CAMPAIGN ’88 : Bush Gets Crash Course at Flight Simulator Lab
On the campaign trail, where such things as patriotism and personal courage count for a lot, Vice President George Bush has never been reluctant to squeeze into speeches references to his Navy flying career.
Rapt audiences listen as Bush recounts how his Avenger bomber was hit by enemy fire while over the Pacific and dove into the sea after dropping bombs on Japanese-held territory. Bush alone, of the three-man crew, survived.
On Friday, Bush got a chance to relive his flying days in a flight simulation laboratory at the General Dynamics plant in Ft. Worth.
He crashed.
Bush was mock-flying an F-16, one of the “Fighting Falcons” manufactured at the plant, when it came time for landing. And by his account, he did not fare well.
“I’m not sure it was a legitimate crash, but I’d hate to have walked away from it,” he said. “I might have had to be carried out.”
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