Story and Photography by Christopher Gayman
I think my story may have sparked from a different origin than most. When I was 5 years old, I had an unfortunate accident that resulted in me losing my foot. I don’t remember much from the event, but there are two flashes of memory that I can still see vividly in my head nearly 30 years later: when I was being placed in the back of Hershey Medical Center’s Life Lion helicopter and waking up for a short time during the flight to the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital. Needless to say, it was not a great way to experience my first flight; zero stars, would not recommend to others.
After a traumatic accident, you have two choices for your life. One, you can let the emotions and the challenges of your injuries get the better of you. Or two, you can embrace the situation and not let it stop you from doing whatever it is you want to do in life. My parents didn’t even consider the first choice as an option. From the day of the accident, they instilled in me that I could do whatever I wanted. I just had to set my mind to it.
As a child, I was always interested in aviation. It probably stemmed from my father who was/is a private pilot but had to give up his hobby when I entered the picture. As I recovered, my family actively looked for ways to make sure I knew I could make the best of the situation. Knowing my love for aviation, they located a local company at the Lancaster Airport, Dutch Country Helicopters. The company was owned by a gentleman whose name was Charles “Charlie” Hollinger. I concede that I do not know his story beyond his name. The interesting thing was, Charlie was also an amputee. If I recall correctly, he was missing both of his legs.
also an amputee.
At that time, we lived in a development on a small patch of property, probably not even an acre. I remember the house had a red-painted wood deck overlooking the backyard that was mostly surrounded by trees. It was a sunny day, and my parents had strategically positioned me outside on the deck. I can still remember seeing the bubble of that Bell 47 helicopter as it appeared over the treetops and passed low over our house. The helicopter circled a few times before making an approach and landing in our backyard. Two words could have probably described my reaction: mind blown. It was Charlie, and that was the day he became part of my story. Charlie came that day and didn’t charge my parents anything for the visit. He came to show me what he had accomplished, even with his disability. He wanted me to know I could do it, too.
This is the saddest part of this story — he wanted to take me for a ride, but I was too shy and overwhelmed by the situation and elected not to go. I did get to ride with him a few years later after meeting him again at a fair where he was giving rides.
If I was asked to point a finger at the moment in time when aviation became my life, it would be that one. It may have only been a minute as that helicopter passed overhead and landed softly in the backyard, but that was the moment.
Fast-forward. As I grew older, I had RC airplanes, and I would ride my bicycle to the flying field and happily enjoyed flying my balsa wood airplanes. In high school, for career day, I shadowed a flight instructor. After graduating high school, I attended a four-year bachelor’s program at Pennsylvania College of Technology for aviation maintenance and became an A&P mechanic. While in college, I started helicopter instruction, running my financially poor college self out of funds quickly. I pivoted and completed a fixed-wing certificate with a good friend, Scott Welch. Over the next few years, I ticked the box of a few more ratings: instrument and commercial. Then I added an inspection authorization to my A&P certificate. My heart was still with that Bell 47 floating into my younger self’s backyard. I also wanted to finish my helicopter rating.
Working at the airport, I met a gentleman who has since become one of my best friends, Cleon Watts. Cleon had a dream to build a kit helicopter. He knew he couldn’t do it without some help and offered for me to embark on the journey with him. He purchased a Vertical Aviation Hummingbird kit. It took about 20 months from the day the first portion was delivered until the day we received our airworthiness certificate. Those were some of the most challenging and fun years of my life.
I now had a pathway to my helicopter rating. With the help of another Hummingbird owner, retired Air Force Col. Richard Herr, I completed the requirements and took my checkride in the helicopter I spent nearly two years of my life building. Twenty-five years after that Bell 47 flew into my life, I was finally a helicopter pilot.
Now I work for Lycoming Engines. I started as a tech rep and was eventually made responsible for Lycoming’s entire support team. Currently I am an OEM sales manager, having responsibility for most of the domestic OEMs, including manufacturers like Piper, Van’s, and Robinson. This job has afforded me many awesome opportunities. I’ve gotten to travel all over the world. I’ve supported the Red Bull Air Racing circuit. I’ve been part of the engineering and public release of cool new aircraft, like the Lycoming-powered Cirrus SR20 and the CubCrafters NXCub. Aviation is my life.