First Look: From a galaxy far, far away
Red Leader flies again—to an airshow near you
Mark G. Holt pilots the Millennium Phenom for Veterans Airlift Command. Photography by Brad Higgins
OK, 'Star Wars' fans: Remember the Red Squadron, the band of pilots that destroyed the Death Star and were characterized by being ready any time or place for critical missions that would arise? Allow us to introduce Red Leader, er, Mark G. Holt, pilot of the Millennium Phenom—a 2010 Embraer Phenom 100, the unofficial lead aircraft for Veterans Airlift Command. Airbrushed by John Stahr of Stahr Designs in Eugene, Oregon, the Millennium Phenom is Holt’s way to give back after a successful career. When he sold his company and the new owners had no interest in the jet, he kept it but wanted a use for it beyond flying circles in the sky. He approached Stahr about painting the jet, and Stahr asked him: “How do you feel when you’re flying your jet?”
“And I said, ‘I feel like I left the Starship Enterprise up in orbit and am descending into some planet’s surface,’ and boom, the creativity began,” said Holt. And so the pair tossed around design ideas.
At the same time, Holt contacted Walt Fricke of Veterans Airlift Command, a nonprofit cadre of pilots and aircraft owners who provide flights for wounded veterans, and offered his airplane and piloting. When Stahr showed him the design, Holt feared the paint job was too fun for the mission. Stahr said, “Mark, these veterans you are transporting have had enough seriousness. Why not make it fun for them?”
Since then, Holt and the Phenom have become an unofficial recruiting arm of the Veterans Airlift. “It adds 30 minutes to every fuel stop because people want to look at it and photograph it,” he said. “And it gives me a chance to talk about Veterans Airlift. What started out as fun has turned into an opportunity to recruit pilots for our mission.”
Veterans Airlift Command provides free air transportation to post-9/11 combat wounded and their families for medical and other compassionate purposes. Holt has taken veterans to see family members in small towns, for doctor’s appointments, and more. “I expected bitterness,” he said of his first flights. “But not one has ever said anything in bitterness. It means a lot to these kids.”
Holt always invites the veteran to fly right seat with him, but realized that sometimes injuries kept them from being able to climb into the seat. So he installed a side-facing seat immediately behind the cockpit. “It helps them be a part of the flight; it gets them as close to me as possible,” he said.
As for the paint job, “It has a life of its own. Walt Fricke said to me, ‘You’re the leader’ and when I protested, he said, ‘Your plane is louder than mine.’ It is, and it’s also why it says Serving Those Who Serve U.S. on it.”
Look for the Millennium Phenom at Sun ’n Fun and EAA AirVenture in Boeing Square.
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