Disabled pilots

[mary meagher]

Alright guys, less flap about kindly taking on board disabled passengers, lets look at the rather splended and uplifting record of DISABLED PILOTS!!!

Starting with Douglas Bader.....heard that name before, anyone?

And I bet you folks reading this can tell about disabled pilots of your own acquaintance. Wings don't need legs. Nor ears. Nor even two arms, one will do! I can't help thinking that if you come up with some inspirational examples, we could recommend this thread to those military chaps who have suffered significant injury in recent conflicts.

[India Four Two]

Mary,

My old club, Cu Nim Gliding Club in Calgary participates in the Freedom's Wings Canada Learn To Fly (http://freedomswings.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=9) and Inspirational Flights programs. An excellent organization.

Freedom's Wings: Soaring for people with disabilities - YouTube

Cu Nim Freedom's Wings 2010 - YouTube

[mad_jock]

heard that name before, anyone?

Yes lost his legs due to questionable piloting skills. Was by all accounts a bit of prick so much so the Eric Bristow chucked him in a pool and threw his legs in after him.

Bader to the general public is a legend if you speak to the older generation of pilots that actually knew him there is not many good words you will hear about him.

[Whiskey Kilo Wanderer]

In recent times this young lady has shown what can be done by disabled pilots.
Jessica Cox, Armless Pilot - YouTube

[chrisN]

I hesitated before writing this, because I do not particularly wish to advertise my own situation, but maybe it will persuade some people to do some good.

I have a degree of disability due to poliomyelitis. When I first was given a bicycle as a child, it was like getting a new pair of legs - I delighted in being able to go almost anywhere.

When I took up gliding, and found that I could do it as well as those with no disabilities, it was the same feeling all over again. Now I could do the same as “normal” people, and enjoy the particular delights that all of us who fly are privileged to share.

If anybody reading this can do something to help disadvantaged folk, please do. It can make a wonderful difference.

Chris N

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

I was in a Yak52 group with a guy that was paralised from the waist down in a horse riding accident. Didn't stop him winning the British Aerobatic Championship at Standard level in that aeroplane.

It was fitted with a hand-rudder control and he reckoned he had an advantage over able-bodied pilots; his legs had atrophied through lack of use so there was less room for the blood to drain down to, so he could stand more 'G' than fellow competitors!

[mary meagher]

Jessica Cox - WOW! DO WATCH HER VIDEO. The little things like checking the oil, doing up the seatbelt, she does it all with NO ARMS. Flying the aerocoupe is a cinch compared to that, she is an amazing amazing pilot!

No legs, know lots of guys who fly with one leg, no legs etc, but she's the tops in my book.

Tell us about yourself, your friends. This is definitely inspirational materiel already, and worth passing on. When we get to a couple of pages, I will pass it on to the rehab folks in Birmingham and any other people you suggest who may be inspired.

Mary

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

One thing my mate had to do to satisfy the CAA was to demonstrate he could get in and out of the aeroplane unaided. To get in he would back his wheelchair to the trailing edge of the wing adjacent to the fuselage, and haul himself up to a sitting position on the wing. From here, he would lift the chair, fold it, and stow it in the aeroplane behind his seat. Then he'd haul himself onto the fuelage, lift his legs up and turn around to face forward, the lower himself into the cockpit manhandling his legs as he went.

He did this through sheer determination and developing tremendous upper body strength! I couldn't have done that. He got my respect!

[Crash one]

Many years ago a woman with Thalidomide disablement was flying a K13 fitted with an unauthorised hand wheel rudder which required an instructor with a pair of snips to cut the wires if required so as to render the a/c "serviceable". He remarked " I'll get the brakes if you like". Her reply "Who's flying this bloody thing, me or you?" & continued to make a perfect landing. There was some debate about whether she could go solo but regulations were all that got in the way.
Another was a guy with Cerebral Palsy. He worked for some kind of Artificial intelligence unit at Edinburgh, couldn't stand up un-aided, couldn't speak legibly but we discovered he was left handed & could fly very well once he had a grip of the stick. I have every respect for such people.

[F4TCT]

Nathan Doidge is another - https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CDkQtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DR2n0zQmDLI4&ei=MqY3UbypOcWRO-fJgcAP&usg=AFQjCNEVJe38EZOY8WpW5_7f-hivFqPq2w&bvm=bv.43287494,d.ZWU

Personally I have a disability in the form of nerve damage in my left leg. I also have footdrop in the left leg but I can put force down through the foot deflecting it. I fly a PA28 and am realistically reliant upon the hand brake as I feel i cannot safely use the left foot brake - thus limiting my aircraft choice.

I was awarded a flying scholarship through fsdp and gained my NPPL in little over 3 weeks. I then went onto gain the class 2 medical and upgrade to the Jar and subsequently the IMC and Night qual.

Next aim is to gain a class 1 and start the commercial stuff. You wont find me in any airliners, but I would like to instruct one day.

Dan

[mad_jock]

you don;t need a commercial these days to become a payed instructor but you would require it to teach CPL.

Oh BTW if your only using the hand brake on the Pipers you more than likely have better technique than most for taxing.

[F4TCT]

Yeah I heard about that, whats the deal with being an instructor on a ppl?

