Hi, thanks for your grate response If you want to no about his practical Experience please click below to listen in mp3 http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20332677/ReallyFlyingBlind.mp3
On 5/7/12, Kavitha <[email protected]> wrote: > I'm sorry to say, for me, this is a good story to listen read by my > elequence, I enjoyed and also imagined as I'm flying too. Apart from that, > > I wouldn't believe this at all. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "shankar shan" <[email protected]> > To: "accessindia" <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 4:23 AM > Subject: [AI] flying blind > > > Hi all, > hope all are doing fine > pasting below article, which get from another list. > > > flying blind > > Written June 2010 > Really Flying Blind > By > > Alan Paganelli > > Yes, I really did learn to fly. I can also prove every dime I spent on > flying lessons. I kept every receipt for each hour I paid for and > every entry in > my log book is signed by John Dunn and his CFI certification license > number making it perfectly legal. I had close to 40 hours or about > enough for a private > pilot’s license. We even discussed going to court but decided that it > would be a waste of good money. I'd be crazy to fly with any body > other than a pilot. > So technically, I'm flying under his license so in the end we would be > going to court to argue over a piece of paper. Somebody else wanted me > to give the > information to the Guinness world book of records as the first totally > blind man to learn to fly but I don't care about that. I did it > because it was what > I wanted to do and not for anything else and was willing to put my > money where my mouth is. Anyway, here's my story. > > Back in the mid 70's I was playing at a local restaurant. They swapped > out musicians from time to time and we all came to know each other > pretty well. At > one time or another, we all played at all of the local establishments. > One night I had a night off and went to listen to a new musician at > one of the places > I regularly worked at. They had a woman playing and she was pretty > good. When she took a break we sat and visited talking about the job. > She asked me what > kind of music the people liked here and I told her. During our > conversation she mentioned that she was tired that night because she > had just flown into > the local airport shortly before she came to work. I knew that the > airport only had small aircraft housed there and asked her about it. > She said that she > was a pilot. I began asking her questions about flying. She said that > her husband knew more about the subject than she did and then invited > me to their > home to meet him and talk about it. I took her up on her offer and her > husband was a really great fellow. Come to think of it, some 28 years > later give > or take he still is but I digress here. > > As we discussed flying he put it to me, if I can talk one of the > certified flying instructors into it would you be willing to put your > money down on the > table to find out what it was all about? We discussed how much it cost > back then. It was 20 bucks an hour for a small two place airplane and > another 10 > an hour for the services of the C-F-I. I said that I thought any > flying instructor he might talk to would surely think he was a mad man > and that they might > pull his ticket too! Much to my surprise the next afternoon he called > me up and told me to be down at the airport in the morning at 10 A.M. > My flying lesson > was then but if I wanted to get a few pointers ahead of time be there > two hours earlier and meet him in the flight center and he would show > me around in > his plane. > > I told my dad all about it and he too thought we all were out of our > trees but he would drive me over. Dad flew in in the Second World War > and knew about > flying. > > We met my friend the next day and he explained all the flight controls > and their functions to me. Not only do you have to worry about left > and right, you > have to worry about up and down too. An aircraft doesn't only operate > in two axes, it moves in 3 because an aircraft can also roll. So there > is pitch and > roll in addition to left and right. Many concepts were explained to me > by using my hand representing an airplane or a toy aircraft. He > explained the instruments > and what they were used fore and it was as clear as mud at midnight on > a dark night! He said "don't worry about it now. It'll all come to you > as you learn." > I began to think he may be in error. We had the left hand side cabin > door open for fresh air and a man came up to me and said you must be > Alan Paganelli. > My name is John and I'm going to be your flying instructor. I remember > thinking to myself; funny, he doesn't sound like a mad man. > > John took my brand new empty log book and said I'll make your entries > for you and sign off on them with my certified flying