

And I was just.

I was determined that I was
gonna, you know, that I was gonna

graduate near the top.

Yeah.

And that definitely.

Yeah, so it definitely lit a
fire and it definitely affected how

I trained.

I bet.

How do you manage?

Kind of like a balance of
having fun because it is important,

right?

It's important to step away.

It's important to kind of
clear your mind.

But there is a limit how much
you can actually do, right, because

you have to study, you have
this goal, you wanna achieve this.

How'd you balance that?

And did you.

Did it take a while to kind of
find a happy medium to where you're

still having fun?

Like you said on Fridays and
stuff, Saturdays, but Sundays are

back at it.

No, you know, I'm kind of a
goal setter and set goals and work

from there and baseball.

What my goals were, I just
always allotted, you know, that Sunday

was always going to be the
time we started getting back in the

books and didn't really go out
during the week very often.

More so, I guess as time went
on and as we started to striate in

the class and you know, I felt
maybe some more comfort with my positioning

in the class, the ranking in
the class.

But for the most part it was
just sheer willpower, which is not

necessarily my forte all the time.

But in this case it was
because of, you know, because of

the ramifications of not
getting where I wanted to get to.

So for me it was just
scheduling goals, set objectives.

I got to be back studying here
on Sunday afternoon.

So that means I need to be
doing this, you know.

Yeah.

When did you find out, when
did you find out that you were actually

going to get the plane or get
the track that you really wanted?

It was until, I want to say,
two or three weeks before graduation.

Yeah, they have.

By that time I knew that I was
at least competitive for a fighter

slot.

Didn't know how many aircraft,
tactical aircraft we'd get.

You know, the people that come
back as instructor pilots called

a FAPE first Simon Instructor pilot.

Most people don't want to do
that, but they're all, if you got

that assignment, that meant
you had done well and they like you.

So it was a compliment.

Not necessarily a compliment
you wanted, but I knew there's a

decent chance I'd be coming
back as an instructor pilot as well.

So when the assignments came
down on assignment night, I got an

OV10 out of on assignment
night and I was ecstatic.

We only got three tactical aircraft.

Yeah.

And I mean to this day, I
mean, I get chills right now talking

about it.

I like, I will sometimes go on
YouTube and watch Assignment nights

because they still record them
some and you see these lieutenants

up on stage and they find out
what they're flying.

Yeah, it's absolutely, it's a
life changing.

I'll never forget it.

Never.

You know, it was, it was fantastic.

Yeah.

I mean now they're, they're,
you know, the, what are they doing?

Microsoft, PowerPoint,
whatever it is with the PowerPoint

changes and it's like F35.

It's like.

That's sick.

That'd be crazy.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

Right?

Yeah.

Right out of power training,
getting F22s and.

Yeah, it's, it's very, very cool.

But it was, it was probably, I
think, I don't know, two, three weeks

before we graduated.

Yeah, it's crazy.

That's another thing that's
crazy about the military too, is

like, yeah, all right, cool.

You're number one.

You're number two.

Number three in the previous
class, you know, that wouldn't be

able to give you whatever you
want, but you know, it's all class

by class dependent.

Right.

Like, same thing.

We hired an airline.

Everyone might have gotten the
plane you wanted in the base.

You wanted the last one, but
hey, actually the military has changed.

We are only going to offer
these airplane.

And so if you're still number
one, it's like, well, that kind of

sucks.

I was number one, but I still
get the same plane as, as everyone

else.

Or it's actually my number three.

You know, like, it's just.

You can do so well, prepare
for so much.

And there's just so many
external factors that can affect

your career.

And it kind of goes on to
aviation in general.

Right.

It's all about timing.

It's all about kind of luck.

It's all about kind of just,
just hoping it works out and being

at the right place at the
right time.

Which sounds like, thankfully
you work, you got what you wanted.

Yeah, you're absolutely right.

I mean, they say needs of the
military trump Trump at all.

And you know, I know usually
in the Air Force, I mean, and I haven't

looked at it closely lately,
but typically there's a couple of

fighter slots available, you
know, usually.

But yeah, you never know.

You could, you could be the
number one guy.

And they go, sorry, that's not
what we have now is what we need

now.

Actually, any pilots are going back.

You're going to be a mechanic.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah.

Going to be.

Going to be a commissary
officer in Keflavik, Iceland.

Yeah.

And you're going to like it.

Right?

Talk about the OV10, though.

What made you kind of seek the.

I don't even know if you
sought it, but what made you excited

about flying that?

Well, number one, it was.

I was gonna.

I wasn't gonna stay as an
instructor pilot.

It put me into at the time
what they call Tactical Air Command.

And I knew I would get a
fighter out of that.

So I had all my list.

My first choice of airplane
was a 10.

I had a 10, F16, F15 and that
or an F15E.

They call it a wish list or
dream sheet or something like that.

I forgot exactly.

But we all put it down the two.

There was two other non guard
or reserve pilots that got one got

an F16, one got an F15, I
assume because I had a 10 first.

You know, they tried to match
it up as good as they could.

As good as they could with
trying to make everybody happy.

Right.

I graduated second in my
class, top graduate, was a reserve

guy, so he was going to an
F16, you know, that widened part

of the mix.

So I've always assumed that
because I had a 10 first, OV10 was,

you know, a near an adjacent
type airplane.

Yeah, maybe.

So I didn't put it down as
such, but I was ecstatic because

I knew I just needed to get.

Not be an instructor pilot and
get into Tactical Air Command and

then it was going to be smooth
sailing from there.

And so I did a year in the
OV10, went to the F15 after that,

and flew the F15 for another
25 years.

What was it about the A10 that
put it number one?

Was it just the fact that it
got you out of training, it got you

out of the instructor, or did
you just love the fact that it's

essentially a flying machine gun?

Yeah, I think the A10 was just.

I like the, you know, the
bigger gun, the 30 millimeter gun,

the mission, you know, helping
the dudes on the ground.

But look, I would have been
ecstatic to any, anything, any tactical

aircraft out of, out of pilot training.

I would have been.

I would have gone nuts over
and again.

I still, I still literally.

This is twice during this
podcast I've gotten chills thinking

about Assignment Night.

That's awesome.

Assignment Night videos for
the rest of us.

Watch it and see your face.

I wish, I wish that I had that video.

That was a while back.

Pretty cool.

Yeah, I would love to see it.

I don't think, I don't think
my girlfriend was quite as happy

because that meant I was
leaving town.

But it was all good.

Yeah, you said girlfriend and
not wife, so I'm guessing it worked

out.

Yeah, right?

Yeah, exactly.

Now in the email you sent me
when you're like, hey, well, I would

love to be on the podcast, one
of your kind of dash points here

was almost landing a flaming
OV10 at a Nevada brothel.

So.

