The Fabled Blue Card

Most people who fly or are interested in flying have heard of the “blue card.” The story may have started with the Navy and Marine Corps having three categories of instrument flight qualification. The lowest was an entry level aviator’s “restricted” card. It was pink. After demonstrating higher proficiency, a Navy/USMC pilot was issued a white “standard card,” often referred to as a “white card.” To those demonstrating peak proficiency on a flight check, the Navy issued a “green card.” For Navy/USMC clearance stations, a “green card” would let a pilot take off when the destination weather was forecast to be at absolute ceiling and visibility minimums. Another privilege reserved for the “green” card pilot was that he could set his own takeoff minimums.

An additional instrument rating known to all pilots was the “blue card.” The qualifications for a blue card came up often at “debriefings,” at nearby bars, or general good natured harassing of fellow pilots. The blue card certified that an individual named on this card is required, prior to any proposed flight, to hold this card at arms length and look through the holes provided. If the color of the sky matches the color of this card, the bearer is authorized to file a flight plan.”

“In response to how he checked the weather, “I just whip out my blue card with a hole in it and read what it says: ‘When color of card matches color of sky, FLY!”

— Gordon Baxter*

*Pilots of those days will perhaps remember Gordon Baxter best for his much-beloved “Bax Seat” column, which ran in Flying magazine from 1971 to 1998. In the column, Bax wrote about the romance of flight and his lifelong status as an “airport bum.” And Bax was an airport bum. In fact, when his daughter Jenny asked whether he was famous, he replied that he was, within a one-mile radius of an airport.

But Bax’s fame extended much farther than that. He made his living as a radio personality in the Beaumont area for more than 40 years, and his good ole boy persona attracted listeners of all ages. In addition, he wrote for other magazines, including Car and Driver, and authored 11 books.