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I had the distinct honor of being on the crew with Ron Burks for his last
trip as a Captain with World Airways. It was the first time I had flown
with him, and unfortunately will be the last. I say unfortunately because
I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the trip and would love to fly with
him again. His last day of flying was our flight from Frankfurt to
Atlanta on Friday, June 12th, 2002.
The rotation was Atlanta - Frankfurt - Adana, Turkey, - Frankfurt - Atlanta.
Tom Allard (the other F/O) and I did it again the following week, alas,
without Ron. Nevertheless, we had a good time... See those pics
here
. This particular evening was our first night in Wiesbaden which is
where we stayed during the second Frankfurt layover (on the way home). We
met in the hotel bar for a quick toast and made our way out to dinner at the
Rathsbrau (if I recall the name correctly). Most of the guys call it
the ratskeller, as it's down in the basement. They had great food and
a wonderful atmosphere for our going away party.
After we finished dinner, we returned to the hotel. Some of the party
stayed and others joined us as we moved on to the Buddha Bar. Needless
to say, a good time was had by all. It was the perfect punctuation to
a life long career in aviation for Ron. "This part of it," he says,
"I'll miss."
When we arrived at the Frankfurt airport to return to Atlanta, we knew it
would be a special flight. Ron was presented with some parting gifts
at the airport, which was the first of a long string of farewells. As
we made our way back to the states, several ATC facilities contacted us with
well wishes for Ron's retirement. Stockholm radio even played "Fly Me
to the Moon" over the HF radio.
After landing in Atlanta, the fire trucks were waiting to hose us down.
When we pulled into the gate, several World people from headquarters
came onboard to greet Ron, including Gary Goodpaster, Heather Hamilton, Tracy
Hahn, Darryl Epps, Heather Peter, Michele Gillardon. After a long string
of well wishes, we parted company as Ron stayed at the airport while Tom
and I stayed in Buckhead. It was an honor to be along on Ron's trip.
I wish I had the opportunity to fly with him more.
