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NAME: Fred Brink
Meet Your Pilot
OCCUPATION: Pilot, Kenmore Air
Fred Brink
AGE: 66
BIRTHPLACE: New Orleans, Louisiana
RESIDENCE: Edmonds, Wash.
Twenty-seven years on the job with Kenmore Air.
YEARS FLYING FOR KENMORE AIR: 27
FIRST SOLO FLIGHT: September, 1969
FLIGHT HOURS LOGGED: Over 19,000
FAVORITE AIRPLANE TO FLY: Toss
M
ty edwards photo
up between the Turbine Beaver and
Turbine Otter
FAVORITE DESTINATION: Dent Island
EET FRED BRINK, ONE OF the most seasoned
pilots employed by Kenmore Air. He’s been flying
passengers to countless destinations since his first
day of work in May of 1989. Passengers know Fred
as a friendly, safe and experienced pilot who loves
his job.
“The enjoyment you give people is hard
to describe. A lot of times you have
passengers who never have flown in
the seaplane, and they really enjoy the
flight,” he says. “And when you hear the
enthusiasm in the passengers’ voices
and their comments, it reminds you
how enjoyable a job it is. The freedom of
the job is so neat. I can’t see myself tied
down to a desk.”
Where you can see Brink is at the
controls of one of the many seaplanes in
Kenmore Air’s fleet. It’s been that way
for almost three decades. Brink took his
first solo flight in September of 1969,
while he was a freshman in college at
Louisiana State University. To help pay
for college Brink joined the U.S. Navy
where he was a flight crewmember in
the Anti-Submarine Warfare program.
After three years of learning to hunt
down enemy submarines, he re-enrolled
at Louisiana State University using the
G.I. Bill to pay for college. He always
maintained his pilot’s license and
bought a lodge in Colorado. While being
a lodge owner had its rewards, Brink
always wanted to fly.
“My dad was a pilot and I used to fly
with him when I was young and it stayed
in the blood a bit. In fact he flew seaplanes so it definitely was in my blood.”
Q: Favorite Destination:
“I’ve got a couple, but I love Dent Island in Desolation Sound. The Nordstrom’s owns Dent Island Lodge. It’s not a very big lodge, but everything
they do is first class. It’s a nice place to fish. And it’s a beautiful place. I’ve
flown out of here quite a long time, and after all these years, it’s still my
favorite location.”
Q: Advice to aspiring Pilots:
“It’s got to be a desire within the
person themselves to fly. A lot of
kids grown up around it and they
develop the desire, but it has to be
a desire within the person themselves to succeed. And if someone
is really interested in flying, I’d
recommend they check out a 141
flight school where you fly everyday of the week.”
In 1976 Brink enrolled in flight
school at Emery Aviation College. When
he graduated he piloted for a variety
of different airline companies prior
to moving to the Pacific Northwest in
1987. He immediately went to work
for Regal Air at Paine Field in Everett,
Washington before getting hired by
Kenmore Air.
“My hopes were to get on with Kenmore, and eventually I did, and in May
of 1989 I started. It’s a great job, and I
truly enjoy it. As far as the beauty, and
excitement of flying, I wouldn’t trade it
for anything. It’s a dream job.”
Along with being one of Kenmore
Air’s most seasoned pilots, Brink also
is a check pilot and flight instructor for
Kenmore Air. Since 1992 Brink has also
served as a Designated Pilot Examiner
(DPE) for the FAA where pilots earn
their seaplane ratings.
“Quite often they already are professional pilots and a lot of them are airline
pilots who have been flying heavy metal
for a long time,” says Brink. “And when
they get in the seaplane, it remin