Pilot reaches 6,000 flying hours Published May 2, 2007 By Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- He started out flying a T-37, learning how to apply his private pilot's knowledge to the U.S. Air Force. Now he's finishing his career flying one. Lt. Col. William O'Connor, the United States senior national representative with the 80th Flying Training Wing, logged his 6,000th hour flying as an officer in the U.S. Air Force while flying to an air show at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. "I was cross-county at the time and Eglin AFB was kind enough to throw an entire two-day air show in my honor - that's my story anyway and I'm sticking to it," the colonel said jokingly. While he may have flown privately prior to the Air Force, he began his fighter pilot career in a place familiar to many Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training students. "I started out flying T-37's and am still flying them today. It may even be the same one," Colonel O'Conner quipped. The colonel didn't fly a Tweet for all 6,000 of those hours though. In fact, he's had a varied and well-rounded career since first flying at the age of 12 in a sea-plane ride. He's flown the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-117A Nighthawk with the Air Force, spent time flying along side Sailors with the Navy and even participated in an exchange program with the Egyptian Air Force. These experiences have given him a wealth of memories, so much so its hard for him to pin down his favorite. Some include the time he tested brand new F-16's in Ft. Worth, which according to him, "have that new-car smell." Or the time during his Navy exchange when he was first qualified to land and take off of a carrier aboard the USS Kitty Hawk. He also talked about his time with the Egyptian Air Force. "My first flight in Egypt (was) in the back seat of the last of five F-16s going to a tanker," he said. "All the other pilots were Egyptian and spoke broken English at best. They explained, on the way out over the Mediterranean, that I was supposed to teach them how to refuel off the ANG KC-135 once we got there," much to his surprise. He hopes to add his fini-flight in the T-37, which is fast approaching, to the list. "I've been lucky, I've never had to leave the cockpit," he said. The colonel said that an average fighter pilots career is 3,000 hours in 3-to-4 different airplanes. He's flown his 6,000 in 8. "I feel a little guilty," he said. "Almost like I stole someone else's career." Colonel O'Connor's love of flying began before he joined the Air Force, even before he was an engineering major at Columbia University in New York City. "I grew up next to Hanscom (AFB, Mass.) and the planes would shake the ceilings as they flew by," he said. "I decided I wanted to be the guy shaking the ceiling. I used to be that little kid who would run outside to see a plane fly over head. Forty years later I'm still that kid." Colonel O'Connor will turn overthe reins of the U.S. SNR position June 1 and will retire two months later. "It's kind of like high school," he said. "I enjoyed it, but it's nice to finally graduate." The colonel will have served for 26 years, from Sept. 1, 1981, to Sept. 1, 2007.