A MAGAZINE FOR THE OWNER/PILOT OF KING AIR AIRCRAFT
SEPTEMBER 2014 • VOLUME 8, NUMBER 9 • $4.50
Worthy Wings Couple Finds Purpose while Pursuing Flying Passion
Passion+ Purpose California couple helps people, pets while doing what they love
T
by MeLinda Schnyder
he halo on the tail of Chris and Jackie Gaertner’s 2013 King Air C90GTx hints at what could be inside the turboprop’s cabin – you might find a crate of kittens, a cancer patient or a kidney. The Gaertners love flying and they love spending time together. The high school sweethearts have been married 30 years and live in the San Francisco Bay area. They’ve been flying together since Chris earned his pilot’s license in 1983, but his career as an investment banker and raising two academic- and sports-minded sons have limited the couple’s personal travel time. Their solution: Commit to flying regional missions for Angel Flight West and Pilots N Paws® Pet Rescue. “It’s been a great solution for us,” Jackie said. “We get to fly and spend time together, and our involvement with these fantastic organizations, knowing that we are helping others, gives real meaning and purpose to our flights. This community here has been so good to us for the past 14 years, and I guess this is our way of giving something back.”
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The passion Chris graduated in 1984 from the United States Military Academy with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering. While he had a true passion for aviation, he found himself jumping out of airplanes instead of flying them during his military career. He went on to serve as an Infantry Officer in the 82nd Airborne Corp, 18th Airborne Corp and 1st Special Operations Command. He is a graduate of the Army’s Ranger, Airborne, Jumpmaster, Pathfinder, Jungle and Sniper Schools. While a cadet at West Point, Chris spent his own time and money taking lessons in the West Point Flying Club’s Cessna 150 and earned his pilot’s license in 1983. “We’ve been flying together ever since,” Jackie said. Chris built up his flight hours in the early days flying single-engine four-seaters. Now he has 7,000 hours with an ATP, CFI, CFII and MEI for fixed and rotary wing aircraft. He also holds a BE300 type rating and a seaplane rating. Since entering service in December 2013, the C90GTx has averaged 20-25 flight hours per month – nearly half for charitable flights and the remainder from private charter through Advantage Aviation Charter. The charters have taken the King Air through eight western states, with the
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Chris and Jackie Gaertner in their 2013 Beechcraft King Air C90GTx which they fly out of Palo Alto Airport (KPAO), many being for non-profit organizations.
majority being closer to home with a medical services company that provides dedicated air transportation for organ transplant teams. The Gaertners reduce their charter rate for the organ transplant charters, and Chris occasionally flies as part of the required two-pilot crew.
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The purpose Last year, the couple got involved with Angel Flight West, a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization that arranges free, non-emergency air travel for children and adults with serious medical conditions. Many of their missions with Angel Flight have been to transport patients to and from Stanford Medical Center and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital for consultation and treatment not available anywhere else. Other missions involve the transport of blood units, carrying children with serious medical issues to specialty camps and flying surgical specialists to remote area hospitals so their patients don’t have to travel long distances to see them for their brief doctor visits. “Working with Angel Flight West has been an eye-opening experience,” Jackie said. “We’ve seen families that are going through situations where they have to choose between buying life-saving
The Gaertners volunteer with Angel Flight West, providing free non-emergency air travel for children and adults with serious medical conditions. Chris (shown here) and Jackie give the children they transport a stuffed animal with a small fleece blanket.
medication or feeding their family. Many of these families have a member who has to receive weekly
Contact information If you’re interested in finding out more about the organizations in which the Gaertners provide volunteer flights, see information below:
Angel Flight Angel Flight is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization that arranges free, non-emergency air travel for children and adults with serious medical conditions. Other missions could involve the transport of blood units or flying surgical specialists to remote area hospitals, as well as others. There are Angel Flight organizations in various regions of the country. Search “Angel Flight” on the internet for an organization in your area.
Pilots N Paws Pet Rescue Pilots N Paws is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that brings together general aviation pilots willing to provide free transport and the people who rescue, shelter or foster animals. The organization provides flights for more than 15,000 rescue animals each year, but they need more pilots to meet demand. Go to www.pilotsnpaws.org for more information.
