I was moonlighting for Flight Safety International as a Flight Instructor in the DA-20 Falcon Jet in the early 1980s. One day the Chief Instructor (who knew I was into racing) asked if I had ever heard of a famous racing driver named “Liddy,” or “Ludy,” or “Laddy,” or something like that. I asked, “Could it be Lauda?” “Yea, that’s it,” he replied. “Well this guy’s coming in next week to get his type rating – don’t suppose you’d like to take him?” I wasn’t scheduled to work that week but this was too good to pass up.
The next week I arrived at the training facility to find Niki had already finished the academic portion of the training and was ready for simulator training. After a short introduction we were off to the “box.” I explained our schedule: 2 hours briefing each day followed by four hours in the box. As he was by himself, Flight Safety would provide a support co-pilot for these sessions. I also explained I was very much into racing and hoped we would have the opportunity to chat about some of his experiences.
