10. Flight Safety International

Stories from my love of airplanes

By Fred Burlingame, Jr.

Later the shuttle flights were based in Lakeland and they flew Cheyenne IIIs. We continued to be pretty busy until 1980 when there was a change in management at the airport. Three of us were laid off and the youngest man was kept. During that time I flew a Cheyenne for the Blackstone Corporation out of Jamestown, NY. Eventually I was recalled to Piper and continued until the plant closed in the Fall of 1984. By that time, I had over 16,000 Hours total time with 1,425 actual instruments and over 10,000 hours in multi-engine airplanes.

I had nearly 6,000 hours in the Aztec.

Later I worked for Taylorcraft as Chief Pilot and General Manager and from 1996 until March of 2001 I worked for Flight Safety International at Lakeland, FL and Wilmington, DE as an instructor and briefly as President for Taylorcraft at Georgetown, DE.

I am looking for my next great flying adventure.

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Footnote: Before he retired, Fred Burlingame, Jr. logged an extraordinary 17,000 hours of flight time - nearly all of it in light aircraft.

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