Organ Transplant flights Chris Gaertner got involved with transporting transplant organs through the charter program he uses for his airplane, Advantage Aviation Charter. An internet search for such a program in your area would be a good method to get started, if you’re interested in providing this type of charity flight. 6 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
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and bi-weekly life-saving treatments in the Bay area, and that would mean a six- to 10-hour drive one-way. We’re happy to help replace their stressful and tiring car ride by offering a comfortable one-hour or less flight on our airplane.” The Gaertners liked that the humanitarian flights gave them incentive to make time for flying. Chris’ role as an investment banker requires some travel and the couple has two sons, one who recently graduated from Stanford and a second currently playing on the Cardinal football team. Their busy schedule doesn’t always align with the Angel Flight schedule, so Jackie decided to see if there were other charitable organizations that needed flight support in the evenings or on weekends. “Helping others while getting to spend time doing something we love – it was perfect, so I started looking to see what else was out there,” Jackie said.
Chris and Jackie Gaertner with their 2013 Beechcraft King Air C90GTx getting ready for a flight for Pilots N Paws Pet Rescue. Petmate is a sponsor of Pilots N Paws and donates the crates that the Gaertners use when flying rescue animals to new homes. On this particular trip, Chris and Jackie were able to fit seven pet crates in the cabin which held three momma dogs each with their litter of puppies and six kittens.
An internet search led her to Pilots N Paws, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that brings together general aviation pilots willing to provide free transport and the people who rescue, shelter or foster animals. Sometimes
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these pets are being moved to their new forever-homes, some are being moved from an overpopulated area to a community where they have a better chance of being adopted. Many are being saved from certain euthanasia and transported to a foster home or a no-kill shelter.
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Since getting involved with Pilots N Paws last fall, the Gaertners have flown 36 multi-animal missions within California. Sometimes these pets are being moved to their new forever-homes, some are being moved from an overpopulated area to a community where they have a better chance of being adopted.
Pilots N Paws estimates there are more than four million pets euthanized each year because they are no longer wanted or never found homes. Through a web-based message board, people or organizations can post about animals needing transport. Pilots who can assist reply directly to the poster and the involved parties plan all the details. These missions often involve multiple pilots and aircraft. Pilots N Paws On their Pilots N Paws volunteer flights, the Gaertners like to have a mission assistant – like their son, Ryan – to give the pet passengers some attention and ensure they are handling the flight okay.
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cart and a 100-pound chow mix that had been groomed with a lion’s mane. “We’ve built up a relationship with several of the Southern California rescue agencies,” Chris said. “Quite frequently they will reach out to us first for flight transport before posting the need on the Pilots N Paws forum. They see the benefits to the animals in using the King Air and from the pictures we send back after the transport has been completed, they feel reassured that the animals travelled relatively stressfree and in comfort.” Many Pilots N Paws volunteer pilots fly much smaller aircraft, and the Gaertners hope more King Air owners will get involved. “The King Air is just perfect for these flights,” Jackie said. “With its pressurized cabin and good cruising speed, the animals spend less time in flight versus smaller single-engines and are less stressed overall throughout the process.”
Jackie Gaertner said the dogs and cats are always excited to stretch their legs in the King Air C90GTx’s roomy cabin, and the pressurization provides a safe and comfortable flight that reduces the animals’ stress.
has more than 4,200 volunteer pilots and more than 12,800 registered users on pilotsnpaws. org. With the help of volunteers in all 50 states, the organization flies more than 15,000 rescue animals each year, but they need more pilots to meet demand.
They have also been contacted to help transport rehabilitated wildlife, including a mountain lion, sea otter and a black bear. This summer the couple connected with Lake Tahoe Wildlife Rescue when a team there posted a request to Pilots N Paws to transport a 90-pound bear cub to a new home at a Scottsdale, Ariz., sanctuary. Unfortunately, the orphaned bear’s crate wouldn’t fit into the C90GTx’s door.
