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| Wheels Wings & Water |
Stick & Rudder Realities
Lamont Wood
02/01/2005
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A growing number of business jet owners are opting to pilot their own aircraft, adding a new element of control, freedom and even adventure to what would otherwise be staid corporate trips. But before pulling on the throttle, the daredevil dilettante should weigh the drawbacks and dangers.
“It consumes your life,” notes Jerry Wharton, owner of A&G Coal in Wise, Va. “It does not take a rocket scientist to run a boat on a river. You can sit there and have a few beers and relax—but you can’t do that in aviation. If you are not willing to put the time into it, aviation is something that can hurt you.” Wharton figures that he spends 15 hours a month at the controls of his Raytheon Beechcraft Premier 1.
 | | PILOTS MUST retest every year with either an in-air flight test or a simulator. |
Gene Comfort, a spokesman for business jet manufacturer Sino Swearingen Aircraft in San Antonio, Texas, estimates that nearly two-thirds of those who buy private jets actually fly them. Most amateur aviators start out with a small plane to match their small business, then trade up to larger planes as their business—and their range of travel—grows. One of the intangible advantages of personal piloting is that it tends to impress clients, he notes.
Wharton, however, cautions that he finds it difficult to entertain clients while in the pilot’s seat. He finds that his onboard guests are often fascinated to sit in the co-pilot’s chair, but the conversation never strays much from aviation.
Wharton got his start in aviation as a young man; he believes that, for a busy executive, it can be overly taxing to start from scratch. “I think a lot of people are turned off by the fact that it is very complicated,” he notes. “Once you learn it, it is not so overwhelming. But looking at it from the outside, it’s hard. Getting into it is a tough deal for a hard-charging businessman.”
Perry Johnson, founder of Perry Johnson Registrars, a Southfield, Mich., company that conducts quality-system audits, also began with a small plane, which he piloted. When he upgraded to a private jet, a Bombardier Learjet 55, he chose to stay away from the stick. “When you are in the air, you are often doing work, and you are coming back exhausted,” Johnson notes. “I’m not that interested in flying under those conditions. I’m more comfortable with someone whose entire job it is to fly the plane,” he adds. “Also, everyone was getting concerned when I was out flying. They feared I would be in a wreck because I flew so infrequently. If you don’t fly 150 hours a year, you put yourself in the danger category.”
That is the least of it. Pilots must also stay current with government-mandated aviation requirements, explains Roger Ritchie, a spokesman for FlightSafety International at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Ritchie’s company conducts training programs for many private jet owners. To remain certified under visual flight rules—those allowing a pilot to fly during daylight hours—requires three takeoffs and three landings in the prior 90 days. To remain in line with current instrument flight rules— those allowing a pilot to fly when visibility is low—requires making six instrument approaches within the last six months. The government also requires an annual shakedown flight and a physical examination. Ritchie’s firm offers the yearly shakedown with several days of refresher training.
“Maintaining proficiency, safety and observation of the regulations requires a fair amount of dedication to flying,” Ritchie says. “I would classify it as a major hobby.”
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