Fort Rucker: A Case Study

HQDA detailers received complaints from commanders concerning placements, quality for Training and Combat Development Directorates at Fort Rucker. They wanted CGSC graduates. I found it interesting that they chose a passed-over Major to solve that problem. And DA told me this was my only promotion opportunity, but by now, I realized that what they said was not what they meant. But the options were scarce, and I was within three years of retirement. Enterprise, Alabama was a low-cost area, and I might be able to get a flight instructor or a maintenance officer job after retirement. We went to Enterprise in December 1982, found a lot, designed a house similar, but even better than our Fresno house, and began building. It was on a quiet …show more content…
Both invited me to their plants. McDonald Douglas was in Phoenix, where my mother lived, so that was interesting. I had a good visit with them, and they offered me $50K. I concluded they were going to lose LHX, and they didn’t have much to offer on the research side, so I declined. Sikorsky was next. Their representatives visited me at our house and said they wanted me to consider Sikorsky. I told them I liked to live well, and I was doing that here as they could tell. I was afraid Connecticut was expensive, and we wouldn’t’ be able to live comfortably. They assured me they thought I would. Sarah and I went up and looked at houses and found some we liked. They would be $3,000 a month mortgage and I was concerned that layoffs would come. I visited the plant, the people, but their research area was limited. They had a ridged rotor counter rotating design with an integral pusher prop. And a Rube Goldberg X-wing transmission-less design that blew exhaust gas over the rotors to make them turn like a helicopter. After achieving forward flight, the pilot would stop the rotor in mid-flight and direct the air over the blades to create lift. That was unique, but the one built for the NASA contract got off the ground. The counter-rotating concept flew, but was very loud and thus not tactical. I was not impressed, but I did like the people and wouldn’t have minded working there if they beat McDonald’s offer. If I had seen the Stealth X-wing, design things might have been more intriguing. The offer almost beat me home and almost blew me away at $68K. Bell was next. I had flown both the XV-15 Tilt Rotor and 680 rotor head helicopter and was impressed with their engineering and innovation. I met with a group of people at Bell and had a great day. Ray Swindell offered me $48K. That was a lot less money, but the study was showing Tilt Rotor was