Yeah, right.

That'll get your attention.

Yeah, I was like, oh, wow,
haven't heard that one before.

I think it was, I was, I was
flying out of Nellis for an exercise

they called Air Warrior and I
was doing forward air control, I

think, for a 7s.

And you know, one of the
things I loved about the OV10 is

a second lieutenant.

I'm taking off.

Single ship going out to
range, literally.

Clock map, brown, no gps, no ins.

Fallen roads, fallen maps,
going to the target.

Shooting white phosphorus
rockets at targets to mark them for

flights of aircraft so they
can shoot, you know, drop drop, practice

bomb, sometimes live bombs.

So I'd been doing that for
probably an hour and a half.

You know, OV10 had some long legs.

You could stay airborne for a
long time.

My roommate had just left the
area about 15 minutes ahead of me.

And I'm checking out.

I'm just heading back, just
cruising back to Nellis.

The hard part's over.

I've saved up everything.

And I had some pretty good
target markings.

So I was kind of pleased and
kind of planning my evening that

night.

And I was west of Mount Charleston.

And look, I haven't looked at
the maps in years.

I don't remember exactly how
far west of Nella State is, but I

was west of Mount Charleston.

I got a number two engine
caught on fire, visible fire, you

know.

And so I shut it down, did
whatever the procedures are.

I think we had a T handle up
here, pulled the T handle, put a

fire extinguisher out and the
plane went out.

But whatever altitude I was
at, Mount Charleston was above a

single engine service ceiling
that day.

Now I was in a drift down.

But if I didn't make it over
Mount Charleston, the nearest suitable

landing field was a Nevada brothel.

I don't know if it's the Bunny
Ranch or the, whatever, the Chicken

Ranch or the Mustang Ranch or
whatever they call it, but it has

a strip there, you know, and
the OV10, you could put down 3,000ft,

you could put it down 3,000ft
and have to taxi a thousand feet,

you know, before you got there.

So that was the plan.

If I had amount, if I had not
made over Mount Charlie, I go, well,

this is going to be interesting.

And you know, sometimes I
regret it.

Had I done that, you'd be
going, oh, you're the.

You're the brothel guy.

Yeah, I'm sure you would have
been received very well.

Right?

Yeah, it was, it was.

I was glad to.

I was glad to make it over.

Yeah, over the mountain.

But, yeah, that was.

It was an interesting time, no doubt.

Oh, man.

Yeah, I would.

Yeah, I can only imagine the
headlines from that.

Right.

Yeah.

And.

And how much second guessing
about you sure you couldn't make

it over Mount Charlie?

And we're sure about that?

Yeah.

This is the second time you've
done this Right.

Yeah, that's definitely interesting.

Do you.

Do you remember any kind of
rough running of the engine at all

or just kind of spontaneous?

Like all of a sudden, nowhere.

It's like, boom.

No.

No rubbing, no rough, nothing.

It was.

One second I'm.

I'm flying along fat, dumb,
and happened.

The next thing, I have an engine.

Engine on fire.

Tried to call.

Tried to call ahead, right?

Right.

Yeah.

Tried to call ahead to my
roommate who was, you know, I told

you, airborne in front of me.

Maybe get a chase airplane,
but he was already out of radio contact.

And.

Yeah, it was an interesting,
interesting flight, no doubt.

So once you clear the
mountain, made it to Nellis, everything

was good.

No, no, I go into going to
McCarran because McCarran was a little

bit closer.

Yeah.

Well, I'll try to tell this
story short.

They're landed on Runway 25.

They're landing west.

And I'm essentially on a. I'm
essentially, I don't know, a 30 or

40 miles straight into McCarran.

And I. I declare call signs Mako.

I declared emergency once I
could talk to someone on approach.

And McCarran said, well, can
you go to Nellis?

Because I'm in a.

You know, I'm going to mess up their.

Their pattern.

Everything else.

I go, you know, I don't want to.

I didn't say this, but in my
mind I go, I don't want to overfly

Las Vegas with a single engine ov10.

I don't know why this thing
caught on fire.

Don't know what's wrong.

Yeah.

So I said, no, I'm going to.

I'm going to.

I need to.

I'm coming into McCarran and I
want to land on Runway 07.

And they said, well, we're
landing on 2 5.

I said, well, I'm landing on 07.

And then they literally.

McCarran Tower gave me holding instructions.

Make 8, 1 hold west of field,
10 mile legs.

I went, no, not going to do that.

And then they said, well, can
you land on Runway 25?

And I said, no, I'm sorry.

They said, can you land on
Runway 01?

They have a northern Runway
there or do you have to have 07?

I said, no, I want 07 say wins.

And they came back with okay
into 07.

So I thought they said the
winds were 1 2, 07, so I didn't care

about them.

So in an OV10, I just
continued the approach.

And in OV10, you don't drop
the gear, single edge until you're

Going to land, because when
you do, you're going to land.

So I dropped the gear over the
threshold and immediately go wing

low and rudder to compensate
for, you know, for the yaw from an

engine being out and quickly
realize that the winds are not 1207

and I don't want to go around.

No one's going there.

So I land off the Runway, and
essentially there's a ditch there

that I couldn't tell it was a ditch.

If I land off the Runway and
the left tire comes off, I go sliding

across the infield, away from
the airfield, sliding across from

the infield.

I'm going, okay, this is an E
ticket ride grip.

The handles.

Ov 10 had a 00 seat.

I think it was Martin Baker
had a 00 ejection seat.

So you can eject on the ground.

Of course, it limits your
options, right?

Everything's got to work.

A million miracles got to work.

I decided to stay with it.

Then I saw another ditch
coming up, and I wasn't sure what

was going to happen with that
other ditch.

So I hands back on the handles again.

And then I just stuck with it,
hit the ditch, knocked the gear off.

Bomb rack got knocked off,
went up on a wing, came back down

hard.

And now the plane is on fire.

I mean, this plane is on fire now.

And I pop open the canopy, run
away bravely, standing out next to

whatever the boulevard is
there by the airplane with my helmet

under my hand, looking at this
burning airplane.

Who do I.

What do I say now?

Yeah, what just happened?

And then, you know, people
already stopped.

The cars already stopped watching.

And I went.

And I remember taking.

Putting my helmet down on the
ground so it looked less conspicuous.

And then, let's see, the
airport manager drove out and without

getting permission to cross
the Runway, and a DC10 had to go

around.

And ambulance came out.

And they saw me.

They said, we thought we were
going to pry a corpse out of the

airplane.

I go, no, I'm all right.

I wish I did.

But now I'm going to call
people and tell people about this.

Yep, exactly right.

By the time I got.

So I called my squadron on the
airport manager's phone in his car,

literally a phone with a curly
cord on it.

And they had heard from
McCarran Tower, who called Nellis

Tower, who called my squadron.

