It was a hot and sticky April afternoon when I finally took the instrument rating (airplane) practical test with FAA inspector Dale Ropp. All my dual had been at night with Roger Burdorf, who was a good pilot but had some unique ideas about getting maximum performance out of his students. This usually involved yelling and/or smacking me on the back of the head when I screwed up.
Early in training, I made a night instrument takeoff from Lunken Airport (now KLUK) in Ohio, using a runway adjacent to a hillside with traffic on a busy highway at the base and well-lit neighborhoods climbing the slope. I unearthed a hood that was extra wide and allowed me to cheat a little with a glimpse of terrain on the sides. What seemed like a great idea was a bad mistake and an excellent lesson in vertigo. As I began to climb, I was almost hypnotized—totally confused—by moving lights I could see under the left side of the hood. I’m pretty sure we would have flown into the hill if Roger hadn’t taken the controls…and, yes, smacked me on the head.
