Aviation class hosts celebrity flyer

Posted on: Dec 18, 2019

KDWB radio personality Dave Ryan visited the DHS Aviation class on Friday, Nov. 15, to talk about his own experiences as a private pilot.

“As a pilot, we all have stories,” he said. “It’s just a matter of finding an audience that wants to hear it.”

He also shared memorabilia from his father, a B-24 navigator who survived 50 combat missions in WWII. Items Ryan brought included shrapnel from flak that his father had collected from inside his bomber, and a handwritten account of a near-death experience with anti-aircraft fire.

The account explained that his father had left his usual position in the bomber’s nose, and upon his return he found a hole where he normally would have been sitting.

“I’m very lucky that my dad made it back,” Ryan said.

Ryan also passed around a number of his father’s medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, and shared audio from a “runway incursion” that demonstrated the importance of accurate communication at busy airports.

Class instructor Jason Monke explained that he had heard Ryan discuss flying several times on the radio and decided to email and see if a visit would be possible. Ryan responded that he would enjoy coming to share, and has already indicated that he would be more than willing to return next year as well. 

Becoming a pilot
Ryan told students he began flying about 25 years ago, taking nine months and spending $5,000 to get his private pilot’s license. Influences to begin flying, he said, included his father, as well as proximity to a small airport at his childhood home, where he enjoyed watching planes take off and land.

Since 1993 Ryan said he has logged about 550 to 600 hours of flight time without any serious mishaps, although he was forced to land quickly at Sauk Centre on one occasion when his engine began to sputter. Ryan said that a misunderstanding on the part of airport personnel resulted in a large emergency response from fire and police personnel who arrived looking for a crash and were somewhat nonplussed to find him and his plane intact.

Student questions
Students asked questions about Ryan’s favorite types of planes to fly (low-wing models), bird strikes (more common than one might think), and his most unique flying experiences (flying with the Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force’s Thunderbird demonstration squadrons).

Ryan said that the Blue Angels fly without G-suits that help compensate for extreme maneuvers, and he experienced tunnel vision from lack of blood flow to the brain while riding along with them.

Students also asked about renting vs. buying a plane, and Ryan said he has always rented, which isn’t cheap but eliminates hanger fees and maintenance concerns.

“I had a great time and it was an honor to tell you about my dad’s flying experiences and talk about Aviation,” Ryan wrote on a Delano Public Schools Facebook post about his visit. “Great group of students! Thank you Mr. Monke for having me!”
 

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