So you got the.

You know, the story changes.

They thought I was dead.

Oh, wow.

And so when the guy answered
the phone and I say, hey, this is

Deacon, I need to talk to
whoever to go, wait, this is who

I Go.

It's Deacon.

And they go, we thought you
were dead.

And then once they realize I'm
not now the.

You know, the macabre jokes start.

Like, well, we've already
divided up your.

We've already divided up your
stereo equipment.

And someone's on the phone
with your girlfriend.

Yeah.

They're getting married.

Someone's asking.

Someone's asking your
girlfriend out, and they.

And I get your stereo equipment.

Yeah.

Oh, man, that's.

Did you ever find out what the
winds actually were?

Oh, yeah.

Winds were 360, gusting above
25 knots, which is above.

You can't land an OV10 with
two engines in that.

I don't remember all the
limitations now.

Yeah.

Above.

Above the limit.

Too much, though.

Too much.

Yeah.

And now you know why there's
crossing limitations, right?

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

Man, oh, man.

I mean, I'm sure after you
land, you're like, I should have

just landed at the Bunny Ranch.

Like, I should have landed.

Yeah, yeah.

Had I.

And in the.

In the tower tapes.

Not.

They didn't say it over the
radio, but it was in the.

You know, I guess their
version of a cockpit voice recorder.

As I'm sliding across the
infield, someone in the tower goes,

oh, no, we didn't give him the winds.

They realized it at some point
in that.

In that process.

But, yeah, I was.

Yeah, I would have.

If I'd known that I'd land on
the north Runway or.

Yeah.

Or go to Nellis.

Nellis, I think, is.

I think, 0422 or something
like that.

It's been a while.

Yeah.

And four months later, I mean,
four weeks, four years later, I'm

back at nellis in an F15 and a
big engine fire on the 15.

I'm going.

Okay.

I think I need to avoid Vegas area.

That's on my do not fly list.

And your bidding per.

And your bidding is that,
like, do not fly anywhere near Vegas?

I. I did some red flags after
that in the Eagle.

I flew there a bunch, but with airlines.

Like, my wife doesn't like me
flying Las Vegas.

But one day on.

On.

On recovery, I got a.

A turn, a Dallas turn in the triple.

Oh, really?

To Vegas and back.

And Amy.

Is that like a. Amy goes.

Yeah.

She goes, are you ready?

You ready for this?

Sure.

Yeah.

Like, what's the worst I can.

That was my last.

My.

That was my.

My next.

Yeah.

My next time to McCarran after
the OV10 was a triple.

Dang.

Yeah.

You don't see many of our
triples in McCarran right.

Like it's not.

Or do.

Yeah.

I was like, I haven't been
there in a while.

But I was like, I have no idea.

I have no idea what we were doing.

Why they put a triple on that.

On that only plane available.

Right, right, right.

Yeah.

I think we actually got a no
notice check right, too.

We had a.

We had a chick air flight as well.

Why not?

Yeah.

Okay.

You guys want to hear some stories?

Yeah.

Yeah.

You want to hear about the last.

Time I came to see that ditch
right there?

That's actually because of my airplane.

And then that scorched earth
is because of my F15.

That's right.

Yeah.

Oh, man.

So what happened with the F15, you.

Know, number two engine again
getting ready to go out to red flag.

Big exercise, great exercise.

And engine just caught on fire.

It ended up later on we found
out at those old F100, F100 engines

had a 13 stage turbine.

The third stage was
notoriously weak.

And it threw a blade.

It was.

That was a barn barrel.

I thought I was going to eject
three times.

That one I caught on fire
initially had some controllability

problems.

Yeah.

Got the fire to a small fire.

I had a chase airplane that
was with me and he was monitoring

a hole in my afterburner.

But I'm having controllability issues.

The fire hadn't gone out.

Next step in the checklist is
the fire.

Persist.

Eject.

I don't feel like ejecting.

It was cold.

I wasn't wearing a jacket.

There's mountains below me.

Almost cold.

That's cold.

Almost went to Area 51.

Oh, wow.

That was.

That was the nearest.

That was the nearest suitable
landing field.

But I didn't want to fly over
some mountains to get there.

Okay.

So with this chaser plane the
whole way we get about 40 miles away

from Nellis and now I get
another fire light.

And I wrote an article for
flying safety magazine, Air Force's

flying safety magazine.

It's called Deacon.

Now you're really on fire.

Because that's what my wingman said.

That's what my chase airplane
said when.

And he says, there's flames
about 15ft out the back of your airplane.

And I could turn around.

I turned around the cockpit
and I could see the flames now.

And I went, you kidding me?

I like Deacon.

Now you're really on fire.

Now you're really on fire.

That was a line.

It was a great line.

It was.

Keith Acrey was his name.

Great chase airplane, great wingman.

Had as much to do with me
getting that jet home safely.

As.

As I did.

And I started getting my stuff
to it.

They started getting ready to
eject, kind of going, you've got

to be kidding me.

You know, putting classified
into my G suit pockets and stuff.

And as I. I don't know, I was
probably a minute away from ejecting

when he said, hey, it's back
to the small fire.

Which at that point, the small
fire was a good thing, right?

Yeah.

And so, oh, yeah, small fire.

We do a controllability check,
keep going towards Nellis.

We talk to the sof.

Oh, also, my airspeed
indicator had gone out.

I don't have any air speed.

I don't have any.

I can't dump fuel.

I try to.

Can't do, jettison my tanks.

So I've got our hands full.

Toto, the wingman is chase
airplane is reading the airspeeds

and stuff.

So we do a controllability check.

And at 190 knots, the plane.

I can't.

The plane rolls to the right.

I can't stop it.

So I had to land at 200 knots.

And normally an Eagle, you fly final.

It's around 160 on final.

Regardless, you know, it
varies how much airspeed.

So 200.

200 is going to be fast.

But they do some math on weight.

I think they get McDonnell
Douglas on the line, they do some

math on my weight, weight and stuff.

And they go, well, you can,
you can land if you take the departure

end cable.

You know, most fighter bases
have a cable to help stop airplanes

with hydraulic problems or
brake problems.

It's not a rapid deceleration
like on an aircraft carrier.

It's a slow deceleration.

Yeah.

So that's the plan.

I don't necessarily like the
plan, but the only other option is

go to the controlled bailout
and bailout.

And I don't like that option
as much as I like landing with a

departure and cable, because
you're out of options once you.

If you're on the departure and
cable and you miss it, well, now

you're off the Runway.

Right.

But that's what we're going to do.

So I touch down at 200 knots.

You don't flare at 200 knots.

You just fly it on the Runway.

And Toto, my chase airplane,
says, I get past the approaching

cable, right?

1500ft down.

I feel it bump and I start to
breathe a sigh of relief and I drop

my hook.

