Flight Training - June 2014 - 26

FLYING CARPET

By Greg Brown

RICHARD JACKSON treats daughter Mary
Katherine to a ride on his first flight as pilot in
command after returning to the cockpit.

A PILOT AGAIN!

BACK IN THE COCKPIT AFTER NINE YEARS AWAY

hat a kick, for Mary Katherine Jackson to experience
her dad piloting an airplane. Sure, she knew his credentials, but their previous father-daughter flight was nearly
beyond memory, when she was just 6 years old.

Richard Jackson crafts exhibit prints
for fine-art photographers. The day we
met, he was printing National Geographic's iconic "Afghan Girl" cover photo for
famed photographer Steve McCurry. Only
when we later began working together did
I learn of Richard's aviation background.
As a U.S. Air Force combat photographer
in Vietnam, he had documented military
action from such legendary aircraft as
the F-100 "Thud," C-130 Hercules, and
Chinook and Huey helicopters.
Following his tour, Richard qualified
as an instrument-rated commercial pilot.
He'd accumulated 1,100 hours and was
training for his CFI when personal and
career pressures derailed his flying.
Then, two and a half years ago, Richard
and I flew from Flagstaff to Phoenix to
proof some prints. Remembering his piloting background, I offered the controls as

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we taxied out. He never returned them.
Seven years after his previous flight, Richard expertly took off, negotiated traffic
and radar vectors to Sky Harbor International Airport, and landed, all from the
right seat. Based on the joy in his eyes and
his virtuoso performance, I urged him to
get current again.
"One of these days, I will," he replied.
While Richard's piloting passion and

Time to get back in the sky?
If you or someone you know is thinking
about getting back into flying, but aren't
sure what will be needed to get there,
AOPA's Rusty Pilots initiative can help.
Register to attend a free seminar and discover what you'll need to do to get current
(www.rustypilots.org).

skills had clearly survived, the requisite
resources, motivation, and time had yet to
converge. More concerning was something unspoken. Experience tells me the
confidence to go back to piloting erodes
long before the competence does. Flight
proficiency usually returns quickly even
after a long hiatus; the bigger obstacle is
turning the key and driving to the airport.
And the longer pilots are away from flying,
the less likely they'll return to it.
To pave the way, I steered my friend
to online pilot refresher resources and
introduced him to local flight instructor
Fred Gibbs. Although we often discussed
flying, it was 18 months before Richard
took the first step of renewing his medical
certificate. I flew him to Prescott for the
appointment, and on the way back he
reciprocated as my safety pilot. Exposed
for the first time to modern instrument
flying, he expressed enthusiasm about
mastering GPS approaches.
Still, Richard's a busy man, and his
review progress was slow. I encouraged
him to visit the airport for a kick-starter
lesson. But my friend balked at going for
a lesson "unprepared." He did, however,
consult Fred for study guidance.
Eight more months passed before Richard felt ready to schedule his flight review.
He called me for tips on anything he might
have forgotten in preparing. Richard had
seemingly covered everything. Then I
phoned him back with an afterthought.
"You've got one of the new plastic pilot
certificates, right?"
"What's that?" he asked. Upon learning that his well-worn paper license had
been legally superseded, he got online and
ordered a new shiny one.
As it turned out, powerful winds
grounded Richard and Fred for their first
flight-review session, so the two completed only the oral portion.

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Flight Training - June 2014

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