As with Angel Flight West, Pilots N Paws is a nonprofit, and portions of their flight expenses can be considered a tax-deductible donation. However, as volunteers the Gaertners pay for all of the expenses related to a rescue flight. “We receive much appreciated support from most of the FBOs we patronize during the flights – fuel discounts, waived landing/support fees and treats for the animals,” Jackie said. Since getting involved last fall, the Gaertners have flown 36 multianimal missions. Feline passengers have ranged from mellow, older cats to squeaky kittens; canine passengers have included energetic puppies and sweet older dogs, as well as memorable characters like a paralyzed schnauzer with a wheel SEPTEMBER 2014
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The right aircraft Besides the bear issue, the C90GTx has proven to be the perfect aircraft for the Gaertners’ involvement with Angel Flight West and Pilots N Paws. That’s not a coincidence, though, as the couple heavily considered these humanitarian flights when purchasing their new airplane. The Gaertners have been partners on a number of airplanes during the past 25 years, including a King Air 200 in the early 2000s and a King Air 350 more recently. “While we really enjoyed the 350, we sold it in December of 2007. With the looming financial crisis, we realized that the charter market would suffer along with the general economy. Fortunately, we had a buyer in Europe who really wanted the aircraft and the deal worked out great for both of us.” Jackie said. “After we sold it, we felt it would be best to dry-lease other available aircraft in the area.” They leased a few aircraft – from a Citation CJ1 that required them to operate from an airport an hour away
to a Pilatus PC-12 that didn’t give them the twin-engine confidence or the build quality they were accustomed to – until calling Beechcraft in November 2013. Just a few weeks later, they took delivery of a new King Air C90GTx, their first sole ownership airplane. “One of the first things people tell you when buying a plane is to know your mission and we spent a lot of time evaluating how we were going to use our next aircraft,” Chris said. “While we didn’t use Pilots N Paws as the sole determinant of our mission, many of the qualities necessary for these flights also pertained to how we planned to use the plane overall.” At the top of his must-haves was two engines. “My wife and I have experienced engine or propeller problems on three occasions over 30 years and 7,000 hours of flying together. Two of these were on turbine-powered aircraft. Therefore, single engine was a non-starter. Been there and done that. Not too surprisingly, when that Master Caution light comes on with a single-engine, it trumps all of the arguments for not having two engines.”
The halo and angel wings on the tail of the Gaertners’ C90GTx represents one of the reasons they purchased the King Air. “Knowing that we are helping others, gives real meaning and purpose to our flights,” said Jackie.
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The couple lives 10 minutes from Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (KPAO), which has a field length of 2,443 feet, and they wanted to operate the new airplane from there.
The King Air’s cabin allows enough room for the animals’ crates and for a mission assistant – either Jackie or one of their sons – to give the passengers some attention and ensure they are handling the flight okay.
“There is little margin of error with that field, and performance – both taking off and landing – is very important,” Chris said. “Most people only talk of takeoff performance but stopping distance is just as high on our list. Having those two large props in reverse makes landings a non-issue.”
While he’s owned bigger King Airs, Chris said the C90GTx – with the addition of dual aft strakes and wing lockers – is the right airplane for right now.
Next on his shopping list was speed and overall performance. The Gaertners’ personal and charity flights often take them to remote airports throughout the Sierra Nevadas and Rockies. They appreciate the stability of the airplane, especially in the higher altitudes. Speed is important to them, whether the concern is getting a cancer patient to an appointment, limiting the amount of transit time for a frightened animal or meeting a critical deadline when carrying a surgical team for the California Organ Transplant Network. “The plane routinely beats book speeds and this shrinks the missions considerably,” Chris said. “The C90GTx gives us the flexibility to transport the animals to the airports closest to where they need to go. The less stress for them, the better it is for everyone.”
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“While our new C90GTx has one less seat than our B200, it offers similar if not better performance,” he said. “Furthermore, the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 is a huge improvement over the previous avionics packages. Once you get past the learning curve, it becomes very intuitive and you can see why it is standard equipment found on many high performance aircraft. While we loved the King Air 350, its balanced field length requirements limited where we could have it based in our local area and which airports we could use for our missions.” Knowing he can step onto the King Air and be completely confident about its performance, reliability and mission capability allows Chris to focus on enjoying the mission, which usually involves he and Jackie discovering smaller airports off the beaten path and feeling good about their passion and purpose. “It’s a really good feeling to know that you have used the King Air, the most efficient general aviation tool, to make a difference,” Chris said. KA
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