On a trip from Tampa, Florida, to New Orleans, FLYING contributor Dick Karl had a bird strike–a big one. [Courtesy: Dick Karl]
Key Takeaways:
A veteran pilot recovering from illness and nearing 80 faces significant hurdles in aircraft ownership, primarily due to the drastically changing and unpredictable aviation insurance market.
His annual jet insurance premium surged from approximately $22,000 to nearly $93,000 solely because he turned 77, illustrating a severe instance of age discrimination that forced him to sell his aircraft.
This experience underscores the current challenge in aviation insurance, where experienced older pilots face prohibitive costs, leading the author to seek out more "affordable" options like a Cirrus SR22 or Cessna 340, though even these come with high premiums ($35,000-$42,000).
There were several months last winter when I cared nothing about airplanes. Bedridden for a month by the one-two punch of a bone marrow transplant for acute myeloid leukemia, I was so sick that I didn’t think about my lifelong love—aviation.
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Dick Karl is a cancer surgeon who appreciates the beauty and science involved in both surgery and flying. Dick’s monthly Gear Up celebrates the human side of flying. He writes about his enthusiasm for both the machines and the people who fly and maintain them.
