Debrief

Two-term West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin is an instrument-rated private pilot who has been flying since 1968. Under Manchin’s leadership, the state combined its aviation resources into one department and purchased a Cessna Caravan, which the governor flies himself or with a co-pilot for state business.

Clarity… When I’m in the cockpit everything else comes second. It relaxes me and wipes everything else out. If you truly want to clear all of your concerns, thoughts, and challenges, flying is the only thing I know that really does it.

Fear… I had a severe fear of heights as a kid. I got so excited with that first lesson in an airplane that I thought this would be a good way to overcome the fear. So, I took my first flight and I was still petrified. But, I liked it and I said I’m still going to try and do it.

Engine failure… In 1975 we bought a Cherokee 235 and I had an engine failure in that. It was shaking and so erratic and I was just crossing over the mountains. It felt like maybe part of the prop fell off, and I had read about it shaking the engine off the mounts…but I just couldn’t bring myself to cut the engine, and it would just surge.

His Piper Saratoga… My personal airplane is multipurpose and I use it for the state. It’s a cost-saving measure, but it gives me the ability to keep my skills. If I need to be somewhere, taking that airplane at 15 gallons per hour versus everything else that we have is quite a bargain, so I’m cognizant of that.

Excited… I still get as excited today after 40 years as I did when I took my first flight.

Flexibility… I very seldom can get away for a week. But if I could get away on a Thursday afternoon and come back on a Monday morning, I’ll have as much quality time as a person that takes a full seven days, and I couldn’t do that without an airplane.

Game day… Everyone will tell you that they’d rather fly with me than ride with me in a car. It focuses me. It makes me a much more disciplined person. Sometimes when I’m tired, and it’s a hard IFR flight, I’ll make a decision not to go. In West Virginia with the hills and terrain, you have to be on your game.