instructor's > number. That makes > it all legal and all. That means I will be making a record of it > myself for my records. I thought yeah for the hearing to see which of > us is nuttier! Is > there such a word? I took his arm and called over my shoulder that I > would see my dad and friend when we got back; hopefully. > > John lead me over to a Cessna 1 50 with the identification number of > November 6 6 2 1 4. I thought I would be riding in the right hand seat > and this would > more or less be an introductory lesson. This is this, that's that, we > do this to go up and that to go down etc etc etc. No such luck. John > led me over > to the left hand side of the aircraft and to the pilot’s door and > helped me strap in. The aircraft had a shoulder and lap strap much > like what one would > find in an automobile except that the shoulder strap and lap strap are > not joined together at the buckle but are independent of each other > but are pretty > much the same kind of set up. I sat there as he ran around to the > right side of the plane and climbed in fastening his own seat belt and > shoulder harness. > I thought he better make it real good and tight. After he was settled > he produced a clip-board and pen and began filling out the paper work > as to aircraft > identification number, date, time, persons onboard and the like. Wow, > we aren't fooling around here. This must be in case we die or crash > and burn or something. > I later found out it was for the billing of his and the aircraft's > time but you couldn't have convinced me of it at the time. > > "Okay Alan, I'm ready. What we're going to do is to get out the > pre-flight and before starting engines check list and I'm going to > read each item to you. > I did it for you this time but from now on you'll be required to do it > yourself. I'll assist you the next time so you can learn the correct > way to do it > for this aircraft. What we are concerned here with now and always is > safety safety safety; both yours and mine as well as to those on the > ground. As I've > said I have already did the preflight and we can proceed to the engine > start check list. I will again read every item and you will perform > the necessary > action to accomplish that task. Are you ready?" He described all the > things I would have to do to insure the aircraft was ready to fly > including making > sure there was fuel in the tanks down to making sure there were no > rivets missing from the aircraft's skin and that the landing wheels > were correct and > proper. I remember thinking there is a lot more to this than there > would be in a car. I haven't even got the engine turned on yet! I > wonder if there is > a key to this thing..... > > John read every item on his check-list and made sure I had performed > each task. We finally came to the engine start and he says "before you > turn the key, > they actually did have one surprisingly enough; you have to yell clear > before you turn the engine on. This is to make sure everybody around > the area knows > you are about to start that propeller to turning extremely fast and we > don't want any accidents or anybody to be hurt. Safety, safety, safety > remember > that always." I waited a few seconds to let anybody near by look > around them after I yelled at the top of my lungs, (cleeeeear!) and > hit the key. The big > giros spun up and began to wine as the radios came on line after the > big engine roared into life. Now that was really neat and we aren't > even out of the > parking place yet. Now this is cool. John said next to me, yeah my > face brakes out in a big grin too when I start up too because I know > it won't be long > before I'm flying. > > "What I'm going to do is to tell you a little bit of left or a little > bit of right. What I want you to do is when I say a little bit of > right is to take > your right foot and lightly press on the right rudder pedal. When I > say a little bit of left I want you to lightly press on the left > rudder pedal with > your left foot. The left and right rudder pedals are located right in > front of your feet on the floor. Make sure when you press one of the > rudder pedals > your pressing on the pedal and not on it's top because you would be > stepping on the brake for that pedal. There will be times when your > going to do that > to assist in turning but for now don't worry about it. I'll help you > at first till you get the hang of it and from then on you'll do it > yourself. When > you press on the right pedal the aircraft will taxi in that direction > and by means of the rudder pedals we can control the direction in > which we want the > aircraft to go. Are you ready to taxi?" Yep! let's do it. "Okay as you > have learned we use check-lists to do everything so we leave nothing > out. We also > do not move or anything else with out clearance when you’re a student > pilot. Is that understood?" It is said I. "Then, you’re cleared to > taxi." > > John expertly