Boy gets chance to be a pilot for a day

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Kenneth Rossa
  • 60th Operations Group
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Twelve-year-old Nicholas Gebhardt of Coventry, Conn., was Travis' Pilot for a Day April 16. Nick and his family of six traveled across the country sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area Make-a-Wish Foundation. Before the Gebhardt family traveled to California, they were contacted by the 60th Operations Group as Nick made a perfect "Pilot" candidate. 

In March of 2008, Nick was diagnosed with a Wilm's tumor. Nick not only took on this life-threatening illness, but beat it, and one year later, leads the life of a normal young man. 

The Make-a-Wish foundation near his hometown contacted the Bay Area's Make-a-Wish and Nick was able to experience his dream of "weightlessness." He and his family traveled to the west coast to "iFly," an indoor skydiving simulator. 

Completely unaware at the time of his arrival at Travis, Nick was greeted by members of the 60th Security Forces Squadron and promptly given a police escort through the main gate and directly to the K-9 compound for a demonstration at the Travis' Military Working Dog facility. Afterward, the escort continued to the 21st Airlift Squadron where Nick was fitted with a flightsuit, flight orders, and "coined" by the commander, Lt. Col. William Spangenthal. After his induction briefing, Colonel Spangenthal asked Nick three questions. 

The first; was he willing to answer his country's call, day or night, to defend freedom and his country's way of life? The second; was he willing to land a 500,000 pound aircraft filled with "grunts, beans and bullets" on a dirt strip with no light while equipped with night-vision goggles? And finally, was he willing to fly within only feet of another aircraft in order to receive fuel to continue his mission? The answers to all three were a resounding yes! With that, Nick was pinned with his Pilot's Wings and continued to his mission/threat briefings with his crew of C-17 Globemaster III pilots; Capts. Brandon Shroyer and Mandy Patrick, and C-17 loadmaster, Staff Sgt. Joe Kimbrell for an NVG pre-flight. "I thought I was going to cry when Colonel Spangenthal pulled out the name tag with wings," said Nick's mother Denise. 

During the Gebhardt family visit of only five hours, they visited the 21st AS, participated in the "launch" of a C-17 mission on the flightline, visited the air traffic control tower, experienced a fire truck ride/demonstration, and finally, flew in the C-5 simulator. During the "sim" ride, Capt. Scott Knerr, C-5 aircraft commander, and Master Sgt. Scott Franzer, C-5 flight engineer took the family on a Bay Area tour that went "above and beyond" the Golden Gate Bridge. 

At the mid-point of the day, Nick and the Gebhardt family were met by the 60 Air Mobility Wing commander, Col. Mark Dillon, for a "coining" of Travis' newest pilot. Col. Kip Turain, acting 60 Operations Group commander also coined the young pilot at the conclusion of his day. "It's a day that we'll never, ever, forget!" said Nick's father, William Gebhardt. 

The Travis Pilot for a Day Program mirrors other Air Force programs and was started in May of 2006 when Katie Powell, the 10-year-old daughter of then-Senior Master Sgt. Chris Powell, 60 OG KC-10 boom operator, was stricken with Ewing's Sarcoma. Chief Master Sgt. Powell said he'd always dreamed of having his daughter fly with Dad prior to her passing. Visitors of the Travis Duck Pond can witness Katie's Grove, dedicated by the 6th and 9th Air Refueling Squadrons. Since May of 2006, the program has continued Katie's memory by hosting five children who've faced or are facing life-threatening illnesses.