AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022 - 37

NEWS /
his body in an explosive fire. In the quick calculation of estimating
a patient's chance of survival after severe burns, add their age (48)
to the percentage of third-degree burn coverage (75), and any sum
over 100 means the victim is unlikely to survive.
" One thing I had going for me is that I honestly never considered
the possibility that I wouldn't be OK, " he said. " I spent three
months in the hospital, and the healing began right away. I could
tell progress was being made the whole time. "
During several weeks in a medically-induced coma, friends and
family members decorated his hospital room with posters and photos.
Later, he played his favorite music, loudly, to raise his spirits.
" The Rocky theme, the Top Gun soundtrack, " he laughed. " All
the cheesy stuff I love. "
Ridolfi's girlfriend, Noa, and her daughter Gracie came to
Wisconsin for extended stays until he could return to California.
In the hospital and out, Ridolfi took aviation courses online,
and he flew a custom X-Plane flight simulation program
with an instrument panel identical to his Super Petrel on a desktop
computer.
Ridolfi's airplane was tied down outside at the West Bend
Airport in Wisconsin (ETB) at the time of the house fire. When
fellow pilots learned of Ridolfi's family tragedy, they moved the
Super Petrel to a hangar and even performed a condition inspection
on it so that it remained ready to fly.
Ridolfi was medically cleared to resume flying in July 2022.
He'd logged more than 400 flight hours in his Super Petrel during
the previous four years and taken it on trips throughout the
Mountain West, but he was concerned that, after his injuries, he
might lack the arm strength to manipulate the manual landing
gear lever.
But his return to flight on July 19 proved arm strength wasn't
an issue.
" I had spent hours and hours practicing with the sim, and it
turns out the sim is a lot harder to fly that the actual airplane, " he
said. " Even after a year away from it, flying was still second nature.
On that first flight, I'd touch down on the main wheels, ride the
wheelie, and all of it just felt so right. "
Ridolfi flew over the charred remains of his dad's former home
on that initial flight, an experience he says was bittersweet. The
fire, he suspects, was from a natural gas leak. His father had moved
a load of laundry from the washing machine to the dryer, and when
he started the dryer, the room exploded in flames.
Ridolfi recently flew his airplane to a college reunion in
Minnesota. His next big trip may be ferrying it back to California,
probably following the same route he took in 2018.
When he gets to Oakland, he intends to get together with flying
friends there and build up seaplane flying in that region.
" I can't wait to get back there again with my airplane, " he
said. " There's such a rich history and great opportunities for
seaplane flying, and I look forward to being part of it again. "
dave.hirschman@aopa.org
SQUAWKS
Visit aopa.org for
the rest of the story
Drone crashes in
record attempt
The Airbus Zephyr 8 highaltitude
drone sustained a
catastrophic failure and crashed
just hours shy of a 63-year-old
flight endurance world record
(see " Test Pilot, " p. 41 for the
record-holding flight). The solarpowered
drone was designed
to fly continuously for months
at a time at altitudes of up to
70,000 feet.
No human help
Aviation automation developer
Reliable Robotics announced
that the basis for certifying a
system that would allow aircraft
such as a Cessna Caravan to
aviate and navigate without
human help has been accepted
by the FAA.
ATP and Wheels Up
partnership
ATP Flight School and charter
company Wheels Up Experience
Inc. have partnered to offer ATP
graduates a streamlined pathway
to first officer positions with
Wheels Up.
CAP partners with
SiriusXM
A new partnership between
SiriusXM and the Civil Air Patrol
will provide valuable weather
information to CAP pilots who
fly important and time-sensitive
missions.
aopa.org
AOPA PILOT / November 2022
37
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022

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