And Toto says, the chase
airplane's right there with me.

He goes, hey, Deacon, drop
your hook.

I said, I did.

He Goes, it's not down.

And I just go, you Fred
Flintstone, man.

Just stomp on both brakes.

I feel both.

We had a good analog brakes
and eagle, but I feel both brakes.

I feel them both pop.

Both tires pop.

Toto says, hey, your.

Your wheel stacks are on fire
now, and don't say anything unless

you got.

Something good to say right now.

And I told the.

I keyed the mic, told the tower.

I go, I think I'm objecting to
the right way.

The fire truck was down there,
and turns out I got to stop about

200ft per the Runway, popped
the canopy.

Popped the canopy up and ran
away bravely again.

Fire truck came out, put out the.

You know, put out the fires.

The fires on the.

On the gear and the.

And turned out later, the hook
had actually fused to the airplane.

The fire was so hot that the.

The hook fused to the bottom
of the airplane.

I kept it for.

I drugged that hook around for
20 something years.

I paid the main.

I paid the maintenance guys
money in a trip to a restaurant to

get that hook for me after
they finished investigation.

Yeah.

So for 20 years, I carried
around this charred hook.

It's very heavy.

Doesn't really fit the decor
that Amy has planned.

So when I retired, I gave it
to the Squadron Bar.

Oh, that's cool.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's a good place for it.

Yeah, yeah.

It's probably.

Probably.

Probably better in my living room.

Like, why is your flight bag
so heavy?

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

My hook that almost killed me.

Carry it with me everywhere I go.

Yeah, it's my support hook.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

Oh, my gosh, dude.

I mean, I have had some
emergencies as, like, I feel like

some people are just like, you
know, they just get them.

I don't know what it is, like,
if we have, like, a frequency, but

it's like, if something's
gonna happen, it's gonna happen when

he's in the airplane.

I had a. I had a lot.

We lost an engine on takeoff
off on my ioe.

Really?

Yeah.

Second.

Second sortie at American Airlines.

You're like seven.

Yeah.

I was on the panel.

I was.

I was a flight engine at the time.

Seven two out of Chicago, and,
I don't know, around 400ft.

It felt like we hit something.

I thought we hit another airplane.

Yeah.

And I don't remember what you
do on the panel, but whatever it

was, I just had, you know, I
just come off.

I have a. I have a Czech
airman behind me who's watching everything,

and he jumps up, and I've just
had 12 emergency sims the last two

weeks.

So whatever it was I was
supposed to do, I did.

And he goes.

He looks and he kind of goes,
well, I guess you got this, Deacon.

And we turn back around and land.

And I'm thinking, man, I don't
know what it is.

So I stay prepared.

I always know where the
nearest patch of Runway is.

Yeah, that's funny.

Yeah.

I mean, I.

So when I was in training,
they were like, yeah.

And an instructor pilot came in.

He's like, we actually just.

Someone was flying.

Second day of oe, we lost an engine.

He did everything perfect.

It's like, well, yeah.

Quizzes have been doing it for
the last 25 Sims.

Right.

Right.

He's like, it's my time to
shine, man.

I got this.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

Start the ap.

Absolutely.

Probably the be.

Probably the best time, right?

Absolutely.

They had.

Had so many of them.

Yeah.

Geez, man.

Yeah.

It's crazy.

Yeah.

I feel like when.

I don't know what it is, but
once something.

Once something happens, I feel
like there's just like the next one's

just right around the corner.

Just.

Yeah.

I've always been told that
things happen in threes.

I don't know if you've had
three yet or if that's happening

is.

Yeah.

So let's.

I hope they happen in threes.

If they do, I'm good.

I got.

I got two and a half more years.

Not to get to six, I guess.

But hopefully does that start
the next set of threes?

If you have one more.

Oh, gosh.

Oh, my gosh, man.

That's insane.

You definitely have some.

Some great stories about that.

From your first takeoff in a
Cessna 172 to chasing horizons in

a Beechcraft King Air or
cruising high in a Cessna Citation

Longitude.

Textron Aviation has been
there for pilots like you, generation

after generation, for nearly
100 years.

The names Cessna and
Beechcraft meant one thing.

An aircraft you can count on.

Whether you're flying for
business, for adventure, or just

for the love of it, Textron
Aviation builds the aircraft that

help you do more and go farther.

So if you're thinking about
upgrading your aircraft, stepping

into your first jet, or
expanding your fleet, Textron Aviation

is ready to help you take the
next step.

They offer the performance,
capability, and support that pilots

trust every single day.

Because when the sky is your
inspiration, Textron Aviation is

your partner.

And what's next?

Learn more about how Textron
Aviation is built for the skies ahead

[e-mail] that's
txtav.com very excited to add Textron

Aviation to the sponsor list
for the Pilot to Pilot podcast.

I've always, always wanted a
plane from Textron Aviation.

My dream plane is a 182, maybe
a 206.

So hopefully in the next
couple of years, we can make that

happen.

But shout out Textron
Aviation, and as I said, make sure

you go to txtav.com.

you also mentioned that you
got to fly Drew brees on the F15,

which is pretty interesting.

Yeah.

My boss called one day.

I was down.

I was the wing commander down
at Navy New Orleans, New Orleans

Naval air Station, the F15
wing down there.

And my boss had called, and I
don't remember what the impetus was,

but it wasn't started from our end.

And I think some public
relations folks had a couple of cocktails

at a New Orleans bar and
started talking about it.

Next thing you know, I get a
phone call, and my boss says, hey,

we're gonna fly Drew Brees.

I want you to fly them.

Yes, sir.

And just before the 2010, 2009
season, no fanfare, no media, he

showed up with.

Had a buddy with him.

We got him some seat training.

One of the stories that I that
I've told recently is.

And look, he was the most
genuinely nice, kind, compassionate,

love the military guy.

I became a lifelong fan that day.

And there was no media involved.

Right.

This was not Drew performing
for the cameras.

This was Drew being Drew.

What a fantastic guy.

So our guys give him some
injection training just real quick.

It's just rudimentary, but you
got to do it, because I think.

I think someone punched out
the back of an F18 on the center

right up in Massachusetts recently.

Yeah.

So you.

You got to tell them some things.

Yeah, Right, right.

And so I remember, I said, you
got any questions about this?

And he said, he goes, go
through that part again about if

we catch fire on the ground.

I go.

I go, look, Drew, here's the deal.

If we catch fire on the
ground, I'm going to be in your lap,

unstrapping you before the
canopy's open.

Because if you think I'm going
to be the guy that let Drew Breeze

burn in the back of an F15, I
go, I'd have to leave the country.

Have to join the witness
protection plan and leave the country

and take my family with me.

We flew him.

We went straight up, went
supersonic, pulled nine GS.

