Addison Pilot Shop

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Good morning!! I see everyone is out getting excited about next weekend’s planoballoon festival!! Great morning to be out exploring!

In the dark, uncertain hours following Sept. 11, 2001, the United States was under an unprecedented, total military lockdown. Civilian aviation had vanished. Air traffic control screens were completely blank, commercial tarmacs were dark, and the sky belonged exclusively to heavily armed military fighter jets.

Yet hundreds of miles away, a critically ill infant needed specialized care available at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. A ground ambulance would take hours, making air transport essential. It was a literal matter of life or death, requiring a miracle just to get off the ground.

While the rest of the nation held its breath, the dispatchers and command at Cook Children’s waged a frantic battle on the phones, coordinating directly with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and military command. Recognizing the stakes, authorities granted the Teddy Bear Transport crew a historic, highly exclusive emergency waiver.

Approximately 48 hours after the nation was attacked, pilots Todd Stephens and Ray Crain stepped into the cockpit of the King Air 200 along with the Neonatal Critical Care Team. When they advanced the throttles and lifted off into the North Texas night, they became one of the only civilian flight crews permitted into United States airspace.

The crew flew into a historical vacuum. Surrounded by eerie, echoing silence on the radio, looking down at completely dark, abandoned commercial runways, and flying with the watchful eyes of NORAD tracking their every move, Todd and Ray pressed onward through the empty sky.

As they neared their destination, the true magnitude of their mission became visually striking. Out of the darkness, two military fighter jets scrambled from a nearby base and dropped into formation, flanking the Teddy Bear Transport plane. Escorted closely by the roaring, heavily armed fighters through a locked-down sky, Todd and Ray piloted the medical aircraft safely to its destination under the protective watch of the United States military.

They flew not out of comfort, but out of a profound duty to a child they had never met. Because of their courage, skill, and willingness to fly when the world was gripped by fear, they safely retrieved that newborn. They delivered the baby to the intensive care unit in Fort Worth and gave a family a lifetime of birthdays.

As we mark the 25th observance of 9/11, we honor the crew of that flight. Todd Stephens, Ray Crain and Cook Children’s stand as a shining reminder that even in humanity’s darkest and quietest moments, heroes will always find a way to bring light, hope and life back into the sky.

It’s everywhere you want to be 🤣😬

Happy 67th Anniversary Mom and Angel Dad, founders of Addison Pilot Shop. So much love.

A little early notice so everyone has plenty of time to plan ahead:

Addison Pilot Shop will be closed Saturday, September 5 through Monday, September 7 for Labor Day weekend.

If you’ll need charts, training materials, a headset, or any other pilot supplies for your holiday weekend flying, please make plans to stop by before we close.

We’ll reopen Tuesday, September 8.

We’ll share another reminder as the weekend gets closer. Thank you for planning ahead and for always supporting our family shop!

Buying a used aviation headset? Don’t stop after checking the plugs.

Before handing over your money, take a few minutes to inspect the complete headset:

✈️ Confirm the connector and aircraft compatibility
🔎 Record the model and serial number
🎧 Inspect cords, plugs and high-wear connection points
🎙️ Test the microphone and audio through a compatible system
🔋 Check ANR, Bluetooth and power functions when applicable

This printable "Used Aviation Headset Inspection Checklist" brings the key steps from our "What You Need to Know Before You Buy a Used Headset" series into one resource you can save or share.

Save this guide, share it with a student pilot and follow Brenda Knows Best for practical aviation-headset advice from Addison Pilot Shop Tiktok.

What is the first thing you inspect when looking at a used headset?