Aspen Airport – Summer 1974

The Learjet caught my attention as it touched down across from me on runway 15.  Even in the 1970’s Aspen received a number of private jet landings every day.  On this day we witnessed one of the first Learjet 35A’s ever made.  This model of Learjet had been in production less than a year and only a few customers had them.

In 1974 I was spending my summers and some of the school holidays working for Monarch Aviation.  Monarch was the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) for the Aspen Airport at the time.  It was owned by the Pabst Family and was based out of Walker Field in Grand Junction.  The job was fun as I was allowed to drive vehicles on the airport ramps even though I was too young to legally drive.  I towed aircraft around with the tugs, fueled them, heated up their engines and even got to use the external Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) to help the turbine engines get started on occasion.  Ramp work was dangerous but it also provided an opportunity to be around aircraft of all types and it was worth the risk.

As the new Learjet 35A taxied towards me I held out the bright orange batons indicating where the nose of the jet needed to be.  As the jet pulled up in front of me I instructed the pilots to make a hard right turn and come to a stop.  Parked and with the engines shut down, the fuel truck pulled up in front of the plane.  Due to the fact that most Learjet’s have wing tip tanks; they must be fueled up on both sides at the same time.  If only one side gets fuel or gets more fuel, the aircraft could easily tip onto its wing causing extensive damage.  The Learjet 35A is equipped with these tip tanks.  My next job was to take one of the fuel lines and fill the left side of the jet.  Coordination is key and as the other ramp worker and I started the fueling process we paid close attention to how much fuel was being put in the jet.

While standing there fueling the Learjet, a gentleman that could not be a day over 35 exited the aircraft.  He looked at me and said, “Hey boy, call me a cab.”  Without thinking I replied, “Alright, Poof! You’re a cab.”  I went about finishing up the fueling process and then alerted another ramp worker of the jet owner’s request for transportation.  Not giving it another thought I went on with the tasks of ramp operations.  About 20 minutes later I was called into the FBO ramp manager’s office. I do not remember his name but he was one of the nicest people around and had a great sense of humor. At the time, Eddie Dropla was the General Manager, but I am not sure he ever caught wind of my comment or how the customer responded to it.  Anyone who knows me well, knows I have a very healthy sense of paranoia and being called to the office made me panic.

As it turns out the owner of the Learjet did not find my comment very amusing, and he asked that I be “fired immediately!”  The FBO remp manager was in no mood to be told what to do by anyone, especially a condescending individual who treated everyone like he owned them.  Agreeing that my comment was funny but maybe a little inappropriate, he asked that I keep my distance the next time I see the jet owner.  Luckily enough, I do not recall ever seeing him or his jet in Aspen again.