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"Bob” on a flight between DFW airport and Grand Junction, Colorado. He explained to me what it was like to be in a vehicle blown up by an IED. He had pretty good insight – it had happened to him twice. He sustained concussions (among other injuries) during both events. He added another concussion from a helicopter crash afterwards. He received a medical discharge as a result, though he was eventually able to obtain his First Class Medical in order to be employed as an airline pilot.
I also flew with “Steve,” who had f lown N200WQ (a Bombardier Dash 8-Q400) into Newark, New Jersey, just prior to its final, fatal flight as Colgan Air 3407. Colgan was not a par- ticularly large airline. It was the sort of place where everybody knew every- body. Steve wound up getting dozens of phone calls and text messages fol- lowing the crash. Friends, fellow pilots, and family were concerned that he may have been operating the flight. Steve personally knew both pilots who were killed. He had exchanged greet- ings with them just before the flight.
I recently was a guest on a podcast hosted by Rob, a world-renowned air show announcer. If you attended Oshkosh this year, you most likely heard his voice over the speakers. Amid the pandemic, Rob announced the July Fourth airshow celebra- tion in front of the President of the United States in Washington DC – a President who at one point had owned his own airline. Trump was not the only President with an aviation background. Dwight D. Eisenhower earned his pilot’s license after solo- ing a Stearman in the Philippines in 1937. Eisenhower was occasionally known to take the controls on trips even as President. George H.W. Bush was a WWII aviator who ditched one aircraft in combat and bailed out of another. He ultimately received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his ac- tions in the Philippine theatre, where half of his squad died in the line of duty. His son George W. Bush flew F- 102s for the Texas Air National Guard. On his application for the position, Bush stated that he wanted to pursue aviation as a career.
From a couple of bicycle builders to a motorcycle speed record holder to Presidents and world leaders, avia- tion has had an outsized impact on the history of the world. Pilots today sit at the tip of a very long spear. Out- sized personalities continue to cast influence over the culture of aviation. From Branson to Bezos to Musk, there is something about slipping the sure- ly bonds of earth and taking to the heavens that captivates the core of humanity. Aviation is built on the shoulders of giants. Remember that the next time you flip the master switch ON.
Skyway
Stan Dunn is an airline captain and check airman. He has 7,000 hours in turbine powered aircraft, with type ratings in the BE-1900, EMB-120, EMB- 145, ERJ-170, and ERJ-190. Stan has been a professional pilot for 14 years, and has been flying for two decades. You can contact Stan at tdunns@ hotmail.com.
Rosen
October 2021 / TWIN & TURBINE • 11