guided me out of the parking ramp and on to the taxi > way. I remember thinking if the sighted only knew this blind fool was > taxiing this airplane > they'd clear the area for miles around but nobody seemed to notice! We > came to the run-up area and John and I went through the run-up > checklist. This is > to make sure the flight controls haven't picked up any debris or > foreign objects and that the engine is developing full power for > flight. "Everything looks > good and you’re cleared to runway 2_7." This does not mean that there > are twenty seven runways at this airport but rather the runway is laid > out east to > west on a compass heading of 270 degrees. Of course the opposite > direction would be zero niner zero on the exact same runway only going > the other way. > I found out that a pilot has to be able to keep the picture in his > mind of what's going on at all times. > > I taxied out of the run-up area and on to runway two seven and put my > hands in my lap and made sure my feet were well away from the rudder > pedals. John > said "what are you doing? You can't fly with your hands in your lap. > The pilot always sits in the left hand seat and as far as I can see > that's you. The > pilot does the flying so let's do it." You want me to fly the > airplane? "That's what your here for isn't it; to learn how to fly?" I > wasn't even sure it > would even work at this point in time. "Put your left hand on the > control column lightly. (I did as was instructed) but was perfectly > sure it wouldn't > even work. Now, place your right hand on the throttle. Your right foot > will be on the right rudder pedal because when we are going down the > runway the > torque of the engine will want to rotate the aircraft in an opposite > manner than the prop is turning. In other words, when the plane is in > the air if the > prop is turning clockwise, the airplane wants to rotate counter > clockwise and this needs to be compensated for with a little right > rudder. I was as ready > as I could be but was sure it wouldn't work at all. We would surely go > spinning off into space like some crazed egg beater. > > John said I'll call out your speed for you and direct you down the > runway. Remember, a little bit of right and a little bit of left. We > will accelerate > out to 50 knots and rotate the aircraft. About 55 knots the aircraft > will leave the ground." I remember thinking the hell you say. What was > I doing? Blind > people don't fly aircraft at over fifty miles an hour and they're not > even off the ground yet. At that rate of speed if I hit those rudders > to hard we'll > wind up off to the side of the runway into the weeds if we don't take > out a few of those runway lights and that's if we're lucky. It could > go to hell in > a hand cart real damn quick. It's not too late. I can still tell John > I didn't have guts enough to try something so foolhardy. This was > madness to think > I could ever learn to fly and this guy sitting next to me is so calm > and collected like he teaches totally blind guys how to fly every day. > John interrupted > my thoughts which had probably only lasted a second or two. "Okay, > push the throttle to the firewall and let's go flying pilot. Well if > this guy was a > crazy fool what the hell maybe he did teach blind guys every day. Hit > the power or call it quits! Are you a man or a mouse? Do you want to > live forever? > I shoved the throttle to the stops and thought may God favor the foolish. > > The Cessna 1-50 began accelerating down the runway at what seemed to > be breakneck speed. John calmly said a little bit of left now. Now a > bit of right. > You’re looking good. Your speed is 30. 40. 50. Okay now rotate! I > gently eased back on the controls..... The aircraft actually rotates > on its main gear > from forward to aft. As it goes along the ground in this way poised > for flight, as lift exceeds weight the aircraft lifted off the runway > into the air. > I couldn't believe it. I'll be a dirty name; it actually works. I must > have said this out loud because John began to laugh. "I love to see > the look on > students faces as they take off for the first time. Yours was no > different and maybe even more thunder struck than most. Yes, you took > off all by yourself. > My hands were in my lap and my feet on the deck. Your flying man; your > flying. I gave a little whoop of joy. So this was what it was all > about. It doesn't > matter how small or how large the aircraft is the experience is still > the same. You can sit next to the pilot a thousand hours through > hundreds of take-offs > and never even have a clue of what that feels like because there is no > way to describe it. > > After many more such takeoffs the feeling never lessened. I've heard > it said that it's about as close to being a bird as you'll ever get > but it's more than > that. I have asked men and women alike their thoughts on this subject. > I've asked jet jockeys and small