Pilot rescues grandmother from hurricane's aftermath
A house without electricity in 95-degree heat and full of 24 other people, some of them sick, is no place for a 79-year-old grandmother who recently suffered two strokes and a heart attack. These were the thoughts bouncing around in Derek Lott's mind.
Hurricane Katrina had had its way with Picayune, Mississippi, on August 29, turning it into a confused nest of building materials, shadowed by the homeless piecing together their lives. Still standing was Lott's father's home, or what became a makeshift community shelter. After the storm hit, Lott was getting updates on the family every couple of days from his home in Crestview, Florida, and in between was the grapevine, delivering, as grapevines typically do, wildly inaccurate information. Lott's father was riding his motorcycle, with its miserly fuel burn, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, just to get a cellular signal. Lott knew he had to get his grandmother out.
Lott, a freelance flight instructor, planned a relief flight from his home in Crestview, near Pensacola. With the roads closed and auto fuel scarce, driving had lost its freedom. He rented an old Cessna 172 with long-range tanks, enough for the round-trip flight, and loaded it with supplies and medicine. Lott's plan was to fly to Mississippi and exchange the supplies for his grandmother.
The flying weather remained bad on the weekend following Katrina's assault, so Monday was looking like the best shot. Lott talked with the FAA about negotiating an existing flight restriction set up for search-and-rescue aircraft. Then Lott learned that President Bush would be in the area on the same day, meaning that even larger flight restrictions would follow the president as he headed east. Doing the math, Lott figured he wouldn't have much time, literally minutes, to offload the supplies and pick up his grandmother before the flight restrictions caught up with them, or they would be stuck on the ground.
The flight from Florida would have been largely uneventful had it not been for a malfunctioning transponder. Lott landed at Picayune Municipal Airport only to find it heavily damaged. His father pulled up to the runway in his truck and the exchange began. Lott's grandmother, Wilda Myles, was no stranger to flight — her late husband was a pilot and aircraft owner — but it was the first time she had flown with her grandson. The return flight went smoothly and in two hours, with time to spare, they were safely in Florida.
"She's been hanging with me ever since," Lott said. "It was an adventure for sure."
For complete coverage of general aviation's involvement in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, see page 74.
A rule of thumb
A 10-percent change in aircraft gross weight causes a 21-percent change in takeoff distance. Do not use this rule if weight change is in excess of 50 percent.
Source: The Axioms of Flight
Technology aids Arctic search and rescues
Getting lost or hurt in the Arctic can spell immediate doom for a hunter no matter what time of year. Imagine walking across the ice when, all of a sudden, it breaks free and drifts out to sea.
A unique program in Alaska uses technology and simple paperwork to keep hunters safe. For about a decade the North Slope Borough has been issuing personal locator beacons (PLBs) to residents in eight villages through a joint effort initiated by the borough, NASA, NOAA, the state police, and the Air Force.
Residents typically check out the PLBs at fire stations and fill out trip plans, similar to FAA flight plans. Each PLB has a discrete code and when one goes off, the borough's search-and-rescue department looks up the paperwork, then uses aircraft to home in on the signals. Modern PLBs have GPS chips that provide position data to improve accuracy. "It takes the search out of search and rescue," said the department's director, Randy Crosby.
Before the PLB program, some hunters were using aircraft emergency locator transmitters to provide a margin of safety.
The PLB program, besides keeping things legal, cuts the borough's aircraft operating costs tremendously. It flies two Bell helicopters, a King Air, and a Learjet to cover 90,000 square miles of territory. Search-and-rescue personnel may pursue wayward boats in summer and snow machines in winter if hunters get hurt, lost, or sick. They have rescued as many as 175 people off the ice.
Members in the news
Patty Wagstaff, AOPA 977031, the renowned aerobatic pilot and airshow star, was the winner of this year's Katharine Wright Award for her many years of dedication to flying, the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) announced. The award is given each year to a woman who made a personal contribution to the advancement of the art, sport, and science of aviation and space flight over an extended period of time. The award was named in honor of Orville and Wilbur Wright's sister, Katharine. "She [Katharine] used money from teaching to purchase supplies for her brothers' experiments, nursed Orville back to health after he crashed in Fort Myer, Virginia, contributed ideas to their experiments and trials, and acted as a public figure to endorse the safety of flying and the Wrights' aircraft," according to the NAA.
Relentless makes Reno debut
Sometimes your offspring can become competition. Relentless, the fourth Nemesis NXT homebuilt kit, finished third overall in the Sports Class at the Reno National Championship Air Races in September. Piloted by Kevin Eldredge, the composite airplane had an average speed of 343.1 mph, finishing behind Darryl Greenamyer's champion Lancair Legacy and John Parker's second-place Thunder Mustang, at 364.9 mph and 356.7 mph, respectively. It was a good showing for Relentless; Eldredge had a stock Lycoming 350-horsepower engine with about half the horsepower of his top two competitors. The Nemesis NXT was designed by racing legend Jon Sharp. Unfortunately, Sharp had to pull out of the Gold Race because of mechanical problems with his own Nemesis NXT.
