From Coast Guard to Commerical

ARTICLE BY SEAMUS HUNTER LYONS / Correspondent

PHOTOS BY SEAMUS HUNTER LYONS / Correspondent

DESIGN BY MIKYLA BERISH / Managing Editor

Nelson Brandt is a mentor of mine and has extensive experience in the aviation industry. He started with the coast guard and then World Atlantic flying the McDonnel Douglas MD-80. He now flies for Amerijet as a 757/767 first officer. Intrigued by his abundance of experience, I asked him some questions about his career in aviation.

The Avion (TA): What initially got you into aviation?

Nelson Brandt (NB): I grew up in Miami Beach, FL during the 1970s and 1980s. Almost every day, I watched planes flying along the shoreline. There was no question in my mind that I would one day be a pilot. But what really solidified it for me was when my parents and I took a scenic flight in a King Air 90 above the Grand Canyon. This was back in the early 1980s; I must have been about 12 or 13 years of age. It was before the Special Flight Rules under FAR Part 93 went into effect, severely restricting such flights.

Amazingly, my parents (and the King Air pilot) let me sit in the cockpit with the pilot as he flew us through the contours of the Grand Canyon; it was an unbelievable experience. Later that day, we went to Nellis Air Force Base and took a tour of the flightline. After that, I knew that I wanted to become a military pilot. Ultimately the events of the 1991 Gulf War influenced me to seek a career in the US Coast Guard as opposed to a DoD branch. The humanitarian mission of the USCG resonated with me much more than the more lethal mission of the DoD.

TA: How did you enjoy your time at Embry-Riddle?

NB: I had an absolute blast learning about aviation at ERAU. I was a graduate student at the Daytona Beach Campus from Aug 1992 – Dec 1993. We had some of the best professors and classes available anywhere. In fact, my peers and I were fortunate to be among the first students to take the newly created Advanced Rotorcraft Opera- tions course. Our professor was an Army veteran AH-1 Cobra pilot. His real-world experience flying helicopters was invaluable. We even took a field trip to the Helicopter Association International (HAI) Convention. At that time, I already knew that I wanted to be a USCG helicopter pilot and within 5 years of taking that class, I would be.

The only flying I did while enrolled at ERAU was in gliders. I got my commercial glider add-on rating at Mid Florida Airport in Eustis (X55).

To my delight, the Collegiate Soaring Association had a glider on loan to ERAU. The single seat Schweitzer SGS 1-36 was based at Bob Lee Airport in DeLand. I don’t see it on the VFR sectional chart anymore, but it was in the general vicinity of Pierson Airport (2J8). I can’t overstress the importance of learning energy management and the best way to do that is to fly gliders. You never know when that skill might just save your life. Besides that, learning to fly gliders is a lot of fun.

TA: How/why/when did you decide to join the coast guard?

NB: As a kid, I remember seeing USCG helicopters flying along the South Florida shoreline. Occasionally, one would even fly right over my middle school, which was located near Opa Locka Airport in Miami (KOPF). No matter what I was doing, when I heard the USCG helicopter, I would stop and take a nice long look. It looked so cool; I knew that I wanted to do that one day.

TA: Do you have any stories that stand out to you from your time flying the Jayhawk?

NB: There are many, but the one which stands out at the moment occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. We were conducting rescues of people stranded amongst the flooded neighborhoods when a man in his mid40s attracted our attention. We hovered the H60 nearby and deployed two rescue swimmers to investigate the situation. They reported to us over the radio that the man was the sole caretaker of four elderly women who were physically incapable of evacuating. He was their lifeline and had kept them alive for several days since the storm devastated the region.

We arrived just in time, as they were critically short of food and water. The heat and humidity were stifling; there was no electrical power, thus no air conditioning. The H60 did an amazing job, making the rescue easy. It has an abundance of power available for maneuvering while hovering out of ground effect. We got all of them out of there and airlifted them to the New Orleans Airport. I’ll never forget the huge smile and big thumbs up he gave us as they disembarked. The overall USCG response to Hurricane Katrina was a watershed event for the service. As an organization, we “saved more than 33,500, including rescuing from peril 24,135 lives and evacuating 9,409 medical patients to safety.” e United Kingdom’s University of Birmingham Air Squadron (UBAS), based at Royal Air Force (RAF) Cosford, Shropshire, in the UK, was founded in 1942. eir role was, according to Detachment Commander Tom Gallagher, “to recruit and attract ambitious and intelligent students into a career in the RAF as an RAF O cer.” Today, the program consists of less than one hundred students who learn valuable skills as well as specialized training through the program. Gallagher notes that “...we teach leadership and team building skills. We provide the opportunity to take part in numerous sports and adventurous training such as rock-climbing, skiing, and climbing, both in the UK and abroad.” ey also act as one of the only University Air Squadrons that o ers a ying program.

