poadeleted3
Pattern Altitude
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Pretty good gig, getting to fly the state Grand Caravan around as a private pilot 
The article is a fairly decent one about being a private pilot, btw.
http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2006062816/?pt=0
Air Manchin takes wing
Jake Stump
Daily Mail Staff
[SIZE=-1]Wednesday June 28, 2006[/SIZE]
http://phpads.cnpapers.com/adclick....id=0&source=&dest=http://bfcc.kana.tec.wv.us/
You could probably never get the governor of West Virginia to look down from a Ferris wheel, or even get on one.
As a child, Joe Manchin couldn't even climb trees without panicking.
Yet Manchin will hang out with the clouds for a view that makes interstate traffic resemble a line of matchbox cars.
"Captain" Manchin is West Virginia's top gun, in more ways than one.
The 58-year-old governor is one of just four pilots certified by the state's Aviation Division to fly for state government purposes. Because of the small staff of pilots, Manchin often flies himself to business-related functions across the state and country.
It's not a new hobby for the governor, who's been soaring the skies since the late 1960s.
But those who knew him early in life couldn't have predicted flying would be a hobby of choice for the Farmington native.
"Growing up, I would be petrified of heights," Manchin said as he checked the exterior of the state's 2005 Grand Caravan airplane before taking off one recent day. "For some reason, I would just freeze."
Manchin found the time to tackle this fear after suffering a knee injury that ended his football career at West Virginia University.
In the spring of 1967, he paid $5 for an introductory flight lesson. He took another. Then another.
And what started as a nerve-wracking effort to overcome his biggest fear evolved into a lifelong passion.
"I got over the fear and got hooked on flying," he said. "I was absolutely captured."
He has logged more than 3,000 hours of flight time and owns a 1981 single-engine Piper Saratoga. It can fit six passengers. Manchin boasts of its 300-horsepower engine.
The governor is cool and calm behind the control panel. He and his co-pilot exchange aviation lingo, terms such as "knots" and "cruise speed" that are foreign to most passengers. Navigational gadgets, radar screens and switches at the front of the plane are also alien to the non-aviator.
Do you want to do voltage checks?" Manchin asked co-pilot Keith Wood before taking off on a 20-minute flight from Charleston to Beckley.
Once the plane was airborne, Manchin kept a watchful eye over his controls while gazing at the landscape below.
"I think about the good Lord sharing his space with us," he said through his headset. "People pay money for a good view atop a hill. You can get a better view every day in an airplane."
Manchin is certified to fly the state's Caravan, the smaller of two planes operated by the West Virginia Aviation Division. The other plane is a 1999 Beechcraft King Air 350.
The Caravan offers better views and flexibility, although the governor said he wouldn't mind gaining certification to fly the King Air. But he doesn't believe he'll have enough time to accomplish that.
He's busy enough as it is.
Each state plane requires two pilots during all trips, and sometimes both planes are in use simultaneously.
After the recent death of full-time pilot Mark Erb, Manchin has flown himself to events he's had to attend.
"He's doing double duty, but he gets no extra pay," joked Larry Puccio, Manchin's chief of staff.
The Aviation Division wants to hire two pilots to ease the burden.
But Manchin doesn't mind flying on the job. The cockpit is his quiet place.
He got his start in aviation with the help of Fairmont resident Raymond Delligatti, who worked for Travel Air in Morgantown. Travel Air was owned by J.W. Ruby and operated by Marion County native Sam Frankman.
Manchin said he was comfortable learning from these men simply because they were all from the same area. In turn, they entrusted Manchin with the controls early on. He completed just seven hours of instruction before flying solo for the first time.
"We landed in Morgantown, and the pilot stopped the plane, jumped out and said, ‘You're ready,' " Manchin said. "I was able to land. Any landing is a good landing." Manchin still makes good landings, despite the wobbly nature of riding in the small Caravan and its non-pressurized cabin.
He tries to take care of his passengers, especially if they're affected by the heat and humidity on summer scorchers.
"She's not cooling down, baby," Manchin muttered during a flight from Huntington to Charleston, twisting knobs and trying to bump up the air conditioning. Temperatures climbed into the 90s that day.
Manchin keeps his piloting skills sharp by flying the Caravan at least once a week. He became certified to fly the plane after he completed a week of flight safety training last December in Wichita, Kan. Already certified as a private pilot, Manchin had to undergo training to keep his license current and decided to become certified to fly the Caravan at the same time.
Now he's spending more time flying the Caravan for business purposes than he does his personal plane for leisure.
"Unless I'm training or refreshing, I don't get much leisure flying in," he said. "And with the high cost of fuel, you want to make every trip count."
Manchin and his wife, Gayle, have flown their private plane to the Bahamas, Boston, Chicago and "everywhere in the Midwest."
