Aviation is not just about playing with your family’s toys and living out the thrills of flying every day. It’s about the friendships that are created in hangars, the sound of a Lycoming roaring to life after YOU replaced that cylinder, the old school feeling of grass under your landing gear, the controlling of numerous aircraft simultaneously, and the everlasting wonder of flight.
Flying over this runway made me think of the select number of people that have been able to see this sight picture through their windshield. Only astronauts and aviators have been able to see this great piece of American history.
Flying with passengers is a lot of fun, but you need to be on guard whenever someone is in the right seat – even if they’re a pilot. A wary eye and a good pre-flight briefing is a start. But as this story proves, sometimes it’s the little things you have to watch.
What can I do, a measly college student, who can only fly every so often? How can I stay current and make sure that the next time I sit behind the yoke again, be it tomorrow or a year from now, I can be assured I’ll know what to do?
We proclaim the future of aviation lies in the hands of the youth, and we must give them opportunities to become pilots. We argue that flight training needs to be cheaper and we need to create more aviation programs so it is easier for them to succeed. We need scholarships and free flight training. But what kind of solution is moving the finish line closer to the start?
In the latest article from our Young Pilots series, 17-year old Michael Janik shares the flight that ignited a passion for aviation, and how he found a way to pay for flight training.