From beaches to Boeings
I remembered first meeting Chris through an online pilot forum I hosted. He was noteworthy from the beginning for his aviation expertise, often answering others' questions about the latest aircraft technology. I quickly concluded that the man must be a commercial pilot. But then one day we had a forum guest representing Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and to my surprise Chris asked about admission requirements. I sent him an instant message.
| Chris Sis with an Era Aviation de Havilland Twin Otter flying airline service to a beach on Alaska's Cook Inlet. |
"Are you returning to school for an additional degree?" I asked.
"Oh no," came the reply. "I'm only 15. I haven't had my first flying lesson yet." Impressed, I invited him to assist in hosting the forum.
Soon afterward Chris started flying lessons at Fallbrook Airport near San Diego, then continued at Juneau, Alaska, after moving there with his parents. Juneau is one tough place to learn to fly--with 278 overcast days per year good flying weather is infrequent, and the dearth of flat land means that flight maneuvers be practiced over frigid Alaskan waters. Chris wrote me after every lesson--I'll never forget his account of circling a humpbacked whale on his first solo cross-country (see "Flying Carpet: Convergence," July 2002 AOPA Flight Training).
The young man paid for his lessons by digging ditches and working at a grocery store. Unfortunately for his parents, Chris's flying obsession displaced the normal teen goal of driving; his folks eventually tired of transporting him between home, work, and the airport. To their relief he finally earned his driver's license after becoming a private pilot.
When not flying, Chris admired the jets at Juneau's airline terminal. One day Alaska Airlines Capt. Mike Baumgartner invited Chris into his Boeing 737 cockpit. Mike reminisced about his own introduction to flying--as a 9-year-old he'd been invited to the cockpit of a Pan American Boeing 707 jetliner while returning with his parents from Europe. "We were over the Greenland ice cap at the time," said Mike, "and I was so taken by the experience that I vowed to become a pilot." The 707 captain entered the flight information in Mike's journal, and signed it.
Mike quickly became Chris's friend and mentor. By then I'd learned that Chris's talents included writing as well as flying. My favorite of his stories arose when Mike rediscovered his childhood notebook, and from the still-legible signature tracked down the long-retired Pan Am captain who had introduced him to flight. What a reunion that must have been!
Not until Chris graduated from high school did I finally meet him in person--he roomed with my son Austin while earning an instrument rating in Tucson, Arizona. For such a capable young man Chris proved captivatingly low-key and modest. Afterward Chris hung out with Austin and me at the EAA AirVenture airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Chris earned his commercial pilot certificate during his first semester at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, and took an after-school ramp job with the local regional airline, Era Aviation. When Era announced it was hiring pilots, Chris applied. To his surprise he was hired. Later he learned that the company had interviewed him thinking it would be a good learning experience for someone just out of high school, but Chris did so well that they offered him a slot. Pilot positions were to be filled in order of ground school academic performance. Juggling fulltime airline classes with his university coursework, Chris beat out more experienced pilots to ace the ground school. Within weeks he was flying right seat in a de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter.
That summer my young friend e-mailed tales of flying scheduled service from Era's Bethel base to surrounding Eskimo communities, their gravel runways lighted at night by smudge pots. Attached were photos of loading the airplane's cargo hold from snowmobiles, and stunning views of Alaska from the air. Most impressive were shots of his Twin Otter after landing on a narrow sandy beach--under airline flight rules, no less!
In winters Chris flew from Anchorage. Even while piloting full time for Era, he continued fulltime studies as an on-campus University of Alaska student. "How is all that possible?" I once asked.
"Oh, it's not that bad," replied Chris. "I just bid night flying schedules so I can attend class during the day. It's pretty tiring, though." Apparently Chris found time to do his homework--later I learned from his r�sum� that he graduated magna cum laude.
After college Chris scored a first officer position flying regional jets for SkyWest Airlines--at the young age of 21 he qualified to skip the simulator proficiency portion of the interview, having already logged more than 1,000 hours of turbine airline experience. When he was old enough to earn an airline transport pilot certificate (age 23), Chris upgraded to captain on the twin-turboprop Embraer Brasilia, and then qualified as a check airman.
By now Chris was a mighty busy guy. Gone were the days when he wrote regularly to share flying adventures, though on occasion he still e-mailed spectacular photos taken from his cockpit. How different Chris's piloting experiences were from my own, and yet how similar--the camaraderie of adventure binds every pilot.
I'll admit to a lump in my throat when Chris shared the good news about getting hired by Alaska Airlines. It seemed like just months before that I'd counseled a wide-eyed 15-year-old about becoming an airline pilot--now here I was congratulating him on fulfilling his lifelong ambition. Did I mention that Chris is only 24 years old? Wow! Dreams really do come true.
Greg Brown was the 2000 National Flight Instructor of the Year. His books include Flying Carpet, The Savvy Flight Instructor, The Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual, Job Hunting for Pilots, and You Can Fly! Visit his Web site.
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