COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Tribune News Service) — For more than 77 years, few things have given Alfred Uhalt more pleasure than escaping the bonds of Earth in the cockpit of an airplane.

“It seemed to grow into me from a very young age,” said Uhalt, 93. “As soon as I could fly, I did. And I’ve been flying ever since.”

Uhalt’s flight statistics are almost too extraordinary to comprehend. More than 18,000 flight hours. Thirty-eight different military airplanes. Nearly 4,000 combat hours flown over Vietnam, with 257 missions in just over 11 months.

In recognition of these accomplishments, and more, Uhalt was honored on Saturday with the most prestigious award the Federal Aviation Administration issues to pilots.

The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award recognizes aviators who have had 50 or more consecutive years of safe flight operations. With a career spanning nearly eight decades of military and civilian aviation, Uhalt easily met the requirements.

Appropriately, Uhalt was given the award during a surprise celebration at The Airplane Restaurant on Newport Road, a short drive from the Colorado Springs Airport.

“I didn’t know this was happening until I got here,” he said.

Uhalt was flying planes before he could legally drive. On his 14th birthday, he earned his glider’s license. Two years later, he earned his private pilot’s license, soloing in a Pipe Cub on his 16th birthday. A few weeks after that, he pedaled a bicycle to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get his driver’s license.

Not long after he turned 27, Uhlt enlisted in the Air Force Reserve. In 1953, he graduated with distinction from Air Force flight training and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant.

So began a 27-year military career that included a Silver Star for saving a platoon of Army Rangers from a Viet Cong ambush (despite his F-4 aircraft being hit by a surface-to-air missile). Other decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

From 1977-1979, Uhalt, by then a colonel, served as commander of the 46th Aerospace Defense Wing at Peterson Air Force Base (now Peterson Space Force Base). He retired from active duty in 1979.

On Saturday, Space Force Col. Kenneth Klock stopped by to pay his respects. As commander of Space Base Delta 1, Klock’s position is similar to the one Uhalt held nearly 50 years prior.

“The leaders who have gone before me, like Col. Uhalt, have built a legacy of excellence, one that we will continue building into the future,” Klock said.

After his retirement, Uhalt remained active in aviation, showing a willingness to fly “anywhere, for any reason,” according to former Mayor John Suthers, who attended the celebration.

Suthers shared a story from decades ago, when he was a district attorney and needed a statement from a criminal to help prosecutors close a case. The criminal, notorious serial killer Ottis Poole, was incarcerated in Florida at the time.

At the request of the Colorado Springs Police Department, Uhalt flew to Florida (accompanied by several CSPD detectives), transported Poole to Colorado Springs, then flew him back to Florida once he had given his statement.

“If you needed someone to fly anyplace for anything, regardless of the circumstances, Al Uhalt would do it,” the former mayor said.

These days, Uhalt still flies as often as he can, piloting a number of different aircraft including the Piper Cub, Learjet, several Cessna models, and others.

“It’s free, and it’s clean, and you can see so much of this great nation from up above,” he said. “Also, you can get where you’re going much faster.”

On Saturday, Federal Aviation Administration official John Childers awarded Uhalt with a framed certificate and an FAA lapel pin. Childers also presented a pin to Uhalt’s wife, Debbie.

“I’m glad people recognize all the flying I did, but I was just doing what I love,” Uhalt said. “(The award) will mean more later, I’m sure.”

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