Common mishaps explored — share yours
A future article in AOPA Pilot will examine a scenario every pilot hopes to avoid yet wants to be prepared for: precautionary landings — why you'd decide to make one and how you would execute that decision. We invite you to share your experience at [email protected] with "precautionary landings" in the subject line. Include your name and contact information in the e-mail. The information you provide may be published.
Skywritings
The 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 2004 was well celebrated by pilots (see " Incredible Journey," September 2004 Pilot). One three-month flying adventure in 2003 by commercial photographer and pilot Ron Lowery and writer and pilot Mary Walker produced a 168-page aviation adventure coffee-table book last year called Chasing Lewis & Clark Across America. The two pilots use a $90,000 (including paint and instruments) AirCam, a tandem-seat open-cockpit kitplane from Leza AirCam in Sebring, Florida, that is powered by two 100-horsepower Rotax 912S engines. It cruises around 60 to 70 knots. Walker documents the cultural experience, while Lowery contributes notes about the photography and aviation experience. Most of the photos are 11-inch-long sharp and well-composed aerial views that show what the famous explorers saw. Lewis and Clark had the most primitive of instruments, while the authors and their crew of family members had cell phones, digital cameras, satellite links, and a comfortable recreational vehicle. Of interest to photographers, Lowery used a Canon EOS-1DS camera and only two lenses, a 24-70 f2.8 zoom and a 70-200 f2.8 zoom. He didn't mount the camera on the aircraft because things happened too fast, and he didn't use a gyrostabilizer because he didn't want the hassle and lacked the room in the cockpit to work with it. The book costs $45 and is available at bookstores and on the Web ( www.chasinglewisandclark.com).
It isn't just a Category 5 hurricane that causes trouble in this novel by jet pilot and writer Philip S. Donlay; it's a whole host of personal, romantic, and aircraft mechanical problems that all hit at once. Category Five starts when a company with a private jet is asked to rescue scientists trapped by a hurricane. While that is going on, a murder plot against two of the main characters develops, and then the jet has engine trouble and is forced to maneuver into the eye of the hurricane. Category Five is available in paperback at major bookstores for $7.99. Donlay flies a Challenger 604 as his day job. He has a second novel, tentatively titled Code Black, coming out in mid-2006, which is another aviation thriller.
Warbird Recovery: The Hunt for a Rare WWII Plane in Siberia, Russia by Gordon R. Page is the story of a quest for rare warbirds including a Messerschmitt Bf 109 that nearly got him and his partners killed. It seems they ran into the Russian mafia. Now, tons of money later, the battered parts of a Messerschmitt lie in Page's hangar, and it will take another $1 million to restore it. That goal, too, will be met, Page promises. It's an interesting adventure, begun in the belief that there were large fleets of rare aircraft waiting on abandoned airports in Siberia that could be bought inexpensively and flown away with the addition of a little gas and oil. Page now owns an aircraft sales and charter company in Louisville, Colorado, and has developed a Web site ( www.warbirdrecovery.com) to both sell the book and promote his restoration projects. When you buy the 197-page paperback book (for $17.95 at amazon.com and major bookstores or on the Web site) you are not only helping restore a rare aircraft, but also getting your money's worth with a tale of intrigue and danger. Page is a past president of the Colorado Aviation Historical Society.
AOPA Online Survey: Space tourism
Twenty-seven percent of AOPA members who took our recent online survey said they would pay up to $5,000 to visit space. The second-largest group, 20 percent, said it would pay up to $10,000, while 7 percent said it would fork out up to $200,000. The biggest fear? Obviously, mechanical problems, re-entry procedures, and motion sickness ranked high, but some were concerned about space junk, government oversight, and winning spouse approval. "How much is the cost of this trip going to impact my nearer-Earth flying?" asked one member. Others were concerned about "getting hooked on it like a crack addict and going broke supporting the habit" and "sudden decompression and stale peanuts." When asked why they would want to go to space, it was obvious that many of the respondents were inspired by the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs or were science fiction fans. "Is this a trick question? From what I hear, the view ain't bad," said one member. Another simply said he liked to "travel a lot." Provide your input to our current survey ( www.aopa.org/members/).
