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66 EW IN OTHER NEWS Warren Hill continued from page 65 It can in fact take about 2 years to get a wingman qualification, which enables you to fly either to the right or to the left of the lead airplane. It is also not a solo en- deavor. "There's a commitment of the people who train you to fly in formation with three other air- planes," Dr. Hill said. "It means that three other airplanes are there with you." He pointed out that the cost of fuel and the time commitment of others who volunteer to be part of the training process is not inconse- quential. "That's a really big expense on their part," he said. RedStar pilot After attaining his wingman qualifi- cation, Dr. Hill joined the RedStar Pilots Association, an organization dedicated to the maintenance, safe operation, and enjoyment of a vari- ety of aircraft, particularly those originating from former communist bloc nations. "There are aerobatic airplanes, sport airplanes, war-bird utility airplanes, lots of different types," Dr. Hill said. "What we like to say is that many of these air- planes are, 'Strong like donkey, smart like tractor.'" This, he stressed, is said in a very affectionate way. "When you're doing the kind of stuff that we do, where we routinely do 4 G maneuvers, you want an air- plane that is 'strong like donkey,'" he said. "You don't want the wings coming off when you're heading for the ground and pulling up." While not sophisticated, these are very dependable. He flies a Chi- nese Nanchang CJ6, in which the original engine has been replaced by a more powerful Russian one. Those in the organization partici- pate in airshows and competitions. This July, the group did a mass for- mation demonstration at the Exper- imental Aircraft Association's Oshkosh airshow—the largest in the world. "We show people what it's like to fly four airplanes three feet apart," he said. This tight formation is of course maintained while doing a series of complicated, jaw-drop- ping maneuvers. Dr. Hill was also recently part of a formation competition in Califor- nia. "This was the first time that I flew the number two position of a team from Arizona," he said. "We didn't win, but it was nice to fly in front of judges and not stink too badly," he said. He finds great camaraderie with the other pilots from the organiza- tion, many of who are from the air- lines or the military, but several who share a similar background to Dr. Hill. "It's not unusual to find physi- cians doing this," he said. "In fact in the group that I fly with, three are physicians and two of us are oph- thalmologists." The non-ophthalmic practitioner is an emergency room doctor, who Dr. Hill terms a "spec- tacular" pilot. "I think that the disci- pline that it takes to get through medical school and to also work as a physician is helpful because you need to come into this with a lot of discipline," Dr. Hill said. "Also, the concept of having someone else's fu- ture in your hands, as we do in sur- gery or as Mike does as an ER doctor, is not new to us because that's what we're doing all day long." Going forward, Dr. Hill aspires to continue to improve his piloting skills. "I want to be the best forma- tion pilot I can and maybe one day win a formation competition," he said. "Right now I'm working to- ward a lead qualification." That, he acknowledged, is a whole other level. The lead airplane has a posi- tion of tremendous responsibility. "You have to be able to do all of the things that a wingman does and also take care of them and make sure that it's a safe flight," Dr. Hill said. "So eventually I would like to have that, but that would be years down the road. I still need to fine-tune and hone the skills that I have with this." EW Contact information Hill: 480-981-6111, hill@doctor-hill.com July 2012