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their canine back seater also appre- ciates the opportunity to stretch her legs. When asked about being around other aircraft, Johnson points out Lucy’s mild manner and training as positives on the ramp. Often, his wife and daughter will go into the FBO to ask where the best place to walk Lucy is. “Everybody is so accommodating, although I do focus on where we stop. CAA (Corporate Aircraft Association) FBOs are typically preferred as they are good folks and accommodating.”
Scott Krohn of Minneapolis, Min- nesota, is also a Vision Jet owner who often f lies with a canine component. But his inf light company consists of three full-grown Bernadoodles. These Bernese Mountain Dog and Standard Poodle mixes certainly hold a large part of Krohn’s heart and equally large part of his cabin. The 2020 Vision Jet G2 has propelled Scott, Gonzo, Cooper and Winston on many memorable f lights together. The lightest of the three “doods” is 90
pounds, with the other two sitting at 120 and 140 pounds.
When asked how his large dogs en- joy flying in his aircraft, Krohn said, “I haven’t noticed any kind of discom- fort with them. They don’t whine or show any signs of being anything but happy boys back there. They are just trying to figure out where we are go- ing to land. They want to know if we are going to see the sun in Florida or the snow in Minnesota.”
All journeys for the happy tag- alongs begin at the aircraft’s two- foot-wide cabin door. “They will get their front feet up, and then I will help them out a little bit. The steps are a little tricky for them.” He added, “I take out the rear console, at least one seat, sometimes two seats. I don’t put them in a kennel or tie them. They don’t play musical chairs and just stay in place the whole flight.”
Krohn is careful to consider his dogs’ personal limitations just as he
would with human passengers. He typically will aim not to fly more than a few hours to make sure that a bathroom break is not overrun. The break also allows him to recalculate the weight and balance of the air- craft, which has a maximum payload of 1,128 pounds.
Aside from owner-flown pups, many dogs are flown aboard private aircraft each day in the United States via rescue organization efforts. “Pilots To The Rescue” is just one example of these non-profit orga- nizations, which rely on a network of trained volunteers to transport animals within the continental United States. Since its inception, the group has transported hundreds of dogs, which are typically flown as part of a “pack” rather than alone.
Michael Schneider, a commercially rated pilot, serves as the organiza- tion’s Executive Director, co-founding it in 2015. As “Top Dog,” Schneider helps to oversee the non-profit’s
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6 • TWIN & TURBINE / September 2022