Dept. of R&D
Escalating jet fuel prices getting you down? Scientists in New Zealand and in this country at Purdue University have worked for two years on a fuel derived from vegetable oil — soya beans, to be exact. Actually, the fuel is a blend of 60-percent Jet-A and 40-percent soya oil, so it merely reduces the amount of Jet-A needed per flight. It could be called "Jet-A/soya bean soup."
Reed Business Information revealed how Bernie Tao, of Purdue University, and a graduate student have figured out how to keep the oil from freezing at temperatures found at jet altitudes and how to produce it in quantity, two solutions that might clear the way for its success. Tao approached Marathon Oil for help with development of the fuel, but officials said they were doing just fine with conventional petroleum-based fuels, thank you. Certification would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, Tao said. The bean soup has been tested on the ground in a turbine engine and performed well, but there is no testing in progress at the moment and it won't be revived unless the military or airlines indicate interest. — Alton K. Marsh
GA Market Watch
The piston, twin-engine aircraft market continues to suffer from rising costs of operation. But for buyers, this means some incredible bargains. "From Beechcraft Barons and Dukes to Twin Commanders, there are good airplanes at great prices. Older B55 Barons or Cessna 310s can be bought for well below $100,000," according to the Vref Light Twin Index. "Or, some buyers are opting for totally refurbished Cessna 421Cs and Piper Chieftains for $600,000 plus. These almost-remanufactured airplanes have new everything, including a radio package that is worthy of any jet." Perform your own aircraft valuations using AOPA's free service on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/members/vref/). Also, see Vref's Web site ( www.vrefpub.com).
What's in the November issue of AOPA Flight Training?
- All in the Family. Meet some young pilots for whom learning to fly is a family affair.
- Prescription for Flight. Going to see the aviation medical examiner? If you do your homework before your appointment, getting or renewing a medical certificate can be easier than you think.
- Talk Less, Say More. Communicate like a professional on the radio and air traffic controllers will treat you like a professional.
The November issue mailed on September 28. Current AOPA members can add a subscription to AOPA Flight Training for $18 per year. For more information, call 800/872-2672.
AOPA ePilot Headlines
Recent news from AOPA's weekly e-mail newsletter
Dutchman wins Sporty's sweeps
The purchase of a $15 Diamond Xtreme Motorglider checklist earned F.J. Coster a new Cessna 172 in Sporty's Pilot Shop's twentieth annual sweepstakes. Coster, who lives in The Netherlands, is a student pilot and works as a bus driver.
Maule M-4-180 gets FAA nod
Maule Air, of Moultrie, Georgia, has received FAA type certification for its retro model, a re-creation of the first plane the company ever offered, the M-4.
Test Eclipse jet suffers damage
Eclipse Aviation's fourth FAA conforming flight-test airplane had a gear-up landing in September at Albuquerque International Sunport. Eclipse said the incident was the result of pilot error. There were no injuries.
New Piper changes leadership
The buyout specialty firm that purchased The New Piper Aircraft in June 2003, American Capital Strategies, has replaced longtime Piper Chief Executive Officer Chuck Suma with former electronics executive James K. Bass. Suma has been named vice chairman of the New Piper board of directors.
Cessna delivers 6,000th piston airplane
Cessna Aircraft has delivered 6,000 piston airplanes since it opened its Independence, Kansas, production facility in 1996.
Symphony raises funding
Symphony Aircraft Industries (SAI) says that it has concluded several financing arrangements totaling $3.3 million that will help the company continue to grow and produce the SA 160 two-place aircraft.
Now you can receive a customized version of the free AOPA ePilot e-mail newsletter tailored to your interests. To customize your weekly newsletter, see AOPA Online ( https://www.aopa.org/apps/epilot/).
GA to the rescue
A small group of pilots helps out in a big way
BY NATHAN A. FERGUSON
There was something going on at Beaver County Airport, in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, beyond the usual fuel sales and the typical behavior of pilots telling stories in hangars and moving their hands like airplanes. Call it a buzz, or a feeling, or a force, but a small group of those pilots was about to travel a long way from their rural western Pennsylvania home and experience Hurricane Katrina's aftermath first hand.
They wanted to help out in the hardest-hit areas that had been overshadowed by the attention given to New Orleans; places where they would meet people in the unmistakable "survivors' daze," some carrying all their worldly possessions in garbage bags.
In the beginning, general aviation, with its ability to get past highway gridlock, was the only avenue for relief, said Susan Sweeney, mission coordinator for Angel Flight East. Her group launched on September 4, delivering the first of $2.5 million worth of medical supplies. "If it wasn't for GA, it would be a heck of a lot worse down there," she said.
