MISSION PROFILE: My Blue Valentine

A cold day and a hard choice

- Patrick Sherman

QUICK SPECS

Mission Type: Aerial imaging

Location: Portland, Oregon (N45°29'33” W122°40'37”)

Airspace: Class G to 700' AGL

Clearance: None required

Monitored frequency: 123.075 MHz Portland Downtown Heliport (61J) CTAF

METAR Text: KPDX 151753Z 18008KT 10SM -RA FEW017 BKN032 OVC040 06/04 A3022

Platforms: DJI Phantom 4 Pro+, Autel Robotics Evo

Remote pilot in command: Patrick Sherman, Roswell Flight Test Crew

PILOT REPORT

As a pilot, the most important decision you will ever make is whether or not to go flying in the first place. When you commit a machine to the air, the only absolute guarantee you have is that it will return to the ground, and where, when, and how are variables that you may or may not get the opportunity to influence. It’s like the old aviation adage, “Takeoffs are optional. Landings are mandatory.”

In February, on the day after Valentine's Day, I had occasion to reflect on that aphorism as I stood in the rain, deciding whether or not to complete a mission I had accepted from one of my longest-standing clients, the Human Access Project (HAP) of Portland, Oregon. A nonprofit organization, HAP's goal is to connect the city with the Willamette River, providing access points to the water and encouraging people to take the plunge.