Taking Off Podcast – Aviation Life

Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals is announced as the 3034 Roberto Clemente Award Winner. We go back to 1972 and examine the plane crash that took the life of MLB Great Roberto Clemente. The Roberto Clemente Award is given to the MLB player that best represents the game through Character, Community Involvement, and Contributions.

Dan and Christy talk about the list of celebrity pilots, beyond the very commonly known ones, there are quite a few you might be surprised to learn are pilots.  How many did you know?  And yes, we left out Alton Brown and several others.

From the In The Hangar archives, Dan and Christy interview DPE Joe Casey about the physiology of Spatial Disorientation and how easy it is for a person to get upside down and never realize it.  The condition has led to many airplane crashes, notably Kobe Bryant’s helicopter pilot and more recently the crash of a Kingair off Maui in December of 2022.

Watch on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ziJAsrlPkc

Dan and Christy sort through the data to determine if it is indeed safer to fly versus drive.  To come to the correct conclusion, you must separate commercial airline travel from General Aviation.  The data comes from the McSpadden Report and an article done by the Pilot Institute: https://pilotinstitute.com/is-flying-safer-than-driving/

Garmin or Aspen/Genesys? Dan and Christy talk about whats new, including upgrades to avionics in both of their planes and Dan’s upcoming helicopter training.

William LeBaron recounts his story of landing on an airstrip owned by a Tribe in Arizona.

LONG: Dan talks with William LeBaron about his experience landing at a private airtrip on a Reservation in Arizona, believing he had permission.  Even after getting second permission, the Tribe’s Fish and Game officials impounded his Mooney M-20 and threatened to take it apart to move it.

Dan Bass, a single pilot on a small plane, passed out because of carbon monoxide poisoning while flying.  He awoke crashed in a snowy field.  His story is riveting.  Dan and Christy talked to him first in studio, then got an update on location at EAA Airventure.  This podcast combines both interviews.

With the recent Brazil crash of an ATR-72, Dan and Christy look back to 1994 and discuss the American Eagle Flight 4184 that crashed near Chicago on Halloween. The plane had been put into a hold in icing that overran the plane’s anti-icing ability and affected the airflow over the control surfaces.

Is the DPE shortage getting worse? Designated Pilot Examiner and Major Airliner Line Check Airman Joey Johnson joins Dan @TakingOffDan and Christy @PilotChristy for a talk about life as a DPE and as a Line Check Airman. Joey also talks about his non-profit foundation to help veterans transition into the aviation field.

Dan and Christy talk with Bryan Turn @JustPlaneSilly about his leaving the IT field and in his middle-age, making a career shift to airlines.  But what is his path?  What are his struggles?  Is the Pilot Shortage over or did it even exist?