And I've probably done 50 or
60 of these flights with someone

in the backseat through my career.

Mostly we call them center
Flights, you know, airmen that have

done something worthy, won an award.

And I will tell you that
athleticism doesn't mean you're going

to do good in the.

In the cockpit, you know, at all.

It's not a good indicator how
good a shape you're in.

It just depends.

Well, we did.

We did all that.

Pulled some GS, and I go, he
wanted to.

We were going to fly over the
Saints training camp on the way home.

And I said, hey, we've got
just a little bit of gas left before

we need to leave.

Anything else you want to see
before we leave?

And he asked a question, which
no backseater has ever asked me before

since, which was, can we pull
more GS?

Wow.

And I'm thinking, man, I'm not
even sure I'm up.

But we did.

And then on the way home, I
was a little bit taken aback at how

well he did in the air.

It was just, you know, he's
already, you know, a star quarterback,

elite athlete.

You'd like to, you know, have
something up on him, like, maybe

he can't handle GS, though.

But he did fine.

Then on the way home, Houston
center knew he's in the backseat,

and they said, hey, Jazz1, ask
Bravo, which is what you call the

back seater.

Ask Bravo what hurts worse,
nine GS or a 300 pound lineman?

And I go, did you hear that, Drew?

He goes, not even close.

It's a lineman.

Oh, man.

Okay.

All right.

It was easy.

Yeah, that was great.

We landed.

He looked better than I did.

We've got pictures before and after.

He looked fresh.

And then the thing that really
endeared him to me was he stayed

out there probably three or
four hours, shaking hands, signed

autographs.

He went down to alert at the
end of the Runway where there's only

12 people there, right?

But they can't leave that area.

He drove down there just to
shake hands with those 12 people.

He's getting ready to leave.

And the Navy skipper called me.

He goes, hey, Deacon, there's
two busloads of Marines getting ready

to go to Afghanistan.

They're literally on buses
going to get on a charter here.

He goes, you think Drew come
by and say hello?

And I go, I'll ask him, but
he's been here a long time.

And so I told him, I said,
look, Drew, no pressure, man.

You've already gone well above
and beyond.

And he said something.

I'll never forget it.

He said.

He goes, deacon, I'll stay
here as long as there's anybody who

gets Anything out of shaking
my hand.

I mean, wow.

And he went.

And those marines piled off
the buses, and he shook hands and

signed autographs and posed
for pictures with it.

You know, that.

That great smile on his face.

You know, I just can't say
enough about him.

He was such a.

Such a great guy.

Yeah.

You know, and shout out Drew Brees.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, it was fantastic.

Fantastic guy.

Even though I'm a Carolina
Panther fan and we had a lot of battles

against him.

You know, I'll give him this one.

Yeah, you got to.

Yeah, got to give him that one.

I don't want to like you,
Drew, but I guess I have to now.

You have to.

Yeah, you have to cheer for
him, but you got to like him.

There you go.

Yeah, he doesn't play anymore,
so it's.

I don't worry about that, but.

Yeah, right.

He actually.

So I went to Ohio State.

I played football at Ohio State.

Yeah.

Purd.

So we even have that, too.

So there's a lot of rivalry
between me and Drew.

Yeah, absolutely.

Now I know he would do better
in the backseat of an F15 than I

would, because I would have
passed out, like, three GS.

He would have been like,
justin, you'd be like, no, I'm not.

Yeah, he literally.

He literally did as good or
better than anyone that I ever flew.

Man.

That's crazy.

Including some pilot.

Like, I flew.

I flew some pilots that flew,
like, C21s or something in the back

seat, and they.

And they didn't do as good as
Drew did.

Another thing you reach, you
said, that's really interesting.

Not many people can say this.

Is that on 9 11, you said that
you were set to scramble to intercept

Air Force One.

Yeah.

So I was at home on 9 11.

We were going to night fly
that night.

I was a full timer at the
guard unit.

Yeah.

By that point, most of our
guys are part timers.

They're all, you know, they're
airline guys.

They're out and about woke up,
heard about the first plane hitting

the tower and thought, like, a
lot of people did that it was a light

airplane or something like that.

And then saw the second one
hit, as I recall.

I think I saw it live.

And I went, okay, I know what
that means.

I threw on my flight suit,
grabbed a bag of.

I didn't know how long it'd be
gone or anything else, and just went

screaming down the highway
towards the base.

We got there, and, of course,
there's a lot of confusion initially,

but if you remember, President
Bush went from Florida to Barksdale

Air Force Base, which is in
Shreveport, Louisiana.

And that's where he talked,
first time to the country, I think.

But he was talking, and
there's only four or five pilots

there.

And as he's talking, you know,
our wing commander had already started

loading up our airplanes with
live missiles just preemptively,

you know, kind of like, no one
knows yet.

And I said, we're the closest
fighters to Barksdale.

I go, I'm going to start
getting dressed.

I started putting on my G
suit, on my harness.

And about that time, NORAD
calls and says, can you give us a

classified.

We need your classified fax number.

Don't have one.

This is the.

It's not the weekend.

Our command post is not open.

I go, I have an unclassified fax.

And they said, all right.

And they sent a classified fax
to us.

I still have a copy of it.

The one I flew with is in the
National Guard museum in Washington,

D.C. but I have a copy of the.

Have a copy of the actual one.

And it was the operative
sentence in it.

The rules of engagement were
kind of long, but the operative sentence

was, the Vice President has
authorized you to intercept targets

of interest and shoot them
down if they don't respond.

And I remember my squadron
commander at the time, Randy Riccardi,

Bob Lew looks at that and he
goes, I wonder if Dick Cheney knows.

F15 doesn't have a VHF radio,
but we made copies of that, rules

of engagement, put it in our pockets.

And about, oh, I don't know.

Not long after that, NORAD
called and go get anything and get

airborne with missiles.

Get airborne now and go find
Air Force One.

So there was four of us.

And we start running off to
the jets.

I think I was Jazz 4 that day,
took off, told Houston center, hey,

we want a vector of 3, 30 at
about 45,000ft.

And Houston center said, any
altitude, any airspeed airspace is

yours.

No one else is airborne, he
said, except for.

And they said, special package one.

That's what they called Air
Force One.

So we started beelining that way.

And at some point, I don't
remember how far away we were, it

seems like we had a radar lock
to him, but I can't.

I can't swear to that.

But at some point as we got
close, I think fighters from Carswell

got there before us.

Someone got there before we did.

And we turned around.

I don't remember.

And then we turned around.

We.

I think we sent two guys to Houston.

Two guys, New Orleans and Cap there.

Later on that night I landed,
got some rest.

I was back up over Houston
that night.

And they still the rules of
engagement, where if someone's airborne,

shoot them down if they don't respond.

And we got a call.

