Chuck Oates
Goodbye, PB
Paul
Black was a fine man. An electrical
engineer by training and a generalist's generalist by avocation, he was a
sailor, a chef, and a right-seat flyer.
He and I worked for Technical Oil Tool Company (TOTCO) in the 1980s
designing hardware and software for everything from Visulogger
drilling instrumentation monitors to automated blow-out
preventer/controllers. Paul brought
enthusiasm, good humor, and technical expertise to any project and was a joy to
work with. His style was sometimes a
source of amazement and amusement to his peers, as well as to his kids and
mine. ("Your dad's like that
too?!")
Paul
and Bob Noble ran out of good choices, airspeed, and altitude on the 2nd
of December 2006 near Sooner Mall in Norman, about 100 yards from Max Westheimer Airport. They avoided all
the nearby buildings, traffic, and pedestrians. They will be
missed. They will be remembered.
I
often feared I'd die that way. An
engine-out emergency when approaching an airport, low and slow, leaves few
choices. Land on a busy highway, come
down on a residential street through power lines, or find an empty lot and nose
the plane over into it, thereby avoiding residences and businesses, but at the
cost of one's own life. I was probably spared the same fate by being
broke, half-blind, and sometimes-asthmatic when I was a young fellow--and by
marrying a white-knuckle flyer. My commercial pilot's license was left
gathering dust on the dresser. Paul, on the other hand, pursued his
dream.
Fly
with the eagles, Paul. I'll catch up to
you in a little while.