There's No Grounding These Guys

There are some burgers that cost Ed Gunderson a few bucks. Others a few paychecks. Both burgers are your traditional American fare, but for the Sun City resident and retired airline pilot it’s the pricier burger that makes the trip worthwhile. What with the majestic scenery at 4,000 feet on a clear day, the burger practically pays for itself.

“Janesville (Wisconsin) is where we fly to get our $100 hamburgers,” joked Gunderson who owns his own plane and flies out of the Landings in Huntley. “Janesville is about 12 minutes from here. We go there, have a hamburger or have breakfast, and then fly back. It’s something to do. So everybody calls it the $100 hamburger, but it’s more like the $200 hamburger today.”

In “we” and “everybody”, Gunderson is referring to other members of the Flyers Aviation Interest Group of which he is president and co-founder. In its seventh year, the 35-member group is made up of former pilots, aviation industry employees, aviation enthusiasts, and servicemen like Lou Soets, a Sun City resident and former club president. The Flyers meet almost every first Thursday of the month at the Prairie Lodge in Sun City with informal brunches every third Thursday in Hampshire. Various outings are also held throughout the year including an annual picnic plus visits to the Rockford Air Fest and the Janesville Air Fest.

It’s Gunderson who, with Allen Pollack, started Flyers in 2004 and served as its founding vice president and president, respectively. Of the two men, Gunderson had the most aviation experience, having learned to fly in the Marine Corps then working as an American Airlines pilot. Overall, he has flown for 55 years, logged more 33,000 hours, and earned the Federal Aviation Administration's Wright Brothers Master Pilot award in 2005 for demonstrating "professionalism, skill and aviation expertise by maintaining safe operations for 50 or more years."

Pollack, on the other hand, served in the Air Force ROTC in college after which he took flying lessons and logged just 40 hours. His background in computer project management, Pollack returned to flight school at the suggestion of a club member and earned his private pilot’s license in 2004 – a decision the Sun City resident says has paid off handsomely.

“I can tell that we’re all getting to an age where you feel the aches and pains,” Pollack said. “When you jump in an airplane – and I don’t know if it’s part of the adrenaline – but you’re in the element, you’re in the now, and you’re going someplace….There’s hardly a time when I don’t come out of my airplane, go home, and don’t feel 10 years younger than I am.”

If Gunderson and Pollack are the group’s proverbial captains, then vice president Vince Lynn is its control tower, booking guest speakers, coordinating events, and scheduling presentations by some of the group’s own members.

“Vince is the workhorse of this organization,” Gunderson admitted.

A retired teacher and school administrator, Lynn is also an example of the diverse backgrounds within the Flyers.

“I enjoy it,” Lynn said. “I do our web site and I enjoy making the contacts with the people who come in as speakers. I found that I can be of more use to the organization in that role than the leadership role.”

How and where Lynn finds speakers varies. For instance, Lynn said he found the group’s next speaker through sheer luck.

“Last January a couple of us flew down to Starved Rock by way of Illinois Valley Airport,” he said, “and while we were waiting for the courtesy car to drive us over to Starved Rock, we ran into a fella who was ferrying an aircraft down to that airport for a buyer. We found out that he is a representative for the Cirrus airplane company and that he lives right around here.”

Overall, Lynn, who earned his sport pilot’s certificate in 2008, tries to schedule a wide-range of speakers with recent topics centered around rocket-powered manned flights, aviation weather forecasting, hot air balloon flight, and military and civilian aircraft maintenance. At the club’s May meeting, Dennis Schuring, a retired member of the FAA, spoke to the group about his work in the administration’s Aviation Medicine Department. He also reviewed the health standards required of pilots seeking new licenses or renewals, and what pilots can do to ensure they’re in compliance with those standards.

In each area, Schuring suggested pilots be honest and open with regulators, and while that’s advice you're more apt to hear from a golf instructor, it certainly applies to aviation as well.

“Flying is like a game of golf,” Gunderson said. “You’re never too good, and you’re learning and relearning something every time you fly. So it’s a challenge. But it’s a joy.”

The Flyers Aviation Interest Group is open to any one interested in the art and science of aviation. Dues are $10 each year.