The Pilot
January 2025
It’s show time!
Every year about this time the different hunting shows get started around the country. Every year when it’s time to set up the booth, I always remember the first one I ever attended and my first time being in the presence of a true legend and American treasure.
I was just starting a business of my own and one of my good friends and clients convinced me to go to the SCI show in Vegas and just walk around and talk to some people, so I said I would.
Understand that I was just coming out from 3 1/2 months of trapping where the most meaningful conversation I had had was with a dog and a bunch of horses. When I got to Vegas, amongst all the glitz and glamour, I felt like a fish out of water. It was my first time there.
The next morning I went out the lobby doors of my hotel to catch the shuttle to the convention. The crowd was mostly folks dressed in their favorite camo or desert brown safari outfits.
Off to the side was a gentleman standing by himself.
He had on faded jeans, a flannel shirt, a tattered ball cap, and a brown aviator's jacket that looked like it had many years of wear with all the scuffing and scratches in all the right places. I was immediately drawn to him and went and stood by him.
He nodded, and I nodded back.
We then sat together on the bus and he looked at my hat and asked what I did in Alaska. I told him I was an outfitter with a remote fly-out service. He was very interested in my tale. He asked if I flew and what kind of plane. I told him I had an old beat-up PA12 that I used to get in and out of my homestead.
He told me that he loved Alaska and he kept a Super Cub up there to play with.
He was just the nicest guy and I was really disappointed when the bus pulled up and we had to get out. We both really enjoyed our conversation. When off the bus, I held out my hand to shake his, told him so and gave him my name. He smiled, shook my hand, and said he enjoyed it, too, “Chuck Yeager, pleased to meet you, enjoy the show” then he walked to the doors and left me standing there in awe.
It was one of those times in life that you’re just totally surprised. A cherished memory.
Brigadier General Chuck Yeager: United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot best known for exceeding the speed of sound in level flight.
