NO I HAVEN'T by John Herbig

         The story of the Albacore is fascinating. From being designed in a wind tunnel to the incredible speeds and hydrobatics we did during Phase 2 (I wasn’t around for Phase 3), a boat that changed the past into the future. One man control. When I got aboard Albacore, we had a stick from a P-47 and two rudder pedals. The stick was later replaced by a wheel and a yoke from a bomber.

         A few years after I got out of the Navy, I decided I wanted to try to learn how to fly an airplane. At the beginning of the first lesson, the instructor said that he would let me fly. However, if he told me to “let go”, I should immediately let go of the controls. I took off, got up to 3,000 feet and did a bunch of right, left and S-turns. The whole time he kept asking me if I had ever flown before. I kept telling him “no”.

         Returning to the airport, I landed the plane on the numbers. The instructor said that I was the first student that he never had to touch the controls. He let me solo during my third session. He kept asking if I had ever flown.

         A little later I realized that in fact I had flown before, on the Albacore. I had spent many hours flying the submarine underwater.