Two companion bills soon to be introduced in Congress would raise the airline retirement age to 67 from the current 65. Sen. Lindsey Graham announced the Senate version of the bill and spoke about it at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport on Monday. “We just don’t have enough pilots over time to keep the skies working the way they should,” Graham, who is 67 himself, said at a press conference.
Beale AFB north of Sacramento is home to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, which operates the U-2 Dragon Lady, and before its retirement in the 90s, the SR-71 Blackbird. Back when I was stationed there the SR-71s used the static call sign “Aspen,” and the U-2s were “Pinion.”
If I was the ATC I think I would say “yes, it is my brother’s 2020 Bonanza G36. He just purchased it.”
Then I would approach Textron and ask for the sales commission.
I was an air traffic controller at Chicago Center and one day I was working a NASA U2. I had been told that the flight would be above FL 600 but he was not squawking mode C. Out of curiosity I asked the pilot what his altitude was and the reply was “You don’t need to know.”
