The wild blue yonder looks ominously gray and uninviting this cloudy, humid morning as Capt. Russ Carlisle, United States Air Force Reserve, AG '93, enters the base operations building at Dover Air Force Base. A check with the weather shop confirms the obvious--clouds, cold front moving in later in the day, occasional rain, few breaks of sunshine. After trading a couple of jokes with the operations staff, he heads out to the flight line to the giant C-5 Galaxy aircraft he will be flying later, one of a row of 15 shark-like behemoths lined up along the tarmac.
Carlisle, who was an agricultural engineering major in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, flies the C-5, equivalent in size to the Boeing 747, for the 326th Airlift Squadron of the 512th Airlift Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserve. He's also a full-time pilot for American Airlines, flying out of Washington, D.C. And he's a proud UD alumnus with a family history at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources going back through his dad, Keith Carlisle, AG '65, and his uncle, Richard Carlisle, AG '67.
"I have so many ties to UD," Carlisle says, walking under the noses of the aircraft on the line. "To begin with, I'm from Delaware. It's the place to go! My first personal connection was as a kid, when I became a member of 4-H. Later, when it came time for college and career choices, UD had the degree I wanted, and I could serve in the reserves while I attended. I'm very proud to say I'm a UD graduate."
Reaching the C-5 open for his inspection, he climbs a long ladder into the aircraft's cavernous cargo belly and explains how the C-5 fulfills its primary military role, as the workhorse that carries nearly all of the outsized-equipment for the armed forces to any theatre of operation on the globe.
"Capacity is variable, depending on how much fuel we're carrying," he explains. "Maximum is about 240,000 pounds total. That might consist of two M1-A1 Abrams battle tanks at 130,000 pounds each, or three MH-53 helicopters--Jolly Green Giants. I've carried bulldozers, cranes--and once, 14 Chevy Blazers. We can carry up to 343 troops, too, 73 upstairs on fixed seats and 270 on pallets of seats that lock in place in channels on the floor.
"Congress likes the smaller C-17 Globemaster," Carlisle acknowledges, "but there are things only this plane can do. In Somalia in 1994, when a company of U.S. Rangers was trapped, they needed armor to get them out. We loaded two M1-A1 tanks on a C-5 and had them there in 24 hours. A C-17 couldn't have done that."
Scaling another ladder into the cockpit, three stories off the ground, Carlisle says, "The longest flight I commanded was 19 hours nonstop from Andrews Air Force Base to Guam. We carried equipment for President Clinton's trip to Thailand--vehicles for the Secret Service detail and presidential limousines. It was grueling! We did two air refuelings over water, taking on 130,000 pounds of fuel just off California and another 130,000 pounds off Hawaii. Each refueling took about 25 minutes, for a total of 50 minutes on the tanker's boom. As the aircraft commander, I had to perform both refuelings, plus be in the seat for takeoff and landing, but two other pilots were on board to assist. It was more than a 24-hour day by the time we landed in Guam."
During his 14-year Air Force career, Carlisle also has flown in his oversized delivery wagon to support American troops in several conflicts. He served as a loadmaster during Desert Storm, distributing the freight in the cargo bay for optimum weight distribution. More recently, he has piloted supply missions, flying materiel to support operations in Kosovo.
It's not always so intense when he's on duty, however. Many times, he flies routine supply missions to Europe or fulfills training requirements. Today, for instance, he will spend four hours in a state-of-the-art flight simulator, responding to flight emergency scenarios he might encounter in actual flying conditions. The $14 million simulator module looks and feels exactly like the C-5 cockpit. Trainers plug in computerized scenarios that play out on screens in the cockpit windshield and in the instruments. The module moves in realistic response to the scenario's programmed emergency.
"We never know what to expect when we're in the simulator, but we cover every emergency imaginable," says Carlisle. "Landing gear doesn't come up or go down. There's an engine fire. We lose power. If you can't fix it, you crash. It's a great tool. You can't try all these incidents in a $184 million plane. But, the simulator is so real, you feel as if you are actually in the situation."
It's in dealing with problem situations that Carlisle finds his agricultural engineering degree comes in particularly handy. "It relates a lot," he says, "mostly in how you think and how you learn, logically and systematically.
"For instance, if there's a system problem on the plane, you have to step back and think it through. That's how my classes at UD were. I had some fine instructors there. They really made you work through the problems. It all comes back; it's ingrained. That ability fits in well with flying. You have to be very precise and sure of which procedures you're following."
Carlisle cites changes in the role of the military reserves with providing him a level of flying experience he never could have attained at his age in civilian flying.
"In Desert Storm, thousands of National Guard and reserve troops supplemented the active duty military numbers," he explains. "The government recognized the potential: With fewer active duty personnel available, filling the gap with the capability and expertise accessible in reserve troops makes them a bargain.
"The United States' troop commitment worldwide means that 55 percent of missions around the globe are handled by the Guard and reserves," he continues. "The military gets the experience and talent they need but they don't have to pay for benefits like housing or medical care. We get paid only for the days we actually work, and I get plenty of those as a result."
The amount of time he spends on reserve duty, however, means that Carlisle is logging flying hours he wouldn't have from his job with American Airlines. It's a balancing act that makes him more valuable to American Airlines, while his schedule with American allows him to put in extra time with the Air Force. All the time in the air is a tonic to Carlisle, who says, "Flying was the one thing I always wanted to do. I never thought it would be possible. I'm very lucky to be where I am today."
As much as he loves it now, flying is not the career Carlisle had in mind when he began his studies at UD. Having spent his life on his dad's vegetable farm, he thought they would probably go into partnership and he would help work the family's 1,500 acres in Greenwood. "I figured I'd grow my hair long and be a farmer," he jokes with a grin, running a hand over his regulation G.I "high and tight" haircut.
He doesn't spend much time on the family farm these days. With professional, military and family responsibilities all vying for attention, he just "can't get up to the farm." He says he misses it, though.
"I love getting out in the field--the smell of the soil, the sounds of the machines--and I love working with my dad.
"My dad is my hero," he says proudly. "He started out in 1965 with 100 acres and one tractor and built himself into what he is today. I'd like to think I have a good work ethic and that it comes from my father."
Family is his first, most important responsibility, Carlisle stresses. He and his wife, Tammie, have a 3-year-old son, Ian, and recently have welcomed a new addition to their family, daughter Bayleigh. They recently purchased a home in Bridgeville, Del., which Carlisle is renovating "in my spare time!" He credits Tammie with keeping him in focus as he pursues his multifaceted life.
"She reminds me to be 'daddy' when I'm running between the airline and the airbase," he says. "My family supports my flying, and if you don't have a supportive family, this won't work. It takes commitment to maintain that equilibrium."
On the runway running parallel to the flight line, another C-5 is lifting off, each of its four giant engines roaring with 41,000 pounds of thrust. Carlisle pauses, conversation cut off by the din, watching through the cockpit window as the aircraft rises majestically and fades into the haze.
"You know," he says with a smile, "when I'm away from here for awhile, I can't wait to get back."
--Marianne Kirby Rhodes