One-Handed Pilot

[Dave Homewood]

A ONE-HANDED PILOT, Mr J. Walker, with his flying instructor, Mr P. B. Legg. Mr Walker, who is the proprietor of a Timaru hotel, recently made his first solo flight in an Auster aircraft of New Zealand Aerosales, Ltd., which conducts a flying school based at Timaru. He did just over 12 hours’ instructional flying, and he has no difficulty in executing all emergency manoeuvres. He will, of course, be restricted with a private licence to those aircraft which he can completely control with his left hand and right arm stub. The flying school believes that Mr Walker, who lost his hand as a child, is the first person with one hand to be trained to fly solo in New Zealand.

PRESS, 29 APRIL 1964

[FlyingKiwi]

I met an Australian PPL a few years ago who only had one hand. He had a hook with a loop attachment for the throttle so he could control that with his 'missing' hand and use his remaining one for the stick. Seemed to work ok although I think he limited himself to one type of aeroplane.

[Mustang51]

There are a few over here