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2013 ASCRS•ASOA San Francisco Daily News Tuesday

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44 Tuesday, April 23, 2013 EW SHOW DAILY IN OTHER NEWS Warren Hill: Flying high beyond ophthalmology by Maxine Lipner Senior EyeWorld Contributing Writer I magine being at the helm of an airplane, nose diving toward the ground only to pull up at the last second, all while being wingtip to wingtip with other planes, with a gaggle of onlookers below. Warren E. Hill, MD, Mesa, Ariz., doesn't have to imagine; such is an average afternoon for him while pursuing his passion for formation flying. Dr. Hill had never been in a private airplane until he was 52, and had no desire to start flying planes himself. All of that changed, however, when he received a birthday present offering three flying lessons. Passion ignited After about six months, Dr. Hill finally went down to the airport and took his introductory flight. He still was less than impressed. "I don't even remember anything about it," he said. "We got in an airplane and flew around and landed, and the worst part was that I had two lessons left." Likewise, the second time was far from memorable. It wasn't until the close of the third flight that Dr. Hill's view shifted. "I was coming in to land and the guy told me to land the airplane and folded his arms," Dr. Hill recalled. "I hadn't been paying attention—he talked me through it and I landed the airplane." Dr. Hill couldn't believe he had done it. From there his passion was born. Within 3-and-ahalf years he had not only become a private pilot, he had gone right to the end of the certification process and nabbed his multi-instrument commercial license. His desire to excel at this newfound passion had kicked in. "When I got my private pilot license I realized that I didn't know anything," he said. From there he felt compelled to get an instrument rating, followed by a single-engine commercial rating, a multi-engine rating, a multi-engine instrument rating, and finally a multi-engine instrument commercial rating. "I wanted to be the best pilot possible," he said. Shortly after that someone took him up in a military airplane. "We did 1-and-a-half hours of what we refer to as 'loosen your fillings' aerobatics—4, 5, and 6 G maneuvers," he recalled. "Most people are asking for the baby Jesus to save them, and I just said, 'Sir, may I have another.'" After that Dr. Hill went out and got a military airplane. He found that the activity that he was drawn to was formation flying in which four airplanes cruise through the air just three feet apart, performing a series of maneuvers in tight formation. This takes a tremendous amount of control and discipline. Dr. Hill pointed out that to simply get an instrument rating all you need to do is to control the airplane; to get a commercial rating you need to control the airplane to within 100 feet, but for formation flying this is within 12 inches because you are almost flying wingtip to wingtip. "You get stupid and don't pay attention and three other people are going to have a really bad day," he said. "So it's a lot of training." 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 endeavor. "There's a commitment of the people who train you to fly in formation with three other airplanes," Dr. Hill said. "It means that three other airplanes are there with you." RedStar pilot After attaining his wingman qualification, Dr. Hill joined the RedStar Pilots Association, an organization dedicated to the maintenance, safe operation, and enjoyment of a variety 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 airplanes 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 airplane 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." He flies a Chinese Nanchang CJ6, in which the original engine has been replaced by a more powerful Russian one. Those in the organization participate in airshows and competitions. This July, the group did a mass formation demonstration at the Experimental 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 maintained while doing a series of complicated, jaw-dropping maneuvers. Dr. Hill was also recently part of a formation competition in California. "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 organization, many of who are from the airlines or the military, but several who share a similar background to Dr. Hill. "It's not unusual to find physicians doing this," he said. "In fact in the group that I fly with, three are physicians and two of us are ophthalmologists. I think that the discipline 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 future in your hands, as we do in surgery 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 formation pilot I can and maybe one day win a formation competition," he said. "Right now I'm working toward a lead qualification." That, he acknowledged, is a whole other level. The lead airplane has a position 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

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