NORAD said, hey, there's
someone down low about 40 miles away.

And so suddenly I'm on night
vision goggles over downtown Houston

with a flight lead named Nek Wisniewski.

We're Both on gogs.

500ft, 500 knots over downtown
Houston, trying to find whoever it

was.

I think someone heard our jet
noise and just misconstrued it for

someone else because there was
nobody there.

We put two good radars for a
while where they were supposed to

have a target.

There was nobody there.

It's just so surreal.

Yeah.

What a surreal time.

And I flew with that rules of
engagement for.

I flew with that rules
engagement until they rescinded it.

I was going back in my vault
to shred it, and I went, this is.

This is history.

Yeah, keep that.

Folded it up, kept it.

It was declassified, I don't
know, 2010 or something like that.

That's.

That's when I gave it to the
National Guard Museum.

Yeah, I mean, just like the
weight of that, you know, like, you're

flying, you're going to take off.

You're like, what if they don't.

What if whatever airline
doesn't respond?

It's like, I have.

I have my orders, right?

It's like, I mean, geez.

Just the weight of having to
make that decision and do something

like that is.

Is insane.

In the briefing, the squadron
Bobblehu looks at it because there

was two airline guys.

Nick and I were airline guys
and, and Bob, Lou and guy named Jeff

Wohling were the other two
guys flying.

And he looked at us, he goes,
look, I need to know if he, you know,

you airline guys, can you do this?

It was pretty somber.

You know, it was a pretty,
pretty somber moment.

You know, the guys out of
Massachusetts and the D.C. guard,

they were obviously more, you
know, they were right there in the

thick of things and had more
visceral, you know, in the action

type of thing.

Ours was.

Ours was a little bit removed
from that being down Louisiana, but

still it was, you know,
getting scrambled out of there to

go intercept Air Force One.

And.

Yeah, and then all the stuff
that went with it was.

It was a surreal time.

No doubt.

Yeah, I remember.

I can't remember if it was a
book or if it was.

It was definitely in a book
about what George Bush experienced

that day.

And it talked about one of the
times he feared for his life most

was actually when he was on
the Air Force base and someone was

driving him around.

And they said this guy was
driving like 120 miles an hour, just

like almost tipping.

And turban.

He's like, son, if we didn't
die up there, we're shooting.

Sure as hell gonna die down here.

So stop.

He's like, slow it down.

I think, I imagine.

Yeah.

Can you imagine the President
telling you that?

You know, you're freaking out.

He's like, son, slow down.

Like.

Yep.

No kidding.

Try not to kill the President
while you're.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

That was an insane story.

Yeah.

Just.

Just things you.

When you entered into.

You know, you watched Top Gun
when you said, I want to be a fighter

pilot, when you went through
the training, you don't imagine that

one day they're gonna be like,
hey, here you go.

You can shoot anything down
that doesn't respond in the United

States.

Absolutely.

And it was also another thing is.

Is.

Is, you know, we found
ourselves a lot of times places that

I'd never expected to be.

You know, one example is
Hurricane Katrina.

I was in the Guard.

So guess what?

We respond to Hurricane Katrina.

Yeah.

And, you know, one of my good
friends, one of the highlights of

his career, and this is a guy
with, I think, 106 combat missions.

His dad was a fighter pilot
with 170 something combat missions,

and his grandfather was a
bomber pilot, World War II with 70

something combat.

Ms. Mission.

So these generations have done
some stuff.

Homer Samuels, his name.

And Homer talked a jumper off
a roof during Hurricane Katrina.

And will tell you, I haven't
talked to him for a while, but he

says, that was a highlight of
my career.

The guy that's done all these
combat missions, been all over the

world, and suddenly he finds
himself, I would say the right place

at the right time, you know,
by Providence or whatever you want

to call it.

But he talks a jumper down.

A guy's going to kill himself.

During.

During our response to
Hurricane Katrina.

And I remember coming to the
city during Hurricane Katrina, had

100 airmen with me.

We evacuated and then
immediately went back in.

And rumors run wild.

You know, there's snipers,
they're burning buildings.

Most of which turned out not
to be true.

Of course.

The flooding was devastating,
but there's a lot of stuff going

on.

About a third of the wing had
their homes destroyed or damaged

in the hurricane, had some
family deaths.

So there was a lot of uncertainty.

We're getting ready to go back
into the city.

I stopped and I gathered them
all around me.

I said, look, here's the deal.

I don't know when this is
going to happen.

It may not be today or
tomorrow or next week or next month,

I said, but the time is going
to come when the only thing worse

than being here today is not
being here.

You're going to tell your
grandkids what you did in Hurricane

Katrina, you know, and these
guys went out and they did everything

from, you know, freeing people
out of.

Out of houses and attics and
recovering bodies sometimes, and

just opening up the flight
line at Navy New Orleans, which was

closed.

And essentially we cut the
locks off.

I didn't cut the locks off,
but some guys from our base cut the

locks off of the gate and
opened up the tower and started landing,

you know, started controlling
airplanes to get the relief supplies

in.

It's crazy.

One of those things you just
never, never imagined being there.

When I joined the Air Force, I
certainly never imagined that I was

going to be responding to
Hurricane Katrina.

There's, like, boots on the
ground anywhere, right?

Like, actually going into buildings.

Like, yeah, I'm supposed to be
flying the airplanes.

Like, I. I don't know how to
do it.

Well, I ended up on the ground
in Iraq during Desert Storm because

as a forward air controller,
you're assigned to a brigade.

I think it is, I don't know,
probably battalion.

And suddenly I find myself in Iraq.

It's after the air war had
ended, so there was not a whole lot

going on.

You know, I don't want to
overstate what I did.

I went to replace the guy.

I went and replaced the guy
that had been there.

But I show up there, and my
girlfriend sent me off with a sign

as a sandwich sign, and it
said, don't shoot.

I have a college degree.

And it's like, wait, how did I
end up on the ground in Iraq with,

you know, a bunch of, you
know, living with the army and four

Air Force guys?

And I'll give a shout out to
my buddy Michael.

Michael Dolan Doly was flying
up in Massachusetts.

I think he volunteered to go
when a guy that was supposed to go

in his place was have his
wife's having a baby, and Dolly goes,

I'll go, oh, wow.

And went over there.

Shout out to him.

Oh, absolutely.

Great.

Great guy.

I haven't seen him in decades.

But, you know, just.

I'll never forget that.

I'll never forget the fact
that when in every.

You were.

If you.

You were going to go, if your
battalion Was going that way.

There was no picking and
choosing right.

It was just luck of the draw.

And Dolly goes, nope, I'll go
and went over there and actually

got into combat.

Pretty sure Doli won a bronze
star for putting, putting air on

on some tanks, you know, doing
some real stuff.

Yeah.

