Take 'Em Flying...

Pictured above is a friend who loves flying.  David is an aspiring pilot who got to ride in my Czech Zlin 526F last week.  From the smile on his face after the flight, I believe he had a good time…  The weather was sever clear, my kind of climate.  A few days later, I took my thirteen year old granddaughter flying and after the aerobatics, she dozed off as we cruised alongside of a friend in his Cherokee 140…  Flying must be getting too calm for her… 

I can’t reiterate this enough; if you know a youngster who loves to fly… take ‘em flying.  As a young man, I walked for hours to get to an airport.  On one occasion, I walked for ten miles in Elk City, OK… to find an airport which wasn’t there.  It got a ten year old out of my aunt and uncle’s house… wonder if that was their intent?? 

In spite of all the odds, I was able to become a pilot after many years of “waiting for the right time”.  It finally happened after I reached thirty-five years of age.  By my calculations, the first thirty-five years of my life must have been wasted…  Help a young person get to be a pilot, take ‘em flying. 

Gone West

Another pilot known worldwide for his outstanding aerobatic performances was killed on an IFR flight in Washington State on January 6, 2006.  Russian Thunder with pilot Eric Beard fascinated many spectators for years with his loud Russian Yak 54.  When he cut that engine at altitude… the audience had to look up.  The noise went from deafen thunder to absolute quite….  It would catch the audience’s attention.  You’re heart would stop, as if something went wrong.  A glance up proved that it was Eric ‘putting on a show’.  That was his specialty.  Our salute to his life is in this issue on page sixteen.  Our heartfelt wishes go out to his family. 

In 2004, Eric and I had discussed the possibility that I travel with him for a couple of weeks during the performance season for a story about the life of an air show performer.  We couldn’t make the connection work, now I regret that I didn’t try harder to get the blocks in place.  We’ll miss you, Eric. 

This Photo we used in the hard copy issue.  It seems so lonesome and foreboding, today.  I was the only one in the hangar that day and this photo just talked to me.  It was a rainy New Mexico afternoon, all of the aerobatic planes were waiting for the rain to stop before being pushed out.  Eric's "Russian Thunder" is the red, white and blue plane in the distance.  I shot it and never intended to use it.  Eric's death made me start looking for photos.  For some reason this photo whispered the solemn occasion that we now live. 

Wiley Post's Spirit

The last weekend of January, I attended the presentation of the Wiley Post Spirit Award in Oklahoma City.  Wiley Post and his friends; Lindbergh, Earhart, and Rogers lived and died in a different aviation world than we know today.  They explored the unknown worldwide as easy as we fly our GPS/Weather Radar equipped planes from state to state today.  For the most part, their lives were shortened by those same risks. 

Being part of this gathering of pilots to celebrate the life of one of my idols was an awesome experience.  These pilots presented the most prestigious “Wiley Post Spirit Award” to Cheryl Stearns for 2005.  

Many of us grew up with those stories of Wiley Post, Will Rogers, Lucky Lindy, Amelia Earhart, and Glenn Curtiss.  Today, those people are considered the Hero’s of the beginning of aviation.  Wiley Post’s life and legacy continues at the Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City.  It was an honor to be a part of the celebration.