sufficiently flare the aircraft. Temporary
modifications to the Ercoupe had to be
made. A man named Bob Metz created a
harness that wrapped around her torso
and held her higher in her seat, giving
her more leverage on the controls.
And of course, there was the medical
issue. Jessica was working toward a
sport pilot certificate, which, uniquely
enough, would allow her to self-certify
that she was medically fit for her pilot
duties with only a valid state-issued
driver’s license. Still, she would need
a valid student pilot certificate from
a designated pilot examiner. “I went
to the examiner’s office with my
paperwork already filled out. I hoped
to conceal my armlessness under a big
puffy jacket with long sleeves. My dad
was with me, and he handed in the
forms. The examiner issued me the
certificate without any hesitations. A
couple of hours later, he called and said
that he had forgotten to have me sign
the certificate.” Panicked, Jessica made
arrangements to have her dad run over
the paperwork. She adds, “Just as my
dad was about to leave his office, the
examiner asked my dad how I fly a
plane without any arms.”
The examiner had known all along.
It turns out that Glen Davis had
been checking with the FSDO [flight
standards district office] a couple of
weeks earlier. They had determined
that an examiner could not deny
issuing a sport pilot student certificate
on the grounds of a disability as long
as the student does possess a valid
driver’s license.
An additional complication was that
Jessica was commuting to both Spruce
Creek, Florida, and Torrance, California,
for her flight training. Even with training
in Ercoupes, Jessica would specifically
need to find a 415C model Ercoupe
because the weight limitation for light-sport aircraft certification requires an
aircraft weigh less than 1,320 pounds.
Only one model of that aircraft comes
in under that line. And, it would have
to be a plane equipped with a throttle
low enough on the instrument panel
for Jessica to reach with her feet.
Once again, Jessica was stalled.
At the time, finding that particular
aircraft seemed like finding a needle in
a haystack. Jessica had no idea where
to look. She began attending antique
aircraft air shows.