If i got declined for class 1, i would still like to do the ground school to further my knowledge.

Dan

[mad_jock]

You still require the cpl knowledge to become an instructor.

But under EASA you can teach and be payed for it on a PPL with a class 2 medical. You always could be a PPL instructor on a class 2 but now you can be payed for it.

There is also a rule that you need to have the License at the level you are teaching at. Hence if you wish to teach at CPL level you need either a CPL or ATPL.

[F4TCT]

Oh thanks very much :D

Dan

[mary meagher]

Thanks to the mods for weeding out the irrelevant. And please, people, tell us about disabled pilots who can inspire those that may haven't thought about taking wing. I can think of at least two, personally known to me.

The first one came to grief flying a weight shift microlite; with only his legs for undercarriage, it was an attempt to fly a loop that came unstuck in his case, and he ended up in a wheelchair. Not a man to give up easily, he became a solo and qualified cross country glider pilot. Story goes he was flying his specially equipped K6 glider and landed out in a farmers field. So he got on his radio and called on the distress frequency. An airliner overhead picked up the message; that he had made a field landing, and couldn't walk. Somehow this was passed on to the emergency services, without the clarification that his inability to walk had happened before his landing, and was not in any sense an emergency. Plenty of help arrived, including a helicopter.....

The intrepid pilot went on to become on of the country's top professional gliding instructors. He now flies a three axis machine and straps his wheelchair under the wing, so no longer requiring assistance in case of a landout.

[hso]

Dave Jacka (http://www.onawingandachair.org.au/the-around-australia-flight/dave-jacka/), a quadriplegic pilot with only limited hand movements. Flies really well in a substantially modified Jabiru. I don't know him personally, but it's quite an inspiration for pilots [to be] and engineers alike.

[mary meagher]

hso, thanks for passing on the story about Dave Jacka, who suffered an injury that left him with no lower limb use, and only very limited use of his upper limbs....fortunately his brain is still incredibly intact, and he flies a Jabaru that he has modified to manage very well.

If you can manage to drive a car, you can fly an aeroplane, in Australia, anyhow. His story is very well presented in the link provided by hso....

The point is made that usually those who suffer spinal injury are young reckless males, who dive into shallow water, drive motor bikes, or enjoy other dangerous pursuits, like serving in the military. Exactly those who may most enjoy learning to fly. My late husband was told to stop playing golf because of his dicky ticker, so he took up flying gliders instead....much safer!

[The Old Fat One]

Bader to the general public is a legend if you speak to the older generation of pilots that actually knew him there is not many good words you will hear about him.

Very many great warriors (land, sea & air) don't do so well in peacetime/civilian life...kinda obvious why, don't you think?

[abgd]

Bader did very well for himself in civilian life. He was just very disagreeable both during and after his military service. I don't think it's inevitable... I've met perhaps a dozen fighter pilots from WWII to today and liked most if not all of them very much as people.

[Mikhail Sharpowicz]

Both of the UK Army Gliding Association clubs at Wattisham and Upavon now have K21 gliders with a hand-rudder mod. Quite a few soldiers have gone solo now in these. Brilliant to watch how they take to it too, and not just the leg-less pilots!

[Pigs Might Fly]

Great thread.

Anyone interested in learning to fly could do a lot worse than giving these people a call. Based in Wiltshire at Old Sarum, they have been teaching disabled people to fly since 1994 so have lots of experience and are really nice guys to boot.

Disabled flying training activities and air experience flights for people with disabilities (http://www.disabledflying.org.uk)

[Rhino25782]

And this fellow (who happened to be my examiner):

Martin H Lloyd (http://www.flyboy1leg.com/meet.html)

[mary meagher]

Thanks, Rhino, for passing on Martin Lloyd's story. I'm trying to get in touch with him, as he seems to be a Brit that has settled in California, whereas I moved from California to the UK. Right now with the weather we have been suffering, wondering if it was the sensible thing to do....

I've mentioned one chap who used to be one of our professional instructors in a previous post. His disability resulted from a moment of madness in a hang glider. One of our solo pilots had trouble with a parachute. (I did one parachute descent at Shobdon, but it seemed like too much kerfluffle for only 2 minutes in the air.) One of our tug pilots acquired a new leg as a result of a motorcycle accident, the other guys fault.

We have a couple of solo pilots who need two sticks to walk to the glider, but once strapped in are capable of flying the latest high performance single seater, and pass their yearly checks with honours every time.

So we don't have any pilots who suffered disability as a result of service in Afganistan, but we would surely welcome them. Of course, once they solo they will have to buy beers all round, like any other club member....

So add a couple more of your stories, and I will forward this thread to the folks at the rehab centre.

Mary

[flyinkiwi]

There's a pilot down under who fought his way back into the cockpit after an accident nearly killed him. He has written a book about his experiences. I've met Barry and he is a top bloke. Haven't read his book yet...

Let Fly! : A Young Topdressing Pilot's Story (http://www.longacre.co.nz/books/LetFly.html)

[mary meagher]

Thanks, everyone, for your contributions. I have passed the thread page one to Caroline, the Charity Coordinator at [email protected]

In case anyone wants to donate an aircraft, or time in an aircraft?????? or just money....

Mary