Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 26, 1992 TAG: 9203260342
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHELLE RILEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"It was cool," said Scott Handy, a junior at William Fleming High School. "What he did in the plane and all that . . . it's just interesting."
Disrud gave presentations to classes at Fleming on Friday and at the annual meeting Saturday of Newbern-Trane Inc., a commercial air-conditioning company in Northwest Roanoke.
He first gave a slide show of the A-10 Warthog fighter plane, explaining how different structures on the plane affect how it is flown. He then showed a video that highlighted his flying skills.
Disrud is considered the best fighter pilot - or Top Gun - in the Air Force after winning the Gunsmoke '91 Worldwide Fighter Competition. He won the honor by outscoring 55 other pilots.
This is different from the "Top Gun" pilot school, which is for Navy fighter pilots.
Disrud gave the credit to his teammates and maintenance crews, saying he could never have flown so well without their support and skills.
He said he came to Roanoke to spark interest in the groups.
"I hope I can inspire you to get into the Air Force or aviation," Disrud told the Fleming students. "That's what it's all about."
Leah Coffman, who works at Newbern-Trane, said the company chose Disrud as its annual motivational speaker because he reflected the company's philosophy of teamwork.
"He is the best in his field, and it was teamwork that did it," Coffman said. "This is a prime example of how it works and why it works."
But some of the ROTC, aeronautic and engineering students who listened to the Friday presentation just like the flying.
Senior Jennifer Walker said, "I've been interested in aviation since I was about 7. I like anything about airplanes."
by CNB