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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger retired from US Airways and has been on the lecture circuit, advocating for aviation safety, and is co-chairman of the EAA’s Young Eagles program. His memoir, Highest Duty, was published in 2009. First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles is on leave from US Airways. He and Sullenberger have appeared before Congress to speak on aviation safety and pilot pay cuts. He recently joined protestors in Madison, Wisconsin, who were rallying against Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to reduce the state’s budget deficit by eliminating collective bargaining rights for many state workers. Flight attendants Sheila Dail, Donna Dent, and Doreen Welsh have retired from or left the airline. The passengers of Flight 1549 were each given $5,000 to compensate for their lost belongings, a refund of their airfare, and a free year’s membership in the airline’s club program. They also collaborated on a book, Miracle on the Hudson. The Airbus A320 was recovered from the Hudson River. It will be placed on display at the Carolinas Aviation Museum at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, this year.

BOTTOM: AP/WORLDWIDE

“The whole idea of learning the technical aspects of flying has been very interesting to me—certainly in the last two years, maybe in the last seven or eight years,” Presley said. “The conversations I’ve had with Sully and Jeff have really encouraged me.” Of his airline friends, Presley said, “They’re such great guys, they have such great character. It tells me a lot about pilots in general.” Skiles got a phone call from Presley on solo day. “He’s the only one” among the passengers who has gone on to learn to fly, Skiles said. “I understand a lot of them haven’t flown [since].” Learning to fly is “probably one of the most gratifying things you can do,” Skiles said. “It’s not just a hobby. It becomes for most people a lifetime activity that they consider to be part of their identity.” Presley’s enthusiasm about his flying lessons may in turn have reignited a spark with Skiles. He recently took up an airline pilot friend who hadn’t flown small airplanes in 20 years. “I took him for a couple of rides in my airplane and he went and bought a Cessna 172 and [reinstated] his flight instructor certificate last fall. I was thinking of doing the same thing,” Skiles says.
BACK ON THE GROUND. The day after he soloed, Presley climbed aboard yet

another commercial jet for yet another business trip—this time to Germany, where he was to attend an international trade show. The excitement remained, however, and he was thinking about the next phase of his training. “I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to fly a little bit alone, just for the challenge.” He’d like to own an airplane, possibly through a partnership or club. He has four children, the eldest 30 and the youngest 21. “They’re spread out a little bit. My wife and I could travel to see them,” he says. But that’s in the future. There are solo cross-countries and a checkride to accomplish first. Not to mention engine-out maneuvers. After what he’s experienced, Presley is fairly sanguine about landing on a runway with the power brought back to idle. He even has a sense of humor about it, according to his flight instructor. Once, while flying over one of North Carolina’s many manmade lakes at about 500 feet agl, Presley joked that they should practice a simulated water landing. As the saying goes, “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.”
Associate Editor Jill W. Tallman is an instrumentrated private pilot with about 600 hours.

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Flight Training - May 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - May 2011