Job: Biplane pilot, Kennesaw
What I do: If you look into the sky over Kennesaw and see an orange biplane flying above, Lee Kluger and his passengers probably are looking down at you, too.
Kluger, 44, is the owner, mechanic and chief pilot for Bi-Plane Adventures, which operates from Kennesaw's McCullom Field.
As the owner and chief pilot of Bi-Plane Adventures, Lee Kluger has a job that is envied by many earthbound dreamers. But he also has plenty of responsibilities on land, such as making sure the planes are in proper working order.
In the metal tube of an airliner, he said, you don't get the perspective of flying that you get from an open-cockpit biplane — such as hearing the propeller right in front of you or feeling the wind in your hair.
Kluger not only is one of the business's two pilots but also maintains the aircraft. "My daily job involves everything," he said.
Before taking people up in the air (flights cost between $159 and $379), Kluger talks with them "to find out what's going to push their buttons," such as flying over their house, letting the passenger take the control stick or doing aerobatics, the moves for thrill-seekers — looping, flying upside-down and performing barrel rolls.
Included with the passengers' flight is a guided tour of what they are seeing, which covers just about any sight in metro Atlanta, except places that restrict aircraft from passing overhead. Among these restricted locations are Turner Field during a Braves game and Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
The orange plane, a 1940 Waco UPF-7, can hold two passengers in the front seat and is used mostly for sightseeing trips over Atlanta or the North Georgia mountains. The company's yellow 1941 Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 military biplane was used as a World War II trainer in Pensacola, Fla. It can carry one passenger and is used for aerobatics. Both are original aircraft, not replicas. "You're flying in a piece of history," Kluger said.
He built the military biplane "from a pile of parts," he said, 14 years ago and "personally spent over 5,000 hours, three years and two girlfriends restoring this aircraft."
What got me interested in this: "I've been flying since I was 15," Kluger said.
Kluger flies biplanes because "I'm a little bit of a throwback." He said he likes the simplicity of the aircraft and the seat-of-the-pants style of flying them.
Best part of my job: "Flying," Kluger said. "I absolutely love flying, being responsible for everything. I get to do things that are once-in-a-lifetime experiences" for other people.
Most challenging part: "Finding good pilots," he said. Flying "tail-draggers" (planes with tails nearly touching the ground) is a lost art, he said.
Kluger
What people don't know about my job: Kluger says his passengers tell him they are surprised because the ride is much smoother than they expected.
The plane takes off slowly, at about 40 mph, and gently rises into the sky. Airspeed is about 75 mph, but Kluger said that, if there's a headwind, the traffic on the freeway below him often goes faster than the plane.
Kluger also explained that there's far more maintenance than people expect. Besides a preflight inspection before every takeoff, he conducts scheduled maintenance after every 25, 50 and 100 hours of flight time. The 100-hour check can take three days. He replaces his engines every 1,000 to 1,600 hours.
What keeps me going: "I decided I would try this and met with a fair amount of success at the beginning. That gave me the confidence to try other things," he said.
Besides Bi-Plane Adventures, Kluger also manages and flies corporate aircraft for ESI Inc., an engineering company, and is the owner of and photographer for an aerial photography company.
Preparation needed for this job: You need math skills, self-discipline, good flying skills and very good judgment, Kluger said.
All pilots must be licensed by the federal government, and commercial pilots need additional training and flying time. Kluger has more than 16,000 flight hours logged in more than 75 types of aircraft, has an airline transport rating and is a certified flight instructor as well as a certified airframe and power plant mechanic.
He has a degree in aeronautical engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida and was an engineer for Lockheed. He has been a pilot for charter services, freight lines and Eastern Metro, a former commuter airline.
- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.