Hurricane Katrina forever changed how the Federal Government would respond to natural disasters. I was honored to play a small role in it.

After retiring from 20 years of USCG service, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I had a job offer to be an air rescue pilot for Miami Dade Fire Rescue when a former “shipmate” of mine from the USCG told me about a buddy he had at World Atlantic, a Part 121 supplemental passenger airline based in Miami. At the time, they operated a fleet of seven MD80 series aircraft. A lifelong fan of the “Mad Dog” I leapt at the opportunity to fly these iconic airplanes. But not wanting to go this alone, I persuaded another USCG “shipmate” to join me. He flew the HU25 Falcon, a derivative of the Dassault Falcon 200. But he had been out of the cockpit for over 10 years and needed to get current in a jet before he would be a competitive applicant for a major airline. I, on the other hand, hadn’t ever flown a jet before. So, I guess you could say that we were perfect simulator partners for each other.

Conversely, the U.S. Air Force’s Detachment 157 was founded at Embry-Riddle in 1972, and has become one of the most impressive ROTC programs in the country. e program produces highly quali ed o cers and pilots that enter the U.S. Air Force (USAF) upon the commissioning they receive a er graduating ERAU. Among these two programs, a direct exchange between UBAS and the AFROTC at Daytona Beach has emerged within the past few years.

A statement provided by Lieutenant Colonel Hollingsworth explains that “ e UBAS / Det 157 exchange began in 2018 when one of the UBAS cadets, Sam Baker, reached out to us attempting to establish an exchange program with their closest US equivalent.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this program took a pause in 2020 and 2021. “Cadet Ferreira-Da Silva reinvigorated the program in 2021 and was successful in setting up the second iteration in June 2022, when ve cadets and one active duty o cer traveled to the UK.” is semester, the exchange consisted of six UBAS students and was led by Flight Lieutenant Tom Gallagher, who assumed the role of Detachment Commander for the exchange. Gallagher currently serves as the Chief Flight Instructor for UBAS. However, before assuming his current role, he served as a pilot for 20 years in the Royal Air Force; where he ew VC10s and the Boeing C-17, as well as operations alongside the USAF. Gallagher has been involved in numerous operational theaters, including Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Most recently, he took part in the 2021 evacuation from Kabul.

During the week while UBAS cadets were at Embry-Riddle, they had many opportunities to experience U.S. culture and AFROTC and ERAU life. UBAS visitor Harvey Ball notes that “ e USAF and AFROTC have a distinct culture that we have learnt a lot from, and likewise it was an honour to give them an insight into the UBAS way of life.” In the words of UBAS’ Dani Ashwell and many of the UBAS students, it was also “a jam packed week full of fun and endless learning opportunities.” e UBAS cadets expressed their thoughts as they returned across the pond to the U.K. In the words of Flight Lieutenant Gallagher, “this exchange was an incredible opportunity for myself and my students to experience the intricacies of how the AFROTC programme works and how it di ers to the UK UAS/RAF system. Whilst there are many similarities, there are also distinct di erences in the approach by each nation. Learning more about how Det 157 works has given us the opportunity to integrate some of their ideas into our own Squadron.” Many of the UBAS students shared a similar sentiment. Cadet Roy Siu notes he was “...tremendously grateful for the experience of learning from our cadet o cer counterparts across the pond, and for a week packed to the brim with interesting, informative, and fun activities.” As stated by Cadet Charlie Gamble, “throughout the week I was able to learn a lot about leadership and from the way they operate compared to UBAS. I thoroughly enjoyed every day, whether it was getting up at 5:30am for the dreaded sand pit or having a relaxing day out to Universal.”

On Wednesday, March 22, the UBAS cadets integrated into the AFROTC unit during their Agile Combat Employment (ACE) training. During this training, they experienced several stations including base defense and radio communication. Here, cadets could operate in joint training exercises that simulated real-world operations. e ability to work e ectively with allies and NATO members is growing ever more important. Friday o ered a unique set of challenges where UBAS again integrated with the AFROTC cadets at the sandpits across campus. e morning consisted of Physical Training, where cadets incorporated sandbags into many of the exercises.

Lieutenant Gallagher concluded that “Both myself and my students were hosted extremely well throughout by the sta and cadets of Det 157 and we extend our deepest thanks to all those involved and look forward to hosting some of them in 2024.”

A er this exchange, plans are in motion to continue this unique program in 2024. e UBAS cadets will return the favor and will host the USAF ROTC cadets in the U.K., thus helping grow the special relationship between the two programs for years to come.