Doing some real stuff.

Yeah, some real stuff.

Yeah, some real stuff.

Oh man, you've had quite the
career in the military.

I will, I will say that it was
a lot of stories.

Yeah, it was interesting.

I won't say enjoyed every
minute of it, but man, as I look

back, I'm just humbled for the opportunity.

Yeah.

And you know, I did 10 years
active and then came to the Guard

and then I got hired American.

And then Suddenly with the 911
they start the furloughs.

I did not get furloughed, so I
did a voluntary furlough and I stayed

out 16 years.

So I went from the panel and
the seven two out 16 years.

And then I come back and my
buddy goes, you want to be in the

triple in Dallas?

So I go to training.

Couldn't spell FMS if you spot
me the F and the M. You know, I've

been flying the whole time I
could fly.

And in the similar they kept
saying, stop, turn off the autopilot.

I go, I don't know how to work it.

I can fly it, I can fly this
thing, but I can't work it.

I went to training with the captain.

Imagine going to training as a
new as a captain and this guy Lee

Smith, a former Marine Harrier
pilot, completely unflappable, shows

up.

He goes, hey, I'm Lee.

I've came off the, he'd been a
check airman.

Time on the 73 and the 7 6.

They go, hey, I'm Deacon.

He goes, what are you coming
off Deacon?

Panel and seven two years ago
into Lee's ever lasting credit, he

goes, yeah, it'll be fine.

And he just drugged me to the
finish line.

He was so strong, never got rattled.

Just literally drugged me all
the way through training with him.

So I think I put it in that
email too.

You know, the first time I
landed an airplane bigger than F15

was a triple seven in Charles
Seagal with you know, 290 people

on board the, the Chick Airmen.

We're taxing out.

Check airman, a guy named Al Granger.

Al goes, deacon, he goes, are
there more people in the cockpit

of this airplane than have
ever been in a plane you've flown

before?

And I went, yeah, I guess so.

50% more because we had a
third, you know, we had a third pilot

for a long flight.

Yeah.

And then whatever it is, 10,
10 hours later, I'm landing a 777

at, at, @ Charles de Gaulle.

What was, what's, what was
more nerve wracking in your career?

Kind of doing some of the
crazy military stuff you did fires

or the first time you land 290
people on a big airplane?

I, Charles, like, oh, you
know, the.

Training that I got was so good.

I felt like in the, in the simulator.

I mean, I, I, of course I
would have liked more, but you know,

it was cav, okay, Great
visibility, no winds.

And so that was, I would say,
look, being on fire and touching

some injection handles a
couple times is certainly more nerve

wracking.

But the other thing is, you
know, it's just the, you know, the

fighter pilot prayer from the
right stuff.

Don't let me know, dear God,
don't let me screw up.

You just don't want, you know,
if I, if I flubbed an Eagle landing,

which I did many a time.

Oh, well, you know, maybe if
someone's holding short, they see

it, you know, maybe, maybe
they give you, maybe they give you

a zipper.

Click on the, on the radio
like, nice.

Or you leave your speed break out.

And we used to call it the I
can't control my.

I can't control my airspeed switch.

But no one knows it, right?

Yeah, 290 people know it if
you flub it up in a, you know, on

a, on a big airplane.

And yeah, it was, it had my
attention, I'll tell you that.

It had my attention, but the
training was so good that it was

all, all turned into a non event.

Yeah, my.

So when I'll tell you about
the Charles de Gaulle, when you said

it was calm, my first thing is
like, that's what my worst landings

are.

Because I, I don't know why,
but I, I do my best when like, you

know, the stakes are raised a
little bit, right.

Like you have the cross when
you got the rain, you got the low

visibility, you got that.

That's when I'm like in tune
the most.

And as soon as I get the, get
the me tart, I'm like, up.

Calm wins clear.

Ten in a million.

It's like, crap.

Dang it.

No excuses.

Yeah, I need my wins.

Yeah, maybe it's that.

Maybe there's no excuses, but
yeah, my first.

Not my first, but on OE.

I'll never forget doing a
flaps 40 landing for probably the

first second time and oh, my
Gosh, I cratered that bad boy into

Dallas.

That was the most embarrassing
and the worst landing I've ever had

in my life.

And I think about it, I
promise you.

I probably think about it once
a week.

I'm just like, oh, no.

Like horror stories.

Obviously, things better now,
but I figured it out.

But, yeah.

Oh, man.

Laning these big airplanes is
definitely different.

And I don't know, maybe not
different, but you can get a sweet

spot with a lot of planes, right.

With a lot of jets.

You know, it's like, all
right, you have the power here.

You pull the power there.

You do this then and that.

But, you know, the bigger
plane, sometimes you don't want to

pull power too early.

Obviously, learn that,
especially flaps 40, because kind

of like you said before, when
you drop the gear on the OV10, single

engine, the plane's gonna land.

It's like, you drop.

You take power out.

Flaps 40, plane's gonna land.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I've heard that kind of thing.

And.

And, you know, you could get.

You could get lazy in an F15
because you can solve almost every

problem with your left hand.

And I used to have a buddy who would.

If ATC would say, hey, can you
be at 16,000ft?

And how many hour long?

He'd go, I can be anywhere anytime.

Which is always a response.

I love that.

Yeah.

So you can tend to get lazy
because you can solve so much with

power.

But thankfully, the triple
gotta be one of the easier planes

we have to land, I would think.

You know what?

I don't know.

It's the only plan I've ever landed.

That's amazing.

Yeah.

That's crazy.

Good for you, dude.

One day.

One day.

Yeah.

Other than the Eagle, you know
the Air Force stuff.

Yeah.

I want to give you a chance to
talk about your book.

So you got a book?

It's called Pilot's Edge.

Think, train, and fly like a pro.

You said it just dropped
today, which I'm guessing is when

you emailed me November 11th.

So it'd be, what, two days ago?

Yeah, Veterans Day.

And cool thing is it says 25%
of.25% of the profits fund the flu

dat aviation scholarship for
the Next Generation of Aviators,

which I'm guessing is a
Louisiana thing.

Yeah.

So, you know the whoat.

It's kind of.

Kind of a play on who dat.

And I ran it through some trademarks.

I heard you talking about your
coffee trademark.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah, I ran through some
trademark checks, and it.

Oddly enough, it never been.

And never been Trademarked.

So, yeah, got it.

Yeah, just start.

I'm look, it's in the early stages.

I'm talking to some other
charities, trying to get them to

look.

This book is not a money
making venture for me.

I'll make more on a trip to
London in three days than I assume

I'll ever make on this book.

I wrote it because I do a lot
of mentoring and stuff for kids.

And this is my advice to
someone who's interested in aviation

because I've spoken to so many
who just had no idea it was a possibility.

Yeah, I've had those
conversations a lot.

