Gyro Pilot, Former Smoke Jumper
Darrell K. Wittke is not
typical of the folks we eulogize here at Aero-News, but then again,
he is. He never started a company or had a lot of FAA ratings (he
was a senior parachute rigger and student pilot). But he loved to
fly, and loved to associate with flying folks, and his heart was as
big as the whole sky.
Some people I know fear gyroplanes. "Aren't they dangerous?"
they ask. But the same people would probably call Darrell a
daredevil: he served as a paratrooper in the Army, then spent 12
years as a smoke jumper -- those are the crazies who parachute down
next to fires when everybody with sense was going the other
direction as fast as the speed of heat. He still loved skydiving,
riding his motorcycle, and flying his gyroplane, perhaps the
nearest thing there is to a three-dimensional motorcycle.
With a wife and two daughters, he'd slowed down a little,
working as a firefighter and paramedic, and then for a VA hospital
in Montana. On February 20th, he had a fatal accident. On the
motorcycle, of course; that's the dangerous one. He was only 40
years old.
Darrell was an active participant on the Rotary Wing
Forum, an online gathering place for gyro pilots. In
an internet world where many use fanciful names, Darrell's online
alias was "darrellwittke." With Darrell, everything was up
front.
"Darrell never knew how much he inspired me to start my gyro
build," one member wrote in a memorial thread. Darrell had just
sold some of the parts from his modified Bensen gyro, a machine his
father had built, but he had long-term plans to construct a new
one, and remained active in the forum until his death.
It was on that forum that he recounted his journey in 2005 as he
left his job and rode his motorcycle from Montana to Louisiana to
assist after the region was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Although the posts were later deleted (he was concerned for the
privacy of others he had discussed in the thread), no one who read
them can remember those posts today without realizing what a kind
and generous soul Darrell had. That soul has now left this world
for the one that lies beyond.
Darrell is survived by Shairon, his wife of ten years, and two
daughters, Willow and River. He is also mourned by a brother
and four sisters, and by many friends in Helena, Montana and in his
former homes, including Great Falls and Power, MT. His absence will
further be felt across the sky, in all the places that his other
families of skydivers and gyro pilots gather.
By the time we learned of his passing, he had already been
memorialized in the rites of the Baptist Church, and a reception
held in the West Valley Fire Hall in Helena. A memorial fund to
provide for his daughters' education has been established at the
Elkhorn Federal Credit Union at Fort Harrison, MT 59636. If you
knew Darrell and are inclined to contribute, please do; make checks
payable to the Darrell Wittke’s Children Education Fund.