Tie Cutting
A “solo tie cutting ritual” is a symbolic act where an individual severs their emotional and physical ties that no longer serve them. It signifies a personal milestone of achieving independence. After a pilot’s first solo flight, the pilot typically has their tie cut. It signifies their independence from the instructor. Older training methods included instructors pulling trainees’ scarves as a disciplinary or attention-getting tactic. When pilots had their ties cut, it signified the instructor’s loss of control.
At Saufley Field, Pensacola, Florida, home of VT-1, tie cutting was a well-preserved ritual. On Friday afternoon, all the pilots who soloed during that week gather at the Saufley Field O’Club. Beers flowed freely and the students and instructors drifted out to the courtyard behind the O’Club bar. One by one, students were called out by their instructor. The instructed armed with a pair of scissors would grab the student’s tie and cut it in half. The instructors often accompanied the cutting with comments like, “I was so scared of flying with Ensign Jones I had to get out of the airplane before he killed me.” Everyone would cheer and raise their glass to the newly initiated solo student. For the students, it was a graduation moment, no longer under the tutelage of an instructor. They were now free to fly by themselves. A milestone in their progress towards becoming a Navy pilot.
The image shows LT. Weibly, in his aviator green uniform, cutting my tie. He had flown the A-1 Skyradiers off of aircraft carriers and was a Naval Academy classmate of John McCain. As he cut my tie, he made a comment.
“I don’t know why I am doing this if Randy doesn’t want to fly off an aircraft carrier. He might as well be in the Air Force.”
After the cutting, he shook my hand, slapped me on the back and said.
“You did a really good job. I wish you the best.”
He left the Navy about two months after this picture was taken, and then he went to work for TWA. I was living on cloud nine. I had now joined an elite club of student Naval Aviators who had their ties cut by their instructor. What a magical moment. I was so lucky.