Manchin said flying is never boring. "In my 38 years of flying an airplane, it's the same rush and high every time I do it. It's pretty special."
The article is a fairly decent one about being a private pilot, btw.http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2006062816/?pt=0
Air Manchin takes wing
Jake Stump
Daily Mail Staff
[SIZE=-1]Wednesday June 28, 2006[/SIZE]
http://phpads.cnpapers.com/adclick....id=0&source=&dest=http://bfcc.kana.tec.wv.us/
You could probably never get the governor of West Virginia to look down from a Ferris wheel, or even get on one.
As a child, Joe Manchin couldn't even climb trees without panicking.
Yet Manchin will hang out with the clouds for a view that makes interstate traffic resemble a line of matchbox cars.
"Captain" Manchin is West Virginia's top gun, in more ways than one.
The 58-year-old governor is one of just four pilots certified by the state's Aviation Division to fly for state government purposes. Because of the small staff of pilots, Manchin often flies himself to business-related functions across the state and country.
It's not a new hobby for the governor, who's been soaring the skies since the late 1960s.
But those who knew him early in life couldn't have predicted flying would be a hobby of choice for the Farmington native.
"Growing up, I would be petrified of heights," Manchin said as he checked the exterior of the state's 2005 Grand Caravan airplane before taking off one recent day. "For some reason, I would just freeze."
Manchin found the time to tackle this fear after suffering a knee injury that ended his football career at West Virginia University.
In the spring of 1967, he paid $5 for an introductory flight lesson. He took another. Then another.
And what started as a nerve-wracking effort to overcome his biggest fear evolved into a lifelong passion.
"I got over the fear and got hooked on flying," he said. "I was absolutely captured."
He has logged more than 3,000 hours of flight time and owns a 1981 single-engine Piper Saratoga. It can fit six passengers. Manchin boasts of its 300-horsepower engine.
The governor is cool and calm behind the control panel. He and his co-pilot exchange aviation lingo, terms such as "knots" and "cruise speed" that are foreign to most passengers. Navigational gadgets, radar screens and switches at the front of the plane are also alien to the non-aviator.
Do you want to do voltage checks?" Manchin asked co-pilot Keith Wood before taking off on a 20-minute flight from Charleston to Beckley.
Once the plane was airborne, Manchin kept a watchful eye over his controls while gazing at the landscape below.
"I think about the good Lord sharing his space with us," he said through his headset. "People pay money for a good view atop a hill. You can get a better view every day in an airplane."
Manchin is certified to fly the state's Caravan, the smaller of two planes operated by the West Virginia Aviation Division. The other plane is a 1999 Beechcraft King Air 350.
The Caravan offers better views and flexibility, although the governor said he wouldn't mind gaining certification to fly the King Air. But he doesn't believe he'll have enough time to accomplish that.
He's busy enough as it is.
Each state plane requires two pilots during all trips, and sometimes both planes are in use simultaneously.
After the recent death of full-time pilot Mark Erb, Manchin has flown himself to events he's had to attend.
"He's doing double duty, but he gets no extra pay," joked Larry Puccio, Manchin's chief of staff.
The Aviation Division wants to hire two pilots to ease the burden.
But Manchin doesn't mind flying on the job. The cockpit is his quiet place.
He got his start in aviation with the help of Fairmont resident Raymond Delligatti, who worked for Travel Air in Morgantown. Travel Air was owned by J.W. Ruby and operated by Marion County native Sam Frankman.
Manchin said he was comfortable learning from these men simply because they were all from the same area. In turn, they entrusted Manchin with the controls early on. He completed just seven hours of instruction before flying solo for the first time.
"We landed in Morgantown, and the pilot stopped the plane, jumped out and said, ‘You're ready,' " Manchin said. "I was able to land. Any landing is a good landing." Manchin still makes good landings, despite the wobbly nature of riding in the small Caravan and its non-pressurized cabin.
He tries to take care of his passengers, especially if they're affected by the heat and humidity on summer scorchers.
"She's not cooling down, baby," Manchin muttered during a flight from Huntington to Charleston, twisting knobs and trying to bump up the air conditioning. Temperatures climbed into the 90s that day.
Manchin keeps his piloting skills sharp by flying the Caravan at least once a week. He became certified to fly the plane after he completed a week of flight safety training last December in Wichita, Kan. Already certified as a private pilot, Manchin had to undergo training to keep his license current and decided to become certified to fly the Caravan at the same time.
Now he's spending more time flying the Caravan for business purposes than he does his personal plane for leisure.
"Unless I'm training or refreshing, I don't get much leisure flying in," he said. "And with the high cost of fuel, you want to make every trip count."
Manchin and his wife, Gayle, have flown their private plane to the Bahamas, Boston, Chicago and "everywhere in the Midwest."
Manchin said flying is never boring. "In my 38 years of flying an airplane, it's the same rush and high every time I do it. It's pretty special."
