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Last weekend's Heritage Flight Conference at Davis-Monthan put vintage military aircraft alongside the Air Force's state-of-the-art fighters. Many aircraft enthusiasts were on hand, excited about gearing up for another season.

I will cautiously admit I am not an aircraft enthusiast in the pure sense of the term. I appreciate aircraft merely for what they can do. As examples, I love A-10s because I know the difference they make for our troops on the ground in combat. I loved the old C-141 Starlifter, my favorite aircraft, because this was the plane that brought POWs home from Vietnam.

I'm not sure if Adrian Shelton has the same outlook. But when she and her husband, University of Arizona President Robert Shelton, stepped out on the tarmac at D-M last Sunday, her reverence for the F-86 pushed through decades of memory and rose to the surface. Her late father flew the F-86, and she hadn't seen one up-close since she was a little girl.

"I always have a sense to being close to my dad when I come on a base, including this base," Adrian Shelton said. "And it struck me the moment I saw (the F-86). If you had asked me what that piece of equipment my dad had flown had looked like, I couldn't have told you. But when we walked up to it, I got a very emotional feeling: That's my dad's plane. It hit me full-force, very suddenly."

This is what the Heritage Flight program, which will be featured in air shows throughout the country and in some overseas locations over the next year, is all about. The mingling of past and present, each in all its glory.

The Sheltons added a dimension to this mingling with their visit, as President Shelton was going to get an orientation flight in one of the modern fighters on the ramp, the F-15E Strike Eagle. When he and pilot Capt. Jeffrey Needles shot into the sky over D-M just after 1 p.m., Shelton was carrying an element of the sacred — the wings of his father-in-law.

The man who originally earned and wore them, Ward M. Millar, was a hero of the Korean War. And even by hero standards, this F-86 pilot was in rare company. He was shot down and captured by communist forces. Over the months of his ordeal, he managed to escape and made his way to rescue with multiple injuries, including broken bones.

So bearing this emblem of valor and sacrifice, Shelton climbed into the Strike Eagle's back seat and had an experience that also evoked another strong reaction.

"I've been grasping for adjectives," he said after the flight, "that don't sound almost childish in this awesome, over-the-top, impossible-to- describe experience!" He spoke of the power and speed of the aircraft taking his breath away and overwhelming his senses while he tried to savor the details. Needles reported pulling about four Gs during the flight.

"You want to read more of the nuances and details you pick up in your normal life, but that's anything but normal," Shelton explained. "It's an experience I'll relive over and over again."

Included in the experience was the opportunity for UA's president to survey his campus from above as the F-15E returned to D-M.

The approach corridor from the northwest isn't the only connection between the base and the university, according to 355th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Kent Laughbaum, who hosted the Sheltons for the visit.

The university's important role in the advancement of science and technology related to air and space has given birth to mutual interests between the school and the Air Force. At D-M, weather forecasters are working with UA's Department of Atmospheric Sciences to propel the work of each institution in the area of meteorology, with similar relationships developing on other fronts.

But last Sunday, it was personal relationships that seemed most productive.

The Laughbaums and Sheltons arrived in Tucson at the end of summer in 2006 and have developed a close friendship since becoming "citizens of Tucson," according to President Shelton, who stressed that there are many similarities in their approach and the role of each institution in Tucson and to the nation.

"What makes Tucson special is exactly this kind of relationship," Shelton said, noting that while the university and base are two very different kinds of institutions, they appreciate each other and that they are conducting roles "critical to this nation."

I immediately picked up on the two couples' mutual respect and sincere friendship. Maybe it has something to do with all they have in common, including their role in leading the two institutions. Shelton said he admires how Laughbaum has made connecting with the people of Tucson a priority, while shouldering a huge responsibility as commander.

"The university strives to achieve the same thing. A lot of universities pride themselves on being isolated — insular. That just doesn't work in this day and age. You've got to be here to serve the people, whether you're running an Air Force base or a university, because that's what it's all about," Shelton said.

As the Heritage formations zoomed overhead, I thought about his words and decided I would count the F-15E, and the F-86, among my favorite aircraft.

South on Craycroft: Life at D-M