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Richard Naylor - K5LRS (SK)

I live in Northwest Arkansas with my wife on five acres just outside Fayetteville near the Ozark National Forest, Wedington Unit. My wife and I have been married for fifty-two years now. I retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2014 after twenty-eight years as a rural mail carrier. My wife is a retired LPN-CST from one of the local hospitals. We have two children, a son and a daughter. My son is an electrical engineer and my daughter has a degree in Landscape Architecture, but works in the education field. Each of our children has three children making us six grandchildren, but no great-grandchildren yet. They all live nearby. I hunt, fish, ride motorcycles and play on the radio. I also have a pilot’s license, but haven’t flown in awhile due to a loss in my hearing and unable to pass a flight physical. My wife is a crafter and fairly good genealogist in her retirement. I am an old Eagle Scout and was a scoutmaster for more than twenty-five years.

I joined the U.S. Air Force in 1960. According to many, I was picked for the second best job in the Air Force next to being a pilot, and that was Air Traffic Control. Spent basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas and did my technical training at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, where I received my training as a 27230B GCA controller.

Photo of Rich outside his GCA.
Rich outside his GCA.

After technical school, I was sent to Sheppard AFB at Wichita Falls, Texas, were I earned my 5 level in the GCA unit.  Sheppard AFB was a SAC base when I was there and home to sixteen B-52 heavy bombers. There was also an advanced pilot training base there as well.

Photo of Rich outside a GCA.
Rich doing his GCA thing!

In December of 1962, I was sent to Incirlik AB, Adana, Turkey to work in the RAPCON unit there. However, when I arrived, there was no RAPCON or radar of any kind. I was transferred to the tower and got rated there and then, like magic, a mobile RAPCON showed up and I was transferred to it. Interestingly enough, I spent a year in that unit, alone, as no other radar operators were ever sent to Incirlik until after I left in July of 1964. It was just me and one technician. There is a lot more to this story than I can tell here, but I will say this: When I was at Incirlik, it was still a Black Ops base for U-2’s and EC-130’s. I was honorably discharged at Carswell AFB, Texas in July of 1964.

I earned my first ham ticket in 1958 as a junior in high school after I had joined the school ham club. I let it lapse due to working, going to school and playing high school baseball. While at Incirlik I obtained what the FCC called a “conditional” license which was a general ticket without the Morse code requirement because there was no one to give the Morse code test. When I got back to the U.S., I took the Morse code portion of the test and received my general ticket. For more than forty years, I primarily ran RTTY with two Model 19 radio teletype machines, but actually like all facets of the hobby.

Photo of Rich in his shack.
Rich in his shack.

Current station is a Yaesu FT-1000MP, Heathkit SA-2060 tuner, Ameritron AL-811H amplifier, and an assortment of antennas.

Sadly, Rich passed away on 10 JUNE 2023 following surgery on his heart.  We will miss you, Rich! 

Here is a link to Rich's obituary.

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