Sully, Skiles to Fly Together Again on Charity Flight

October 24, 2011—Some duos shouldn’t be broken up, like the Wright brothers, Tom and Jerry, or Bert and Ernie. You can add Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles to that list. Those two aviators will share a cockpit on November 18 for the first time since their Miracle on the Hudson flight, when they landed an Airbus A-320 on the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crewmembers onboard. The two pilots will take turns in the cockpit of the Historical Flight Foundation’s DC-7B on a flight from Opa-Locka, Florida to the Carolinas Aviation Museum where the Flight 1549 aircraft now rests. Only 40 passengers will be able to take the trip, and they must be members of the foundation. Sully and Skiles will be part of the flight deck crew, and when not busy up front, they will be visiting in the cabin with the passengers during the two-hour and 45-minute flight in the world’s only remaining passenger DC-7B. The DC-7B was originally delivered to Eastern Airlines in January 1958. The Historical Flight Foundation restored the plane from 2004-2008, with more than 65 percent of the original aluminum skin, outer wing panels, engines repaired or replaced. In March 2010, the airplane received the necessary FAA exemption to begin carrying passengers for pay so the aircraft can raise funds for its own preservation. Sullenberger and Skiles also serve as the EAA Young Eagles program co-chairmen.

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, left, and First Officer Jeff Skiles will be in the cockpit together again on November 18, raising money for the upkeep of the Historical Flight Foundation’s CD-7B. The two currently serve as the Young Eagles co-chairmen. Photo credit: EAA Young Eagles The Historical Flight Foundation has the world’s only remaining flying DC-7B passenger plane. Photo credit: EAA

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