Fighter Sweep
  • Home
  • Military Aviation
  • Air Force
  • Navy
  • Spec Ops
  • Expert Analysis
  • Careers
  • Photos
Home Previous Post Next Post
Follow @fightersweep

Capitol Lawn Gyrocopter: Update 4/16

http://video.tampabay.com/?ndn.trackingGroup=90964&ndn.siteSection=tbtimes2_nws_non_fro&ndn.videoId=28895951&freewheel=90964&sitesection=tbtimes2_nws_non_fro&vid=28895951
Jason Hyatt 1 Comment News

Campaign finance reform. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Campaign finance reform is what motivated a 61-year-old mailman from Ruskin, Florida to load up his gyrocopter and 535 letters to Congress on a trailer and drive to within a flight’s distance from the U.S. Capitol. He wanted to deliver the letters in an attention-grabbing manner in order to shed some light on an issue he is clearly passionate about.

Leaving the politics out of this, here is what we know:

The pilot’s name is Doug Hughes, and he has been planning this flight for almost three years. The friends he told didn’t believe he would pull it off. One of those friends did alert the Secret Service, and Mr. Hughes was interviewed about his plan back in 2013. It appears as if nothing ever came of that interview.

Just weeks before his planned flight, he sat down with Tampa Bay Times to record the video in this article. I don’t know if Tampa Bay Times chose to sit on the video to garner publicity or if it was immediately shared with appropriate authorities, so I won’t speculate on that piece of the puzzle. In summary, the plan has been known by at least one agency in Washington D.C. since 2013, and also known by a media outlet for the last few weeks.

This absolutely could have been thwarted. In the video Doug explains his motive and consistently reiterates his non-violent intentions. Maybe that’s why more wasn’t done.We may never know.

I don’t know Mr. Hughes personally, so I won’t judge the man’s heart or motive. Heck, we share the same desire to not see this country completely collapse. What I can and will do is advise against doing something this dumb to try and shake up the status quo.

(Featured Image Courtesy: ABC News)

About the Author

Jason Hyatt is an aerospace industry professional with over 10 years of experience in the military and commercial aviation sectors. Born and raised in the Southwest United States, an area blessed with over 300 days of sunshine per year, he is fortunate to have been in and around aviation his entire life. After a brief stint as a semi-professional soccer player in the early 2000's, he realized his desire to live and work in aviation. While working for Boeing IDS (now BDS) in 2005, he first picked up a camera and started experimenting with aviation photography and photojournalism. As a freelance aviation photojournalist, he has been able to stay close to military aviation, his primary area of interest.

Related Posts

  • Breaking: Small Aircraft Lands on Capitol LawnBreaking: Small Aircraft Lands on Capitol Lawn
  • Veterans Day And The Air Force MemorialVeterans Day And The Air Force Memorial
  • From The Cockpit: Arsenal Of Democracy IFEFrom The Cockpit: Arsenal Of Democracy IFE
  • See The Arsenal of Democracy Flyover on FridaySee The Arsenal of Democracy Flyover on Friday
  • Picture of the Day: U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper Engages a TargetPicture of the Day: U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper Engages a Target

Find Us on Facebook

FighterSweep.com

Sign Up
for the Newsletter

What’s Hot

  • blue-angels-reporter-blacks-out-passes-out
    December 5, 2017

    Watch: News Reporter Blacks Out on Ride with US Navy Blue Angels

  • Whistling Death: How The Corsair Got Its Nickname
    August 30, 2019

    Whistling Death: How the Corsair got its nickname

  • Rockwell B-1B Lancer: Bad to the Bone!
    April 26, 2015

    Bad to the Bone: Fun Facts about the Boeing (Rockwell) B-1B Lancer

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Twitter

Recent Comments

  • pak152 " the team came up with what the Brits dubbed as Mustang, powered by a [...]
  • P K Polish AF never has and never will operate Su-27, An-26 aircraft has been out [...]
  • bnarfhyde The best book is also great. have a [...]
  • TerrorTrike ive never survived this long with such a clumsy FL- cG.866B.CO/NC6155hc
  • D4rksupeme yessss truck kunnnnnnnn i needddd you m.866E.CO/vC6155H

© Copyright 2023 SOFREP Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers