What's Up: A Very Heavy Heart One More Time
By Larry Shapiro
Everyone has a hero… Mira Slovac was mine. I grew up always wishing that one day I would fly with him or at the very least, just meet him. If you don’t know who he was, maybe this will help, and thanks to the LA Times for this:
Remembering Mira Slovak: Cold War defector, crop duster and daredevil pilot
Mira Slovak, the youngest pilot with Czechoslovakian Airlines, immigrated to the U.S. after hijacking a DC-3 and evading Russian MiGs to land at an American military base in West Germany in 1953. He became a crop duster, acrobatic pilot and national champion speedboat racer. He was planning one more flight from California to the Czech Republic in a vintage Bucker Jungmann biplane before he was diagnosed with stomach cancer last year. He passed away last week at the age of 84.
My wish came true when I found myself sitting next to him at not one but many airshow briefings. I always seemed to step on my tongue when I tried to treat him as one of the family, but I couldn’t. He was my “superman” and everything else I wanted to be. My current total for losing heroes is two; first I lost Eddie and now Mira. My brother-in-law said I should look at the good side. At least I got to meet and work with my heroes! Rest in peace Mira!
Ten Years Ago I wrote: Insulin Is My Co-Pilot
When I decided to write on this subject, I had planned on ending my column last month with this statement: “I hope you’ll stop by for what I feel will be the most important column I’ve every written.” The subject will be Aviation and Diabetes, and my wish is to change some lives after it’s read and maybe add a few more pilots to our roster. The truth is, it was lost during my final edit while I was caring for my diabetic Mother who was at the time, a day away from the cemetery.
Don’t discount the power of prayer, she’s now home again and back better than ever, so, Mom, I’ll dedicate this column to you and look forward to many more years of your nagging. Heck, while I’m at it, I should mention that my stepmother is also a diabetic.
My research has taken me so much further into this subject than planned for and the information gained has opened my eyes to the fact that Insulin-dependent folks are well ensconced among those of us in aviation. To that, I say, bravo! The more I looked, the more encouraging this avenue became. So I kept going down the road, and it was well worth it.
Some of you may recall that a few years back, I talked about a love story that was born during one of the annual Aerobatic Safety Seminars. We shared with you the discovery that one of the attendees found that he could move from RC flying to the friendly cockpit of an aircraft with seats and an onboard pilot. That was about 200 plus flying hours ago for private pilot, Fred, and now we offer you the next chapter. This time the name is Terry, and he’s a real Hummer. I mean he drives a real Hummer.
The initial motivation for this column was meeting this now newly soloed student pilot and aiding him in his pursuit of the right “First Airplane.” One of our first questions when interviewing prospective buyers is to ask whether they have a current medical certificate. His answer was a first also; he said he had two of them. It was at this time that I found he was an Air Traffic Controller from the Oakland Center, a facility that controls one tenth of the earth’s surface. (A little trivia for those of you that didn’t know that).
Well, his answer, to say the least, provoked my next semi intelligent comment, huh? He explained that he held a second-class certificate for his day job and a third-class certificate for flying. I know, I know, a little confusing, which is why you may send your questions to me, and I’ll forward them to Terry; he’s the man with the answers.
I should mention that I thought I might be talking to the one guy out of many that was in this predicament, wrong! I was almost knocked off my non-skid hangar shoes when he shared with me that there might be as many as 500 Insulin-dependent pilots spending time with us in the now Insulin-friendly skies.
So far, this might sound like, so what? Big Deal! Yeah, it is a big deal, and these special folks walk really close to a bed of hot coals getting and keeping these tickets. Gee, I wonder how many Insulin- dependent drivers we have out there helping us make commute traffic?
A thumbnail sketch of the regimen they go through in the way of testing can be daily, weekly, and monthly right down to testing during flight. And talk about the honor system, you MUST report numbers that aren’t within the “OK” limits. If you get caught not being Abraham Lincoln, you’re back to flying elevators and answering phones at the FAA with, how may I direct your call?
Here’s just a sample of what it can be like for those doing and those who might want to do it. You start with about three pages of medical requirements for a class three medical. For the class two, add seeing an endocrinologist every three months and an ophthalmologist every year.
While performing his day job, Terry checks his blood glucose level three minutes before his shift and every two hours during his shift.
Perhaps a little history on Terry might help those of you who are reading this and saying wow! I can really do this! Well, at least I want to try.
It was on his 30th birthday when Terry found he was the proud owner of Type I Diabetes. He was the first Insulin-dependent diabetic to work in the Western Pacific Region and the second in the country. Now others may be hired if they follow the right protocol.
Of course there is more specific data and technical information available for those of you who are interested. It’s way above my head, and my hope was to light the way for those readers who want to explore this avenue further.
I do have other official documents in my office if any of you would like to see them. Terry has graciously offered to communicate with you privately on any personal questions you might have.
I’d like to end this segment by telling you that I lost a grandmother, a brother, and as I mentioned above, someday soon, probably my mother to this disease. If these few words help to open some doors for you, then we’ve succeeded, and I can allow myself to feel that my grandmother and brother lit the way for me to explore this avenue even further with and for you. By the way, my Mother is now 93 and still sends me to my room.
On a personal note, I’d like to thank you for your time and attention and invite you to please feel free to forward your questions, email address or phone numbers to me and I’ll be pleased to pass them on to Terry.
The View Across The Fence
Since we’ve looked at the view from above, how about a view from just across the fence? You know the fence I’m talking about, the one that separates that grass that is always greener. Most of us know that that is really not the case. Once again, it’s that darn perspective. On a daily basis, I meet folks that want to trade jobs with me. They truly believe that there is some romantic aura working in aviation. These are not guys that are digging ditches everyday in the hot sun; these are educated professionals who have great paying air conditioned jobs and careers, yet they want to walk away from their cubicles and join those of us who struggle daily to make ends meet just to say they’re in the Aviation Business.
Phrases such as “I hate my job!” are common during these exchanges. I wonder if they hear that word, “job?” I wish I had time and space to share my story on loving the grass on the other side of the fence that ends with, “Yes, but then you were a tourist.” Jobs are called jobs because that is what they are. Jobs mean work, and that’s why hobbies aren’t called jobs. So many of the non-flying community see aviation as a hobby and don’t get the fact that it’s a 24/7 commitment. Well, ours is.
On Final
Most important, it’s July… Food, noise other than airplanes, picnics, BBQs, Flags, and my annual reminder that fireworks are suppose to be viewed from below, not from above. There are always those who want to be wrong, so they jump in whatever starts and try to get above the fireworks, only to discover that it’s very hard to actually see and enjoy them, and it’s only a matter of time before one of those knuckleheads gets shot down by a “woop-de-doo-wiz-bang-super-duper-whatcha-call it!
In the spirit of helping those homeland security dudes and honoring the 4th of July, here’s are few security words:
Terrorist question of the day: What non-verbal physical message can you communicate to the Tower or other ground personnel that your airplane is being Hijacked? Email me for the answer or ask a CFI.
PS.
(Larry Shapiro)Next month I’ll be sharing with you about my latest encounter with the Custom Folks at Brown Field. Plus, the stupidest crash I’ve seen in the last 50 years down in Mexico…stay tuned.
Until next time…
That’s Thirty!
“Over”
About the writer: Larry Shapiro is an aircraft broker, aviation humorist and fulltime grandfather of three.
He’d love to have you share your thoughts and ideas for future articles.
Palo Alto Airport Office: 650-424-1801 or Larry@LarryShapiro.com
