A Promise Kept
Harrison Ford tells how he pursued his love of flight
I was first intrigued by flying when
I was in college in rural Wisconsin. I had a few lessons back then, but I never
got it together enough to solo. As I recall, it was costing me all of about
fifteen bucks an hour for the airplane and instructor, although that was a
great deal of money to me back then. I guess it was about 1962. The desire to
fly never really left me, and I promised myself that it was something I would
take the time to do, sooner or later. As with a lot of other pilots, it turned
out to be later, but I've never looked back.
It was riding up front in the jump
seat of my Gulfstream that really fired up my desire again. Still, with my busy
schedule and all the travel I do, it took some time to make it happen. About
three years ago I finally set off to get my pilot's certificate. Once I
started, I was determined to finish, but the road to getting my certificate was
interrupted by the various productions I was involved in. While I soloed in
August 1995, it would be awhile before I'd take the checkride. I persevered,
and on September 19, 1996, I passed my check-ride. It was a funky day for a
checkride, 1,300-foot overcast, winds at 25 knots, but everything went fine.
I'm not sure when exactly I got my feet on the ground; I was walking on air for
quite a while.
Most of my early training was done in
Jackson, Wyoming. I bought a turbo-charged Cessna 182 to start. The turbo
really makes a difference at that elevation. A pilot at my airport in Jackson
had been moved by AOPA's Better Than New 172 articles to apply essentially the
same treatment to a Cessna Turbo 206, but after finishing the project, he had
to sell it for personal reasons. It was a beautifully equipped and finished
airplane. I flew it and immediately felt very comfortable in it, so I moved up
to the 206 to finish my training.
I don't have many friends who fly,
but there are a few people who spurred my interest in aviation. Jimmy Buffett
is one of those people. He fostered in me a kind of jealousy for the freedom
and the skill that he has. Sidney Pollack, the director, who flies his own Lear
55, also encouraged me and spurred me on when I started, although in the main I
was self-motivated.
Because I have a home in New York
City, where I spend a good deal of time, I also trained at Teterboro, New
Jersey, and flew back and forth between Jackson and the East Coast. I had a
dozen cross-countries of the United States in my logbook by the time I earned
my ticket, the first one in the 182, hand-flown all the way. That first
cross-country in the 182 was a great eye-opening experience. When I have to get
somewhere fast and meet a schedule, the Gulfstream is a great business tool;
but for enjoyment, flying a small airplane across the United States is hard to
beat.
When the 206 blew its turbo and sent
pieces of the turbine through a couple of cylinders, we decided that the
prudent thing to do was to rebuild the engine. The problem was that the
airplane would be down nearly three months, and I certainly didn't want to be
without something to fly for all that time, so that's when I bought a Beech
B36TC Bonanza. The Bonanza is a great traveling machine and a joy to fly. I've
taken it from Los Angeles to New York and back a number of times. I've
thoroughly enjoyed every flight I've made across this beautiful country.
Once I knew that I was doing Six
Days, Seven Nights (see "GA at the
Movies," page 90), I got my tailwheel endorsement. Learning to fly the
Piper Cub and Stinson 108 was a good deal of fun, and I developed a far greater
appreciation for what the rudder pedals are for. I enjoyed it so much that I
decided to get something light and rugged to fly in Wyoming and to maintain my
tail-wheel skills, so I ordered an Aviat Husky [built just down the road from
Jackson in Afton, Wyoming].
Some airplanes just get under your
skin, and the [de Havilland] Beaver is a perfect example. It is such an honest
aircraft. Having fallen in love with the Beaver after flying it in Six Days,
Seven Nights, I bought one, had it zero-timed, and have just recently taken
delivery of it. All of the helicopter flights in Kauai piqued my interest, and
just this spring I earned my helicopter rating in a Robinson R22. With my
rotorwing ticket in hand, I then attended Bell school in Fort Worth and picked
up a 206-L4 Long-Ranger equipped with a high-altitude tail rotor, so I can use
it in Wyoming. The helicopter opens up another unique flying environment to me
and required me to master another set of flying skills. I guess I've got it
bad.
I will always want to keep the Beaver
and Husky but will probably trade in the Bonanza at some point for a twin after
I get my instrument rating. I don't really have many ambitions beyond that — no
interest in flying jets, particularly. My love and interest is in this hands-on
environment of flying light airplanes.
I was treated to a flight with the
Thunderbirds in an F-16, which I got to fly myself for about 20 minutes. That was
a real kick! You gain a true appreciation for the awesome capabilities of both
the airplane and its pilots. Then, an hour later I was flying with Sean Tucker
in his Pitts, and I was fascinated by the contrast between the two. The
intercom wasn't working, but Sean would perform a maneuver and I'd see and feel
how he moved the controls and then I'd try the same maneuver. What intrigued me
was that it was the same kinds of inputs I use to fly, just in a different,
more intense environment. In the Pitts I felt more in control, more like I was
flying the aircraft than when I was flying the F-16. One of these days I'd like
to do some more aerobatics, although more from the perspective of handling an
unusual attitude than to pursue aerobatics itself; it sure was a lot of fun,
though.
Since I am often away from one particular airplane or another for months at a
time, I do take a day with my CFI to get current. When you don't use skills for
a while, they get rusty, and that's not my idea of the way to fly. In any case,
I do recurrent training at least every three to four months. We'll fly to six
to 10 airports in the area, with about 14 to 16 landings to get myself current
to the level at which I like to be. I train to commercial standards; the CFI
expects the same of me as he does a pro.
We don't just go around the pattern — that's not recurrent training. We perform
simulated engine failures on takeoff and all the way to a landing, stalls, and
other air work. I do it because I think the training is important, but I also
do it because it is the most fun I can have. I enjoy refining my skills and
developing new skills. That's always been an interest of mine in acting, in
carpentry, in everything else I have done — to achieve a level of skill and
excellence. Flying is no different, just more critical.
I devoted quite a bit of time to training in the Beaver, both to assure others
that I was adequate to the task they had in mind and also for the pure fun of
it. I just love the airplane, and I loved the demanding environment I was
flying it in. It was a pleasure to have a specific and very restrained regimen
to deal with, requiring very precise flying. Since that's what I always strive
for when flying, it didn't seem unusual or require a new mind-set.
I love going into new airports; I love crosswind landings; I love short-field
takeoffs and landings. I love landing on grass, or a dry lake bed, or dirt
road. I love slipping an airplane and all it takes to finesse a good landing. I
just love handling an airplane. I like flying alone, and it's not unusual for
me to take four to five hours and do a round robin of 10 airports, just for the
pleasure of flying. Still, I also like having someone along to share the
experience…and admire my landings. Flying with pros is great because I always
learn something from them and increase my knowledge and skill level. I probably
fly about 250 hours a year. That's a lot of flying just for fun.
My wife is gratified that I found something that interests me and engages me as
much as flying does, and she has been very generous in allowing me the time.
She frequently flies with me, but I more often fly for fun and training than on
missions to go someplace or get something done. I spend every moment that I can
in the airplane, but I am able only occasionally to disguise it as business or
a family trip.
I like most the change in visual environment, the places that I visit and see,
and the great people I meet in the world of aviation. I also appreciate the
circumstances under which I meet these people. They accept me simply as a pilot
who shares their love of flying and they seem to respect my genuine interest in
aviation. The fraternity of aviators cares little for other trappings; they
welcome you because of a shared interest and judge you on your flying skills.
My only regret is that I waited so long.