As a youngboy in the post WWII years, Frank Hale initially aspired to be a locomotive engineer. But after riding in a Cessna 140 on his 6th birthday, he knew flying was his future. By 18, as most are just entering adulthood, he received his commercial pilot’s license. He then spent 21 years in the Air Force Reserve, as a Transportation Officer, including 12 years as a Squadron Commander of the and Aerial Port Squadrons.Frank flew for the Dow Chemical Company for 29 years as a pilot, when heretired and moved to Montana. Today he works as an independent corporate pilotflying Citation Jets and Falcons, in addition to occasionally flying the B-17Flying Fortress as part of the Commemorative Air Force.
It's safe to say that Frank Hale has plenty of flight experience. Since the days of the B-17, aviation technology has advanced tremendously. As Frank says, “In the 50+ years I’ve been flying, aviation technology has changed immensely. Flying is so much safer, but the workload has increased on the pilot.” Frank currently flies a CJ2 and a CJ2+ equipped with Tamarack Active Winglets. He says:
We do a lot of long flights in the CJ2+ with Tamarack Winglets. The time to climb to altitude is fantastic, especially because of the ability to reduce trip fuel burn and increase the range. We have done several 1800 nautical mile flights and had great fuel reserves.
One of the main advantages of Active Winglets is increased range due to longer wings and more efficient flight. The plane reaches altitude much more quickly and doesn’t use as much fuel as a plane without Active Winglets. Frank also notes the improvement and stability in the ride, as Active Winglets decrease turbulence. In addition, he points to the improved handling in strong crosswinds and reduced landing speed that increase flight safety. The key is the ability to dynamically respond to changing load conditions to significantly amplify efficiency, stability, and performance. Active Winglets are also fully automatic, require no pilot action, and function autonomously from other aircraft systems. Tamarack’sActive Winglets are one of the most important innovations in wing technologies today. The ability to provide a safer, more efficient flight is imperative for the future of aviation.
