Crew chief, old friend re-united after 31 years

11/06/00 - DAVIS MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFPN) -- An F-4 Phantom aircraft sits here, never again to have its thunderous engines shatter the silence overhead, instilling fear in the enemy or drawing awe from an audience below.

But the spirit of this aircraft, serial number 66-8728, remains strong. So strong it inspired a flood of emotions from retired crew chief Bob Schuler who visited here recently.

Schuler wasn't a crew chief on just any aircraft. He was responsible for aircraft 66-8728 in the jungles of Vietnam. When he visited Oct. 24, Schuler went to the aircraft that he, some 31 years ago, had watched roar down the runway, launching for another bomb run over North Vietnam.

The aircraft Schuler crewed while stationed with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon Air Base, Thailand, is now stored at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center here. AMARC Commander Col. Reed Roberts accompanied Schuler during his visit.

"Unlike pilots, who fly so many different aircraft, a crew chief develops a special relationship with the plane he works on," Schuler said.

For almost a full year, Schuler prepared 66-8728 for its daily mission of streaking through the skies and dropping bombs over North Vietnam.

Almost as if succumbing to a gravitational pull, Schuler reached for the left wing of the D-model aircraft, smiling as he gently touched the now-oxidized paint and noticing the aircraft's mission markings have long-since been painted over. He quietly knelt under the wing, looking for the small, tell-tell signs of repair only he would recognize.

"I guessed the pieces of skin I left on this plane would be long gone by now. Bombing wires hung from the pylons, making little holes in the flap we had to repair, " he said, feeling for Bondo-concealed holes underneath the aircraft's aft flap.

Schuler wasn't really surprised to find that years of maintenance had removed the defects he had once repaired.

An aircraft takes on its own personality and a crew chief gets vibes from it, Schuler explained.

"I realize that sounds a little weird, but a plane becomes a living thing to the crew chief. It doesn't talk back to you," he added, "but it does get to the point to where you can listen to it and you know what to look for."

Although Schuler called his time in Thailand a "plain vanilla tour with three bomb runs a day," seeing the aircraft again brought back memories from the late '60s.

Still smiling from the reunion with his plane, Schuler recalled an evening back in Thailand spent with buddies watching the Notre Dame and University of Southern California football game, drinking grape Kool Aid and eating an ill-gotten sheetcake of chow hall cherry cobbler. His smile turned a bit wistful as he wondered aloud, whatever happened to his friends from so many years ago.

Schuler's reminiscent love and respect for 66-8728 has landed him what he considers the job of a lifetime -- maintaining an F-4D and preparing it for flight. He's now one of several volunteer crew chiefs selected to maintain the Collings Foundation's F-4D, flown by Steve Ritchie, a retired brigadier general who was the only Air Force ace pilot in the Vietnam War.

The Collings F-4 retired to AMARC in 1990, one year after 66-8728, but it received a reprieve from Congress in 1999 under the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act.

Schuler was assigned as the Collings' crew chief for a recent event in Scottsdale, Ariz., and he said he jumped at the chance to accompany Ritchie on the short trek down to Tucson.

"I knew 66-8728 was in storage at AMARC, and I knew I'd probably never have a better chance to see her -- probably for the last time," Schuler said. "It really meant a lot to me."

Along with photographs he took to complete his photo album of 728, Schuler departed AMARC with thoughts similar to those Roberts voiced.

"They say there are a million stories to tell in a big city," the commander said, "but just think, if these aircraft could talk, imagine the stories they could tell."

"It's very sad to realize this particular F-4 will never fly again," Schuler said. "On the other hand, there's a great deal of satisfaction in knowing 66-8728 always successfully responded when called upon, contributed to the accomplishment of many critical missions, and always returned safely home with her pilot.

Schuler's F-4 is slated for disposal this year. (Courtesy of Air Force Material Command News Service)

- Davis-Monthan Air Force Base