Butts Desmon - Tales From The Cockpit

At 37,000 feet on a clear sunset...

I might see the curve of the Earth from my office window.

Tales From The Cockpit

Sometimes the Door is Closed for a Reason!

Captain Desmon Butts

A pilots collection of real life events and stories.

Contributing Authors:

Christine Toevs

Gabor Kovacs

Carl Potter

Phil Harwood

John Nagle

Crissy Butts

Foreword by: Captain Samuel Peterson

Edited by: Josh Sullivan & Georgina Butts

Copyright 2020 Desmon Butts All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020914271

Front cover image by Desmon Butts.
Book design by Desmon Butts.

First printing edition 2020. New Waverly, Texas.

Dedicated To

My father, David Butts, who gave me many things, including the love of flying!

My wife, Crissy, and family for their support on all of my escapades and journeys.

All those instructors I had that took the time to help me become a better pilot.

All my former students that listened to my voice, that I hope will forever be with them as they fly.

Table of Contents

Im not one to put many words on paper, but when I was asked to write a foreword for Desmon Butts, I was honored to oblige. After all, I am a story teller and I fully enjoy captivating an audience with my own yarns and Desmon has been a key role in a good number of my memoirs.

I met Desmon in Anchorage, Alaska in the late spring of 2010. I had been kicked around a fair bit throughout the fledgling years of my aviation career and had fully expected to be working as a cargo or air carrier First Officer by this point. I had been working at Take Flight Alaska as a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) for a couple months when Desmon walked through the door. He came to the counter and said that he was looking for a MEI (Multi-Engine Instructor). After asking him a few questions, I found that he had his FAA Private Pilot License and his Costa Rican Gyroplane certification. While our training sessions mostly consisted of engine failures and maneuvers, we had many chances to get to know each other.

On one occasion, due to the order in which he chose to approach his training for his licenses, we were afforded the ability to fly a long cross country flight to Kodiak Island. That was a particular treat for both of us. Neither of us had ever been there. Ill never forget when our little Beechcraft Duchess carried Desmon and I down the western edge of the Cook Inlet, over Mt Redoubt, across the Katmai National Park and onward to Kodiak Airport. After a successful completion of his training, he asked me to join him on a ferry flight in his Cessna 172 from Wasilla, Alaska to Great Falls, Montana. He then continued on his own to Houston where he now resides.

We have kept in touch through the years unlike many of my students. I now reside in the Houston area close to Desmon and were occasionally able to spend time together. He has even allowed my wife to use his aircraft to build flight time on her way to her Commercial Pilot License. Weve now been friends for 11 years and I can truly say that Desmon is one of the most interesting people I have ever met.

While he can be a hard nut to crack, he has an overwhelming set of outstanding qualities that have brought him to where he is today. I certainly learned about Desmons tenacity from our training together and his drive towards becoming a Captain at an airline. But I also know about his selfless service in the U.S. Marine Corps, his generosity through serving his community, his leadership as an airline Captain, his sense of adventure through his incredible gyro experience, his endless faith as a Christian and his loving role as an incredible husband and father. Needless to say, I believe that anyone interested enough to lift this book from the shelf surely should be captivated by these Tails From The Cockpit.

Captain Samuel Peterson

As a young boy I had the fortunate experience of growing up around airplanes. My father was a commercial pilot and flight instructor. This happened to be his hobby. He was a chemical engineer and helped develop the fuel for the Minuteman Missile for Hercules in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah.

When I was born he had taken a job with Great Salt Mineral Corp. West of Ogden, Utah. He designed the procedures and ponds on the salt mine. This was located on the Willard Bay side of the Great Salt Lake. I spent many an hour flying with him over the lake and ponds as a kid. We flew and landed in lake beds, on mountain top runways to fish, and explore old gold mines. I got sick too many times to count but still loved to be with him and fly! He would have me take the controls and fly all the time. I would let him know when the VOR needle would cross and he would give me a new heading. I had a few lessons from him but never completed my private license at that time.

After getting married and moving to Alaska I found myself loving all those Alaskan aircraft. We owned and operated a large limousine company that serviced over 11,000 reservations per year. I said to my wife one day, Honey I want to get my pilots license. She said, Well, save some tips. I enthusiastically replied, Ok!

That week I had saved over $200 and headed down to Palmer, Alaska to take my first flight from Mustang Air. This went on a couple of weeks and I called to tell my dad that I was taking lessons. He said, Great! Tell me when you pass your written test. I asked him why he said that? He said that he could teach almost anyone to fly but not to get motivated to do the homework needed to take that test. He said only about three out of ten students would take and pass the written test. Later, when I started training people, I found this was about right. I passed the test two weeks later by listening to CDs in the front seat while driving people in the limo in the back. The day I called him to say I had passed the test he replied, Great! I guess youre serious about this.

I finally got my checkride about a year later at 40 years old. I bought a Cessna 172K and decided to fly it one hour minimum per week just to stay current. It was parked at Anderson Lake, Alaska. This was about one block from my house. I would stay close at first then slowly venture out a bit at a time flying over glaciers and Prince William Sound. Still to this day Alaska flying is my favorite. I set some self-governing rules. 1. Never fly if I am unhappy or having a bad time with my wife or family. 2. Never fly my personal aircraft on Sunday. 3. Never fly into known bad conditions.

After I got my certificate my father came to Alaska and I took him flying in my plane. First he would fly and then I would fly. At that time he was in his 70s but was like a kid in a candy store! When we got down he said, Son, I am proud of you! I almost teared up. Suddenly I felt like a young boy that just got promoted by his dad. It felt not one bit different at 40 than it did when I was 10.

I have been self-employed nearly my whole adult life. I spent time as a US Marine during Desert Storm. However, I had not worked for anyone else until flying for the airline. I have found after 25 years of working over 100 hours per week that flying the plane is by far the easiest job I have ever had! Sure there are rough moments, but good planning prevents problems.