Hobby sends Soldier soaring over local area

By Ms Kari Hawkins (Redstone)March 14, 2012

Hobby sends Soldier soaring over local area
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Hobby sends Soldier soaring over local area
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Timing can mean everything for a pilot.

For Maj. Joe McLaine, the timing of his attendance at a Command and General Staff School course at Redstone Arsenal was nearly perfect for getting involved with one of only two flying clubs still active on an Army installation.

This professional Apache helicopter pilot and fixed wing pilot hobbyist was thrilled with the opportunity to fly at Redstone while taking intermediate level education courses, a temporary duty assignment that began in mid-January. Unbeknownst to him, if he had instead attended a class in late 2011, his hobby flying would have been seriously grounded.

"The Redstone Arsenal Flying Activity was closed at Redstone from October through the first week in February," the activity's business manager Tim Thompson said. "We had to close because of construction at the airfield. During that time, we operated through Signature Aviation at Huntsville International Airport.

"Even though we were still open, we incurred higher expenses for gas, our flight hours dropped and we had to rent a hangar to perform maintenance. Our members missed the convenience of the Flying Activity being right on the Arsenal."

Though the arrangement worked OK during the normally slow flying months of late fall and winter, Thompson is glad to be back in business at the Flying Activity's Redstone home.

And so are McLaine and the 300 members of the Flying Activity. The activity will celebrate being back home on May 5, when it holds its first open house in two years.

Although McLaine won't be here for the open house, he is glad to be able to enjoy all the flying activity has to offer.

"I thought that coming to Redstone for four months was a good assignment because of the Aviation and Missile Command, and the Army Materiel Command being here. But the thing that really popped out to me was the ability to fly," McLaine said.

"I chose to come to Redstone, in part, because of the Flying Activity. Since I was only going to be here a short time, I made sure I was up and flying the first week in February."

McLaine, who got his fixed wing pilot's license about 20 years ago, has also flown at the Army's other flying activity, located at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. But Redstone turned out to be his favorite of the two.

"Fort Leavenworth is a beautiful airfield, but nothing compares to how well-run the flying activity is here," he said. "There are some 20 instructor pilots here and the website just draws you in. The people here are really great. They are professional and knowledgeable. It is the best-run operation I have ever seen."

The combat veteran, who flew AH-64 Apache Longbow missions in the Balkans in 1999, in Iraq in 2003-04 and in Afghanistan in 2010-11, has never lost his passion for flying under any conditions.

"I love flying. I love the feeling it gives you," he said. "When you are flying, all the troubles of the world seem to leave you.

"As a helicopter pilot, the missions are intense. But the people you fly with and the attitude they bring to the mission help you manage the stress of combat. And with fixed wing flying, well, that's all fun. It's never lost its allure for me."

While he said there is nothing to compare to the "hover and takeoff" capabilities of a helicopter, fixed wing flying is an easy hobby to enjoy because of the national air space system in the U.S. and the flying activity clubs located throughout the nation.

"It's a great pleasure of mine to fly all over the country in a fixed wing," McLaine said.

At the Flying Activity, the chief flight instructor teamed McLaine with certified flight instructor Caroline Hodges, who conducted a Federal Aviation Administration flight review with the officer. The first day of flight, McLaine piloted a Cessna 172, flying a pattern around the Arsenal and going through the landing process. While he's been here, he has also flown to Shelbyville, Tenn., to review his instrument and night flying, and he flew in a Piper Arrow, which has retractable landing gear. His first solo flight was to Guntersville and then along the Tennessee River to Muscle Shoals. Along the way, he passed his flight review.

"To maintain your pilot rating you have to be checked at least every other year," McLaine said. "And no one wants to be just barely proficient. So, you work hard to make sure you know the aircraft and how to fly it."

During the review, Hodges checked McLaine's proficiency and knowledge about flying.

"He is proficient in both the Cessna and Pilot, so now he can fly them whenever he wants to," Hodges said.

"Besides teaching new students how to fly, we also offer written tests for each airplane and for instrument training. Pilots want to qualify for as many different aircraft in their log book as possible. Each single engine aircraft has its specifics for weight and balance, and for takeoff and landing, and pilots need to know them before they fly. But the concepts of flight are universal."

Since McLaine was new to the area, Hodges also showed him what restricted and non-restricted areas to avoid, the area's landmarks and the good places for getting that "$100 hamburger," a reference to pilots who fly miles away just to dine out at a special destination. Before leaving Redstone, McLaine hopes to make a flight to Atlanta to see his aunt, and possible flights to Pensacola, Fla., and Enterprise (Fort Rucker) to visit aviation buddies.

How much fixed wing flying McLaine gets in depends on the availability of a flying club where he is stationed and the amount of time he has available. While at Redstone, he's had some free time for flying. But after completing his class, McLaine will return to his family -- including wife, Maj. Keke McLaine, who is the executive officer for a supply brigade, and three young children -- at Fort Drum, N.Y., where he will prepare for a 2013 deployment to Afghanistan with the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade. So the respite at Redstone won't last for long.

When he does get a chance, McLaine likes to introduce other Soldiers to flight.

"I was the officer in charge of the West Point Flying Club when I was teaching at West Point in 2007-10," he said. "I loved introducing cadets and others to the joys of flight.

"It's surprising to me how few active Army aviators do fly fixed wing. For me, flying fixed wing has made me a better pilot all around. I have a better air sense, and better communication and visual skills. Being a fixed wing pilot in the civilian FAA world has made me a better Army aviator."

Thompson hopes to gain some new pilots with that type of enthusiasm during the Flying Activity's open house in May, during which visitors can fly in aircraft at a cost of $30 for adults and $25 for children 12 and younger.

"An open house is really to interest people in flying. It's a recruiting kind of thing," he said. "But we do have to be careful not to recruit more interest than we can handle."

The Flying Activity's 22 instructors also have full-time jobs and take on teaching flight students in their spare time. And the activity only has 12 aircraft that can be used by its members.

"In the spring of 2010 we didn't have an open house because we had a lot of growth in the early months of the year and more students could have been overwhelming to our flight instructors, and we might not have had enough planes to accommodate instruction," Thompson said. "We also didn't have an open house in 2011 because our Arsenal facility was going to be closed for a few months. So now we are ready for some new students."

These days, the airfield is hampered by the lack of runway lights for night flights. Those runway lights were shut down by the airfield's management because old wiring made them undependable. Replacing the electrical system for runway lights is currently cost prohibitive.

But the flying activity is still a popular location for Arsenal-connected pilots who like the services and social activities it provides, including free hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch on Saturdays.

"They love to come out here and socialize and tell their pilot stories. There's a lot of good camaraderie," Thompson said.

The airfield staff includes Mildred Lancaster, who manages the office, and Derrick Romine and Telton Tolbert, who work as aircraft mechanics. The Flying Activity also relies on a group of about 40 volunteers, which includes chief flight instructor Max Gurgew, to run the club.

With new neighbors like the Redstone Test Center and expanding neighbors like the Software Engineering Directorate, and with budget cuts, there have been concerns as to how long Redstone will keep its flying activity. But for now, it continues to thrive with its membership.

"The majority of the people who utilize the Flying Activity work on the installation," Thompson said.

"We have a lot of strong members. We have majors, colonels, retired officers and people with NASA. This flying activity has been here since at least the late '80s or early '90s, and it's something that attracts an influential group of pilots. But the Army mission comes first. So we'll be here as long as the Army doesn't need us to move."

Hours of operation for the Flying Activity are: Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Members have access to the activity and aircraft rentals seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Check out flying rates and class offerings at http://www.redstonemwr.com/recreation/flying.