Kevin Sell, president of the Volunteer Pilots Association (VPA) and one of the Beaver County pilots, doesn't claim to have a special gift for memorization, yet off the top of his head he can reel off a dozen phone numbers for relief groups — along with the proper extensions. He works as a machinist in a factory and troubleshooting is one of his top responsibilities. Sell took a week's vacation and flew to stricken areas with volunteer pilot Ted Ruscitti, two doctors, and medical supplies in Ruscitti's Piper Cheyenne. Ruscitti dropped Sell and others in Biloxi, Mississippi, then headed to San Antonio.
Sell put himself at the hub of a wheel turning in intricate ways, laying out a network to connect churches, shelters, the American Red Cross, and other volunteer flying groups such as Angel Flight Georgia, Angel Flight Oklahoma, and LifeLine Pilots, to name a few, as part of the Air Care Alliance league. Sell had first approached his congressman and was told to go to a Web site and input his information. A few days later, a form message arrived saying, "Thanks for your information, yada, yada, yada. We'll call you when we need you." Believing that call would never come, Sell put his troubleshooting skills to work.
Don Snyder was one of the early GA pilots from Beaver Falls to head south immediately after the hurricane. He met Sell a few years back at an airshow and joined the VPA along with another group called Wings for Children. Sell kept tabs on the capabilities of each member's airplane and knew, for instance, that the seats could be removed from Snyder's Piper Turbo Lance.
The local aircraft charter and maintenance company, Prospect Aviation, meanwhile, played a key role on the ground back in Pennsylvania. Bert Sanders, the company's vice president of sales and marketing, handled phone calls and procured medical supplies according to the wish lists Sell was preparing. When Snyder arrived at the airport early one morning, Sanders was ready for him, and within 15 minutes his Lance was loaded up. A doctor met Snyder at the airport in Biloxi to offload the supplies. Snyder had brought a camera with him, but he was too depressed by the damage to take pictures.
Then there was pilot Ed Constantine. He had never flown a volunteer flight, but he heard that Beaver County pilots were up to something. He immediately joined Angel Flight Oklahoma and filled his new Cessna 182 with medical supplies. In Biloxi, Sell was there to meet him in a borrowed pickup truck.
Constantine also donated time with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and flew four kids and two dads. Most had never been in a small airplane, but seemed at ease knowing it had a whole-aircraft parachute. Constantine said that nobody was critical or afraid of GA, but they were just not aware of it as a resource.
The key, as Constantine found out, was to contact local charities, find out what their needs were, and then create your own missions. Baptist Child and Family Services, based in San Antonio, was operating two mobile medical clinics that had inched their way toward Louisiana, literally following road crews removing tree limbs and power lines on Interstate 10. It was one thing to get into the ravaged areas and it was another to keep the supply line going. That's where GA came in. Angel Flight America, for instance, says it flew 1,200 missions.
Once the government mobilized, GA airplanes increasingly were used to reunite families and rotate rescue workers. Sell met firefighters from New Orleans who had been sleeping in the hose beds of fire trucks to protect them from armed gangs. GA gave them a place to go when they got time off. Constantine said that at first he was disappointed in the government, until he realized that it was composed of good people simply working a process. Sometimes that process would deliver too much of one thing. The volunteer pilots and the charities were able to respond quickly to changing needs for everything from insulin to Pepto-Bismol.
Back at Prospect Aviation, Sanders had zeroed in on medical supplies as the best way for the greater Pittsburgh area to help and, thanks to media attention, was able to keep fulfilling Sell's wish lists. Prospect's owner, Greg Taylor, was very much committed to the effort and sent the company's Learjet 35 down south to carry doctors and supplies. Some people from the community said they couldn't afford to give much, but gave anyway. One woman donated her new blood-pressure monitor. Prospect had the bulkier items trucked down.
The volunteer pilots, meanwhile, had to be resourceful. Sell was living in shelters, Constantine was finding a bed wherever that day's flying took him, and Ruscitti was sleeping in his Cheyenne.
Sell originally was going to spend a week of his vacation time but decided to take two after he saw the need. He spent the second week in Baton Rouge to keep the network going. The trick was to maintain efficiency by not letting any airplanes go back with empty seats. "It was such a selfless coming together of people from all walks of life," Sell said.
Everybody who was involved in the relief effort came back different. An entrepreneur and a venture capitalist, Constantine has great respect for somebody like Sell who has a regular job and a less flexible lifestyle. Constantine said his experiences will affect his future projects. "I know I'll do more now. I got out of it more than I gave," he said.
Katrina delivered a storm of emotions that put pressure on the human condition. Sell experienced it all, from seeing the looting of caskets at aboveground cemeteries to watching people in relief lines patiently taking only what they needed. During an interview, he's quiet, still taking it all in. When asked what stands out in his mind, he got teary-eyed and described how a woman, in the midst of the September heat and humidity, handed him a handmade Christmas ornament. It was the only way she could thank him.
E-mail the author at [email protected].
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