aircraft pilots and one astronaut, > Sally Ride and > they all to a person agree they experienced the same thing. It's like > touching the face of God. I know you won't understand that and I don't > expect anybody > to do so either but it's the best description I have ever heard. I had > a guy one time try to tell me you experience the same thing in a race > car and offered > to show me. We hit 130 miles in a short time but it wasn't anywhere > near the same thing because a car is limited to only two axis and not > three. > > I have flown many different kinds of aircraft at one time or another. > The coolest was an aircraft where there were no sides or nothing > overhead. The main > wing and engine were behind and above you in a pusher arrangement. The > propeller faces backwards and actually pushes the aircraft through the > air but it's > about as close to riding on a broomstick as one can get and fun as > hell. Don't drop your sunglasses because the next step is three > thousand feet below > and for God's sake don't smile unless you want your teeth full of > bugs..... The aircraft is named quite appropriately enough, A > "Breezy." I flew a L-10-11 > Try star up from Florida on a return to Chicago one time and the > passengers in the back never knew that some blind guy flew them the > last fifteen minutes > along the way. > > I went on with John for another 40 or so hours and have them all in my > log book to this day. He went on to bigger and better things and the > last time I > saw him he was flying for a major airline. One day I asked him why he > was willing to try to teach me how to fly. It surely had to be a > monumental task. > The regular methods of teaching wouldn't work here on a totally blind > person. ""Well, I thought of that it's true enough. On the other hand, > if I could > find ways to make it clear to a blind man it might make it easier to a > sighted one as well. Everybody would be better off for it and I would > be a better > pilot and instructor for it." > > I had a second instructor after John and learned much from him too. > That was back in the 70's. I flew many times since then and even did > some flying in > sail planes and tossed those around the sky doing aerobatics for the > fun of it. Imagine roller coaster hills a thousand feet high and a > sudden drop of > thousands of feet. Picture your head in the center of a circle. Now > imagine your butt making a sideways circle from right to left up over > your head and > back down again wile your head appears to stay in the center of that > circle. That my friends is called a roll and is about as much fun as > you can have > with your clothes on. Picture yourself being raced up and have your > head back in that center circle again. Now imagine your butt going up > over your head > and stopping there with your butt up and your head down and now it > feels like you're falling straight down before it all reverses to the > way it was when > it started. This is called a wing over and is just as much fun. > > I met a guy in Boulder City, Nevada who was a sail plane pilot who > took me up for a ride in a plane with no engine. That's called a sail > plane my friends > because you seek out thermals that rise. Thermals are warm rising > columns of air. These can actually lift an aircraft. Sail plane pilots > can stay aloft > for quite some time just riding the rising air columns like the eagles > do. After a prop plane towed us to an altitude of 10,000 feet and > turned us lose, > he says I usually take the tourists over the Las Vegas strip and let > them see the lights. If you want, I can do that for you and try my > best to describe > what I see to you if that's okay. I told him about my flying and damn > that. Show me what this baby can really do! "Well okay then!" and away > we went. It > should have been a 30 minute ride. An hour later we landed laughing > and having a ball. My dad and wife were on the ground wondering where > we were. The > half hour had gone by and we weren't back yet. They both looked up in > the sky about the same time as we were doing a spin. It looks like the > aircraft is > doing a spiral down at about a 45 degree angle. Looks scary as hell. > They thought we were surely going to buy the farm. Were we in trouble? > No way! We > were having way too much fun! > > > -- > For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that > whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life > > > Email: [email protected] > Msn: [email protected] > Skype: shankar.a > mobile:+91 9591 8464 42 > **********Technical Consultant********** > Thanks and Regards > Shankar!!! > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > -- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life Email: [email protected] Msn: [email protected] Skype: shankar.a mobile:+91 9591 8464 42 **********Technical Consultant********** Thanks and Regards Shankar!!! Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
