When the airplane engine quits over a remote part of Canada, your options are limited. For Tom Comet and his friend, this was just the start of an incredible adventure—one packed with lessons for all pilots. In this riveting episode, he shares how they reacted to their emergency, where they chose to land, and what survival gear made a difference during a long, cold night on a lake. As a UAS pilot and former circus performer, Tom also talks about flying $150,000 drones for TV and creating huge pyrotechnic displays, including the lessons learned about risk management. In the Ready to Copy segment, you'll hear why the Cessna Skymaster is an underrated airplane, tips for learning to ride a unicycle, and why Tom found himself juggling chainsaws.
Quotes:
- “It was chaos. The entire cockpit just started shaking. The engine was running rougher than I’ve ever experienced.”
- “We were in the middle of nowhere and we were heading towards the ground.”
- “Apart from trying to get in touch with somebody… the biggest risk at that point was cold.”
- “You can’t necessarily always assume that someone’s going to be coming for you.”
- Pyro shows: “You’re building a machine when you’re creating one of these shows… and they all need to function together perfectly.”
- The Cessna Skymaster: “It just looks weird.”
- Learning hard things: “Everyone wants this instant ‘I can do it right away’ thing, and some things aren’t like that. Riding a unicycle is not like that. Flying an airplane is not like that.”
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