Father and Son - RV Dreaming

My son and I made this movie of my RV4 , The Last Laugh, that I used to have not so long ago. He and I miss it like crazy. He has been telling me that he wants to learn to fly RVs when he is older, and wants to have an RV4 of his own someday. That is really exciting. But for now, it is fun to dream about them, talk about what they are going to look like, and make movies of our RV4 that is now gone. I hope you enjoy it, we sure had alot of fun making it.

Safety In Numbers

In the wake of the recent incident in which an air traffic controller fell asleep during his shift at the Reno airport, I have serious concerns of similar happenings occurring among single pilots flying corporate airplanes for hire. I know that pilots have been flying single pilot for years, and I am also aware that most corporate pilots can fly single pilot operations competently. But my major concern is this: with the fatigue and stress of increased work loads in today’s economy, are the risks of flying with only a single pilot worth the very small savings that are realized by not having a co-pilot on board?

Just recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has begun to realize that it is unsafe to have only one air traffic controller on the job in the control tower. This realization comes on the heels of several incidents concerning air traffic controllers, who when operating at night by themselves, fell asleep on the job and forced planes to land without tower assistance into a controlled airport. The corporate aviation industry is in need of a similar epiphany regarding the dangers of single pilot flight.

Fatigue is not the only danger lurking in the control tower. An air traffic controller’s job is considered extremely stressful. Can one imagine the catastrophic outcome if an air traffic controller gives a command for an airliner to turn to a specific heading, then has a stress related heart attack and dies before any more commands can be given? I would like to think that a competent pilot could maintain awareness of the aircraft position and realize that something has gone wrong, and determine an alternate course of action. Similar health factors could play a role in the safety of corporate piloting as well. What would happen if it was the single pilot who had the heart attack? What would happen to the passengers in the cabin who have no idea their pilot had suffered an incapacitating health issue? Some companies suggest that the chance of something like this happening is slim to none. In my 15 years of flying experience, however, I have had several incidences that resulted in the need of the co-pilot’s intervention. I will briefly describe two of them.

I was asked to fly as co-pilot for a company that had hired a low-time pilot to fly their aircraft to Nassau, Bahamas. The captain was a young man, in his early to mid twenties, who did not have a lot of time flying the aircraft but met the time requirements for insurance companies. Our flight was smooth and uneventful, and we soon received our clearance to land. The captain made his approach to land and, just before the wheels were supposed to touch, he over-controlled the aircraft and put the plane into a pilot induced oscillation (PIO). The nose wheel hit first and the plane launched into the air. The captain tried to regain control of the plane, but only succeeded in allowing the plane to hit nose wheel first again, launching the plane into the air once more. At this point, I recognized that the next “nose first” bounce was going to be catastrophic for the plane, and announced to him that I was taking control. I rectified the problem, and landed the plane safely.

Did this action save our passengers’ lives? Perhaps. But I definitely saved the $1M plane from having very expensive damage. The point of this example is that having another set of eyes and capable hands in the cockpit possibly saved the lives of the passengers and certainly saved the airplane from destruction.

Some may think that the aforementioned incident could have been easily avoided by hiring an experienced captain in the first place, still negating the need for a co-pilot. With that belief in mind, let me describe another occurrence.

I was employed to fly as a co-pilot in a King Air 200. The captain and I had been flying together for most of the year. The captain was extremely experienced and had thousands of hours flying the plane. Our flight was to be a routine flight, one that we had made many times before. We had a full plane, consisting of the company’s president, his wife and children, and other acquaintances. Our flight was uneventful to our destination, but then at about 100 feet or less above the ground before landing, the captain suddenly suffered the passing of a kidney stone. He screamed and rolled off to the side over the center console in pain, pulling on the yoke as he rolled. At an approach speed of 120 knots, I had very little time to pull his hands off the yoke, regain control of the plane, and land safely.

Could this occurrence have resulted in lives lost had a co-pilot not been on board? Absolutely yes! And this very danger is my objection to flying with a single pilot in a corporate aircraft. Is it worth the $200 to $250 per day savings by not hiring a co-pilot to risk crashing a $2M plane and losing the lives of corporate executives, co-workers, or loved ones? It is my personal belief that it is not. It seems the FAA is realizing with air traffic controllers that there is safety in numbers, specifically two’s. This same realization is urgently needed in the corporate aviation industry to prevent significant financial and human loss.

Carolina Flight Professionals Assists Wings of Support

Every boy’s dream is to feel the wind rushing through his hair as he pilots his aircraft

just like the old barnstormers used to do. Very few boys seem to ever get there. But for two local

Hendersonville High School students, the dream of becoming a “flyboy” has taken on a new meaning.

As first reported in Bold Life Magazine by Norm Powers (article below), the flyboys, Derek Campano and Nick Stoker,

are using their dream of becoming pilots for a really good cause. You see, both boys are working

towards attaining their pilots’ license so that they can fly a cross-country flight to raise funds for the

Wings of Support Foundation and the North Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association. “The plan to do it

for a charitable cause such as spinal cord injury came tragically to me when a cousin was severely

injured in a car crash last summer,” Derek explains in the article. “He suffered from a coma and is still

suffering, but gradually recovering from an incomplete spinal cord injury that has paralyzed his legs and

his hand movements.”

Scott Brown, President of Carolina Flight Professionals, read the article and it struck a chord with him

because he has a pilot friend who also suffers from a paralyzing spinal cord injury. “When I read the

article, all I could see was the sadness in my friend’s face knowing that his life had been tragically

changed forever”, says Brown. “I have numerous contacts to individuals and businesses in the area, and

I’m working to help these boys spread the word about their flight. I think it is a wonderful thing they are

doing to heighten awareness of a very important cause.”

Carolina Flight Professionals is a full service aircraft management company, located in Sherrills Ford

and Asheville, NC, with over 30 years of aviation business and flying experience. They specialize in

King Air aircraft and boast the lowest cost, most comprehensive aircraft management program in the

industry.

For some boys, becoming a flyboy is just a dream. But for Derek Capano and Nick Stoker, not only will

becoming flyboys be a reality, but their Wings of Support flight will forever be remembered by them

and those with spinal cord injuries across the country who their flight will benefit.

For information on how you can contribute to the Wings of Support Foundation please visit

www.wingsofsupport.weebly.com or contact Scott Brown at Carolina Flight Professionals by emailing Scott@Carolinaflightprofessionals.com.