And, and then, and they don't,
you know, they think you have to

have the, you know, the lungs
of a Fijian pearl driver and shiny

hair and a glossy coat and,
you know, perfect health.

And so I wrote it as if my
kids had asked me for advice.

Now my girls, my kids, both my
kids are girls.

Not interested in aviation.

But had they asked me, this is
what I would have told them.

It's designed, it's a short read.

It's 120 pages.

It is.

Starts with, you know, from
ground school, actually, even before

you go to school, all the way
through the end.

Then it has some discussions
on safety, risk analysis and then

mentorship because, you know,
you should always be mentoring someone

and being mentored by somebody.

I think I had some great
mentors along the way.

And this is just, I'm just
trying to pay it back, you know,

I just never imagined as I, as
I'm now looking at my career as rearview

mirror.

I got two years left, man, the
things I've gotten to see and the

place I've gotten to go.

And I'm so grateful that I've
been in a position to do those things.

And now, you know, my worst
case scenario is I end up in a city

I like that I paid a visit
with guys I like eating good food,

drinking good wine and just,
you know, and laughing.

I was just in Sydney a couple
weeks ago, you know, it was an all

Air Force cockpit.

One of the few times I've seen that.

Four Air Force guys, we had a
great time just going around Sydney

for, you know, six, seven
hours and laughing and talking.

And that's my worst case
scenario, right.

As long as the airplane's not
on fire again, you know what to do.

And so just the adventures
and, you know, when I was in the

military, by definition, what
I was doing was bigger than me.

I was doing things for other people.

And suddenly I, you know,
retire from the military in their

lines.

You know, it's about time off
and money and, and, which is great,

don't get me wrong.

It's awesome.

But it left a kind of a void
from a purpose standpoint.

So I'm just trying to just try
to give back.

Trying to give back.

And if I can, you know, if
this book gets to some kid, that

18 year old, 17 year old that
thinks he never had a shot of being

a pilot and this could be it,
that's all.

That's what I'm looking for
with this.

So yeah, hopefully I'll be
able to, to find some folks to match

some funds with it.

I'm in the process doing that
and you know, I didn't know that

all the things I had to jump
through to try to get it going.

But yeah, it is, it's a lot,
but it's going to get done and absolutely

those profits will go to
helping some Louisiana kids get.

That's awesome because I mean,
I've, like I said before, I've had

a ton of conversations and I
kind of start out with, you know,

why did you become a pilot?

Like, well, I never knew I
could pick a pilot until this happened.

So there, there's always that
point in their life where someone

realizes that this is an opportunity.

And some people don't get that.

They don't get that mentor,
they don't get that book, they don't

get Top Gun, they don't get
whatever it is or just to see someone

like them flying an airplane
where it's like, oh wait, I could

do that too.

So just having the ability to
share that, sharing your knowledge

in a book or the scholarship
or whatever it is to help people

realize like you can be a pilot.

I promise you I've flown with
some bad people.

And you can do it.

I promise you you could.

Probably better than a lot of
people I've flown.

Right.

Absolutely, absolutely right.

And that's.

Yeah, that's exactly right.

100%.

Just let, let them, let them
know it's a, that it's an opportunity,

it's a possibility because so
many of them don't even think it's

a possibility.

And now, I mean, I don't know what.

I know you just had on the guy
talking about airline hiring.

I don't know what everyone's
doing now, but I know for a while

they weren't necessarily
looking at college degrees and stuff.

Yeah, so it's true.

I mean, you know, you had that
23 year old on the other day, Tom

the coffee guy.

What a good, what a go Getter,
by the way.

I know, right?

Man, Good friend.

Love that guy.

You know, if I had a son who's
interested, I say go get.

If you're not interested in
military, go get a line number.

You know, run, run, don't walk.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

It's a big deal.

Yeah.

I mean, even me just waiting the.

While I was at my blast job
for seven years.

But there was.

Probably started realizing
that I needed to go somewhere else.

My kid was born in 2021, 2022.

And that would have been the
perfect time to jump over.

Right.

But I waited a year or two
because I wanted to see what contracts

look like and yeah, obviously
some seniority in hopes that the

last place would get what I
wanted, what I thought it could become.

And it didn't.

So made the jump anyways.

But me waiting the year and a
half, two years, that's like 2,000,

3,000 numbers, like, that's a
big deal.

So if get it, get a number as
soon as you can.

Yeah, absolutely.

And yeah, you know, seniority
is everything.

It's all.

All that matters.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

And I gave, you know, I gave
up a lot of numbers.

10 years essentially worth of
numbers probably to be in the military.

But it.

I enjoyed it.

Wouldn't give it.

Wouldn't give a number back.

I've already gotten to do, you
know, gotten to do so much and just

really, just really thankful
that I've had the opportunity and

just want to, man, if I can
get one kid that didn't think it

was a possibility that goes
and gets a Discovery flight, you

know, because that's awesome.

It's good stuff.

How can someone buy your book?

It's on Amazon.

Pilot's Edge on Amazon is the
only place I've got it out there

right now.

You can just log on there.

I think it's.

I purposely priced it below
what Amazon and Grok suggested.

I think it's $12.99 for the paperback.

And look, if there's kids, if
they can't.

One of the things I put in the
book is I put my personal email in

there.

I said, you need to get a mentor.

If you can't find one, email me.

I'll chat at you.

Love it.

So kept the price low so that
it'd be accessible as much as possible.

If someone can't afford it,
let me know and I'll send them a

free copy.

Yeah, well, I love it.

Well, Deacon, thank you so
much for coming on.

I really appreciate one, your stories.

Two, just the opportunity to
give back.

Because as you know a lot of
older airline pilots or airline pilots

in general, over their career,
they just kind of get cynical and

sit there and just try to tell
you how cool their their houses are

and their boats and their
whatever it is.

And it's cool to see someone
give back and continue to love the

industry and want to see it flourish.

So I appreciate it and thank
you for your time today.

Yeah, thanks for having me on, Justin.

I really do appreciate it.

Anytime Pilot the Pilot LLC is
compensated to make recommendations

to his or her followers
regarding the services of RAA or

Allworth Airline Advisors.

Companies of Allworth
Financial LP or Allworth.

Promoter is not an employee or
investment advisor representative

of Allworth.

Promoter is a current client
of Allworth Allworth based Promoter

a fee of $4,000 a month for
sponsorship of the Pilot podcast.

Due to the compensation
arrangement between Allworth and

Promoter, Promoter has an
incentive to recommend all worth

resulting in material conflict
of interest.

Promoters role on behalf of
Allworth is limited strictly to making

recommendations regarding the
services on Allworth, introducing

or referring prospective
clients to Allworth.

Promoter has no responsibility
with respect to Allworth's Investment

Advisor or other advisory services.