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Unusual Attitudes: Shaking Things Up at Bristol Village

My old friend Air Force Lt. Col. Jerry Kemp and his F-16. Martha Lunken
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The author details their enjoyable and autonomous role as an FAA safety program manager, regularly organizing aviation safety seminars with a focus on engaging speakers and content.
  • A specific seminar, featuring a military pilot presenting videos on collision avoidance and war games, was arranged for a local pilot club at Bristol Village, a retirement community.
  • The event took an unexpected turn as the community residents, many of whom were not pilots, filled the auditorium to protest the noise from low-flying military aircraft in their local operations area.
  • The seminar, intended for aviation safety, devolved into an agitated confrontation as the audience expressed their long-standing grievances, having misunderstood the purpose of the FAA and military presence.
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I hadn’t seen Jerry Kemp in a while, but an email from him recently brought a flood of memories and a delightful (in retrospect) reminiscence about this hero and friend, an FAA safety meeting and a place called Bristol Village in rural southeastern Ohio.

Martha Lunken

Martha Lunken is a lifelong pilot, former FAA inspector and defrocked pilot examiner. She flies a Cessna 180 and anything with a tailwheel, from Cubs to DC-3s.

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