Corp Pilot Retirement Salute

Two of our company pilots retired this year, here is Dan's water canon salute on his final landing after 38 years of service with one company! Records show that he logged over 11,000 flights.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOyIHQisF6g&NR=1[/ame]

And a few blurbs from a newsletter:

Landmark Aviation at Scottsdale Municipal Airport and the Scottsdale Fire Department welcomed Dan home on his last flight on January 29 with a water salute. The water salute is a longstanding tradition marked by a water cannon vehicle or series of vehicles lined up perpendicular on the sides of the taxiway or apron to form an arch or series of arches.

Symbolically, the procession looks similar to the Arch of Sabres at a military wedding. Over history, these salutes have been used to mark the retirement of a senior pilot (as is the case here), air traffic controller or the first or last flight of an airline to an airport.

There were many memorable flights over the years and Dan recently recalled some of his favorites. He remembers a flight to Germany, Switzerland and Ireland with a fuel stop in Greenland on a trip with R.C. Hunt in 1994. It was an experience he says he will always remember for the exciting journey it was in the company of R.C.

Other memorable trips included a flight with Ronald Reagan onboard following his nomination by the Republican Party and a flight with Gerald Ford after his Presidency in 1977. Dan also vividly recalls R.C. coming into the cockpit once to tell him to slow down so he could have more time building a client relationship. Dan pointed out that “we got that contract”. Dan was proud to say there were too many good memories to recall them all here but that the aircraft continues to prove a valuable asset to the company.
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