The Dream of Becoming a Pilot Can be Reality

“I didn’t really believe it was possible for people who have disabilities to fly airplanes, so I never really looked into it.”

As someone who has taken flying lessons myself, I understand the thrill of being in control of an airplane and the freedom you feel when you are able to go nearly anywhere. Guatam, as a child, had the dream of being a pilot, but when polio left him disabled and requiring the use of crutches, he didn’t think he could make his dream happen.

I’m happy to report that Guatam went after his dream and found a way to take pilot lessons and is on his way to becoming a licensed pilot. I enjoyed this interview of him and the video of him flying – it just shows that you should never make assumptions of what you can and can’t do.

(Skip ahead to 55 seconds into the video to see the start of the story. For the direct video link go here: http://vimeo.com/1524176)

Freedom in the Air – ITV Interview from Gautam Lewis on Vimeo.

Disabled Travel – How to Maximize your Trip and Minimize Your Worries When Flying With a Wheelchair

When you need to use a wheelchair to get around, the thought of flying in a commercial airliner can understandably cause a lot of anxiety and even fear. Damage to the wheelchair is always a possibility, you may get hurt during the transfers to and from the aisle chair, your wheelchair may be delivered late to the jet way upon arrival, or the seats in the plane may be too uncomfortable because they don’t recline far enough or there is not enough leg room. But if some steps are taken, you can minimize the chance of anything adverse happening when you fly, and can help to ensure a safe, successful trip. Read more

Disabled Travel – Disney World here we come!

My wife and I are flying out to Orlando, Florida tonight for a two week vacation. I am really looking forward to this vacation since work has been pretty intense after the Christmas Holidays all the way up to now. It never seems to be a good time for me to go on a vacation, but I completed all my major assignments this week and I feel pretty confident my team will be able to operate smoothly without me while I am gone.

We had planned this trip a year and a half ago when we were visiting my family in Belgium. We asked my brother when he would come visit us in California, but instead we worked out a deal where we meet each other half way, in Florida. My brother is coming over with his wife and three kids and we are all staying in a three bedroom timeshare. Actually, I haven’t spent this much time with my brother and his family since I left Belgium 26 years ago and we are looking forward to it.

We will be spending a lot of time in Disney World of course, but we also plan to take a trip to Cape Canaveral. I have been to Disney World a few times before in a wheelchair when I lived in North Carolina and I found it quite accessible. However, this time I plan to pay more attention to Disney World’s accessibility as I plan to publish a story about my experiences as a disabled traveler in Disney World in the Travel category when I get back.

My wife and I are looking forward to the trip, but we are not exactly looking forward to the flights. No matter how well we prepare to fly as a disabled person confined to a wheelchair, we always seem to run into some issue with the airlines. The transfers to the aisle chair are usually a challenge because the people who assist never seem to be trained well enough to handle a person who is paralyzed and in some cases they aren’t even strong enough to do the transfer safely and I am not that heavy. Though, hardly having any balance, I have to admit that I may feel like a sack of potatoes to them. The other major issue is that it often seems to take a long time before my personal wheelchair is brought to the jet way. On the way back we have a stopover and we have less than one hour to make it on the next flight. That should be interesting! Let’s hope everything will go smoothly this time.

So long, we are leaving in a few hours.

Luc

*Update – we published a full report of the trip, along with information on rides, where to stay, and park accessibility. Here’s the article on Accessibility for People with a Mobility Disability in and around Disney World.