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Wed, Sep 18, 2002

Above 'n Below FL180 With Phil Boyer (Part 1)

By ANN Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell

I accepted an invitation to travel with AOPA President Phil Boyer the other day, as much to see the organizational aspects of how he works, as the specific project (the dedication of a pilot facility at the Wright Memorial) itself. It was an illuminating day.

I christened Boyer the "Hardest Working Man in GA" some time ago and the day we spent surely proves that I was on target with this appellation. An average "on-the-road" day with Boyer is a demanding routine… with little wasted time and a strong effort to cram as much detail in as humanly possible.

As many of you know, I can be highly critical of the leadership that exists in the aviation community (mostly because too many of our leaders seem to be unaware of the responsibility they have to the community they are supposed to serve) and despite the fact that Boyer can be brutally direct, stubborn when convinced of his correctness and highly opinionated (which makes him a VERY interesting guy to disagree with); he's as passionate about GA as any guy I know, and single-mindedly dedicated to the welfare of his members. No kidding… if you want to see Phil get mad (quite justifiably, I might add), just suggest that he doesn't know what his members want of him or that he isn't serving their interests… and then stand back. It ain't pretty (grin).

I met Phil at AOPA's CitationJet at 0700 (that's a big OUCH for yours truly, who usually works to 0200-0400 each day). Fully prepared for a four-leg round trip to Manteo (NC, with a stop on the way to pick up an additional pax), for the dedication of the AOPA Pilot Facility to be built at the nation's first flight memorial, Boyer was cordial; but he was all business, as he made ready to depart FDK in N4GA. Boyer has logged over 1200 hours in the CitationJet after taking an aggressive FlightSafety training course (which he reportedly finished fairly quickly) designed to prepare him for the rigors of single pilot operation in Cessna's hot little pocket rocket. The "CJ" is a tool that originally drew some criticism from AOPA members for the cost involved, but has ultimately proven itself to most of them as Boyer's extensive and oft-tight travel schedule made the use of a twin jet a necessity rather than a luxury.

Boyer is a very detail-oriented guy… a personality characteristic that proves out well for single pilot jet/IFR operations. Single pilot jet ops should not be all that demanding when you consider the fact that turbines are a lot less tasking in various roles than the semi-equivalent piston birds (ask any hard IFR Baron driver for his latest tale of woe)… until you factor in the fact that decisions and processes occur much faster, and in many cases more frequently (from a quantitative standpoint) as a result of the added capabilities that come with the performance associated with a jet. Single pilot ops in a jet are, therefore, not for the faint of heart or the amateur… Boyer proves, demonstrably and convincingly, to be neither.

Quite a few years ago, I spent time as a flight crew training instructor for a major international airline and every time I fly with someone, I slip into an evaluative/Instructor role (which has only added to my rep as a pain in the butt). Early on, I developed an appreciation for pilots who understood the importance of methodical cockpit discipline and prioritizing the decision-making process. I have learned to identify, very quickly, the pros from the guys who are struggling to keep up. Boyer adheres to checklist protocols religiously, and manages to keep a good scan going with plenty of "heads-out" efforts to see what's happening externally (one of the most common problems with IFR hot-shots is the fact that they keep their heads buried in the gauges and don't look out as much as they should…). Boyer needs no periscope; he's got a great "scan" that balances the exterior and the interior items that demand his attention. Yeah, he knows what he's doing.

I flew right seat with Boyer for most of the day, sharing several legs though some moderately demanding IFR legs that were needlessly complicated by ATC's lack of awareness of the real status of the ILS at Easton MD. They had NOTAM'ed it closed 'way too early, until Phil took the initiative to call Easton Unicom and get the assurance of the airport operators that the NOTAM referenced by the controller (and NOT included in the brief prior to the flight) was being activated too early. Finally getting the controller to check his notes, and after two interesting missed approaches (that showed the reported 600-700 foot ceilings were more like 400 feet, if that), we were cleared for the ILS 4 approach and taxied into Easton only slightly later than expected.

We wound up shooting two "misses" before ATC realized that Phil was right and they were wrong. You gotta love a guy who can politely, but firmly, get ATC to get their act together while up to his (anatomical reference deleted) in the soup. You learn a lot about a pilot when he has to pull a "miss" in a non-precision approach environment. The first miss was pretty much a wash, as low scud obscured the field until we were just over and slightly abeam. The next one gave us just enough of a view to make a run for the field but the poor viz yielded it so late in the approach that the CJ was simply not going to be able to slow and land in the space available. The decision to miss was made long before the situation got even remotely difficult, and I was pleased (again) to see him keep up an aggressive exterior scan as he executed the miss, informed ATC of his intentions, and above all else, kept flying the airplane.

While working the second miss and cleaning up the airplane, I relayed ATC's message that the ILS was, indeed, open and Phil got fast vectors for a pretty easy approach (the ILS inbound was a bit less viz-restricted than the GPS approach had been) and a center-line touchdown. Not bad… even for an Association President (grin).

The CitationJet was to carry a total of five people from Easton to Manteo, and 60 gallons a side was added to offer the needed range and IFR reserves (as well as to keep the weight within limits for the runway requirements for the mission of the day). With little delay, we "turned and burned," IFR to Manteo, dodging a fair amount of weather and restricted airspace before being rewarded with early "direct" clearance to Manteo that gave us some relief from the time deficits we had piled up while playing missed approach at ESN.

On the way down, Boyer and I chatted seriously about the demands to be faced by a postulated growth in future light jet operators that may come about as the result of the Eclipse 500 and Citation Mustang programs that could put such aircraft, financially speaking, within the reach of a whole new generation of aviators. His concerns are tempered by the excitement he also sees ahead for aviation as new capabilities are offered to such pilots. Based on his experience with the CitationJet (a machine he transitioned to from a Cessna Conquest turbo-prop), he is very interested in the training programs that will prepare such pilots for these aircraft as well as the critical avionics installed to support operations in these aircraft.

He pointed to the nicely-integrated avionics system in the CJ that is ably assisted by a fairly accomplished FMS (Flight Management System). Boyer has obviously already learned that while always "hand-flying" may seem like the macho pilot thing to do, that the trick to managing this environment is to learn the aircraft's system aggressively and let the airplane do the flying wherever possible, keeping a keen eye on all things until physical control/intervention is required. Boyer plays the CJ's FMS like a piano (really… even though he's flown the bird a lot… I've flown with quite a few Captains who still worked the FMS reluctantly… like it was a nuclear reactor) and still maintains a strong cockpit discipline that keeps him ahead of the aircraft's high-speed requirements. One item he is particularly enthused about (and uses to great effect) is the availability of airborne datalink -- it frees pilots from having to play all kinds of radio games to get info that is now available on a multi-function display with a few jabs of a button. 

The approach to Manteo's Dare County Airport was fairly easy, as the WX had lifted a bit, and about an hour and half after leaving FDK (along with 4 approaches, two landings, and a pax pickup), N4GA taxied into Manteo where the Airport Manager awaited with a van to take us all to the dedication ceremonies--to be held in the shadow of the Wright Memorial, the very birthplace of manned flight.

Oh yeah, to give credit where credit is due, Phil nailed the centerline again (and never missed one as long as I was around). As he quickly exited the CJ, he put in a fuel order, gathered his troops and transitioned from jet-jock to Association President.

It was just after 0915, and there was work of an altogether different kind to be done…. (to be continued)

FMI: www.aopa.org, www.fly2mqi.com, www.talbgov.org/airport/airport.html, www.nps.gov/wrbr, www.firstflightcentennial.org

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