"I Will Miss Him Greatly"

By ANN Contributor Jon Thornburgh

Last June I attended a Sport Pilot Examiner seminar at the FAA headquarters in Oklahoma City. I traveled to the seminar in a truck, towing two Quicksilver ultralight aircraft in a trailer. After reaching Oklahoma the Quicksilvers were reassembled, placed into the experimental light-sport aircraft category and used for training and testing the Sport Pilot Examiner candidates.

My task before the seminar began was to give familiarization flights to the FAA instructors who would teach the seminar candidates. I had the pleasure of checking out Mr. John Riffey, whose title was "Program Analyst" for the Aviation Data Systems Branch (AFS-620.)

The plan was that I would show John the flying characteristics of the Quicksilvers and he in turn would checkout future Sport Pilot Examiner candidates in subsequent classes.

We allocated several hours for John's checkout, but as soon as we started flying it was evident that he would not need much time to be comfortable in the airplane. He handled the Quicksilver GT-500 as if he had been born in it. Within minutes we were doing advanced maneuvers such as steep turns, "falling leaf" stalls, basic wingovers, and simulated emergency precision landings.

John adapted to flying the Quicksilver so quickly that we had spare time to fly, so we decided to tour the countryside and land at some other airports. During the next two hours we flew together as comrades in aviation--not as instructor/student or FAA official/Sport Pilot Examiner candidate. We flew as two men simply enjoying a wonderful flight on a calm, warm, sunny, beautiful afternoon filled with puffy white clouds.

John was proud of the Oklahoma countryside. He showed me the farmland, the ponds and rivers, the rows of planted crops, and the beautiful homes of the successful businessmen of Oklahoma. We even flew down to the city of Mustang to see his new home.

It was one of the most memorable flights of my life.

Not only was John a natural pilot, he was also a wonderful person. He had only been with the FAA for a year, so most of his life he had flown as a "civilian." He was first and foremost a true aviator. He was dedicated to general aviation, especially small aircraft. He gave me tips on what to expect in my upcoming Examiner seminar. He offered to help in any way he could. He was looking forward to flying with the other Examiner candidates.

Although we had only known each other for a few days, we created a lasting bond. We kept in touch after I finished the course and returned home.

On Saturday, August 27th, John was killed in an airplane accident.

He was flying his homebuilt Phoenix ultralight. At first it appeared that he had experienced an engine failure, but subsequent investigation indicates that he suffered a heart attack while airborne.

His death is a great loss to his family, his wife Sandy, to the FAA, to general aviation, to sport pilots, to his friends, and to everyone who ever knew him.

I will miss him greatly.

FMI: www.faa.gov