Founded by Colonel Sean David McClung, a 28-year disabled USAF/joint service veteran of the Cold War, Operations Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Noble Eagle; Captain Stewart McQuillan, a disabled Royal Air Force veteran and instructor pilot; and Kristen Christy, a U.S. Department of Defense civic leader and Force for Change National Award winner, the National Veterans Vocational Village (NV3 Foundation) is a self-sustaining vocational training center and residential village that educates, employs, and houses disabled and injured veterans—to include those with invisible, psychological and emotional wounds—transitioning from military and first responder duties to civilian life.
The village provides a sense of community and esprit de corps, builds life-saving and lasting connections, and enables veterans to learn new skills or to relearn old ones in order to begin new, productive, rewarding civilian careers.
NV3 co-founder and executive board chairman Stewart McQuillan was serving as a Royal Air Force helicopter and fighter pilot when, at age 29, a Tornado GR-1 mishap left him without use of his legs. A fighter by disposition and an electrical engineer by trade, Captain McQuillan plied his determination, resilience, and expertise to the invention of a device called the Aeroleg—the only FAA-approved mechanism by which pilots without use of their legs may operate conventional helicopters.
In the most rudimentary sense, the Aeroleg is a thumb-controlled, pneumatically-actuated robotic leg comprising a brace fitted to the pilot’s leg, a solenoid valve, and a pneumatic ram. As the wearer manipulates a thumb-controller, the robotic leg applies pressure to the helicopter’s anti-torque pedals with the subtlety and surety essential to rotorcraft operations. A second hand-control operates an extraction system which removes condensation from the Aeroleg’s pneumatic lines.
In the event the host helicopter’s electrical system fails, the Aeroleg includes a backup battery which allows for up to thirty-hours of flight.
Use of the Aeroleg system requires full hand function.
Disabled pilots seeking to utilize the Aeroleg must undergo a six-week training course at a special facility in Denver. Once proficient in the device’s use, pilots must demonstrate aeronautical competency to the same standard as non-disabled aviators.
The NV3 Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization reliant upon the contributions of its sponsors and donors. Parties wishing to support the foundation’s noble and critical work are invited to visit the NV3 website.
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