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Hillaero Modification Center
Rosen Sunvisor Systems
install a new Genesys Aerosystems S-TEC 3100 digital autopilot as soon as it is STC’d in the B55.
“I have to take my hat off to the guys at A&J Aviation in Arkansas,” he said. “They did a fantastic job integrating all of the various avionics to create the kind of system I wanted – while staying within my budget.”
Following the panel work, Patasnik said it was time to turn his attention and budget towards overhauling the original factory Continental engines.
“I had put 400 hours on the Baron after I got her and then it was time for overhauls, so I flew up to Alabama to have Continental install a pair of factory rebuilt engines,” Patasnik said. “I’m amazed at how much more power and performance the engines deliver. 3175 Whisky handles like a brand-new Baron.”
The Making of YouTube’s Baron Pilot
“The Baron Pilot channel on You- Tube started simply enough. I had watched a few flying videos and
figured with my TV background I could easily do that,” he said. “When my early video hit 100 views, I was thrilled. When the channel hit 500 subscribers, I felt like I had won the lottery.”
“The channel is not about me. It has and always will be about flying and promoting aviation. I want people to come to the channel because they are curious about flying or learning to fly or because they are afraid of flying and want to overcome those fears,” Patasnik said. “Countless viewers have commented or sent private messages about how the videos have motivated them to get their pilot’s certificate or get back into flying. That’s what it’s all about.”
“I think that the one that means the most is from a woman who had refused to fly with her husband, but after viewing the channel, she got the courage to finally do it,” he said. “It is this kind of comment that is the most humbling to me and motivates me to continue to make the videos.”
While it takes him nearly 40 hours to edit each episode of Baron Pilot – time which he is more than happy to invest in promoting aviation – Patas- nik said that there might be more lag time between postings than before. It seems his passion for flight has led him to a freelance gig with a local Part 135 charter operator as a “right seater” flying a Cessna Citation.
Even with less free time to dedicate to his YouTube audience, he said the Baron Pilot channel is something he’s not planning on closing the book on anytime soon.
“If I could make a career out of pro- moting aviation, I would quit my day job tomorrow,” Patasnik said. “I have no greater passion than sharing my love of flight.”
16 • TWIN & TURBINE / September 2020
Dale Smith has been a commercial, private and business aviation marketing and media communications specialist for nearly 40 years. He is an award- wining aviation journalist and aviation artist. Dale has been a licensed pilot since 1974 and has flown more than 40 different types of aircraft. Contact Dale at dalesmith206@comcast.net.