Future Pilots

A few months ago, I signed up as a role model with an organization called Girls With Wings, which uses "aviation to entertain and educate girls about their limitless opportunities." One of the organizers put me in touch with a student pilot, Keith, who had recently enrolled his daughter, Madeleine, with Girls With Wings. When I realized our June club fly was going to be to the WWII air show in Reading, PA, I emailed Keith and invited him and Madeleine, as well as his son, Aiden, to come along in the Tiger.

Aiden had been flying with Keith twice before, but told his Dad that it was a "life long dream to fly in a low wing," so we knew he was on board. Madeleine had never been flying in a small plane, but decided to follow her big brother's lead, and agreed to come too. They showed up on Saturday decked out in cool flying gear, and looking as cute as can be.

We had a low flight up to Reading to stay under the clouds, and I got some good experience at the air show being vectored around as the controller and tower coordinated the landing of nearly 100 planes in a few short hours.

As we waited for the car to take us over to the air show, Keith snapped a picture of me by a Cheetah, complete with its large Cheetah mascot. (I just wanted to show Greg that I'm not the only pilot weird enough to fly with a stuffed animal. There are at least two of us!)

I had been to the WWII air show last year with Gillian and Rich, and it is quite the impressive spectacle. There are hundreds of actors in costume, singing, dancing, historic planes, tanks, motorcycles, WWII battle reinactments ... you name it, they have it!

We checked out the historic village, army tents, and Madeleine and Aiden got new toy planes, before we settled down to watch the air show. Keith was kind enough to lug around his telephoto camera all day, so all pictures are courtesy of him!

Of course, I stole the camera at one point to take a picture of the happy family.

We got some nice views of the planes as they taxied past us before taking off for their respective roles. Some did aerobatics, while others took part in mock battle reinactments.

We eventually retreated from the heat to the shade under the wing of a large plane. The kids drew pictures, colored, and ate some of the snacks their Mom had packed, while Keith and I talked plane geek and watched the rest of the airshow.

I definitely sense future pilots with these two!!

We decided to start making our way back to the Tiger around 4:30. The airport had predicted holding all planes until 5:30 because of the aerobatics show, but ended up releasing us closer to 5:00. The clouds had cleared, although a bit of haze had set in, but we were able to climb higher and get home a little faster.

We stopped quickly at Carroll County for gas, and then made the short jump back to Gaithersburg. Keith helped the kids fill out their log books while I tucked the Tiger down. Aiden now has four entries and Madeleine two. Not bad for a six and a four year old!

As we made our way over to the parking lot, Keith and I joked that the kids were going to sleep well that night. Oh, and their Dad and pilot too!!

Kitty Hawk

Because flying is always more fun than chores, studying, or pretty much anything else, Rich, Shivi and I agreed that spending Sunday in the Outer Banks, NC was just what the doctor had ordered.

Rich and I were a bit late taking off from Gaithersburg, and the day was already good and hot by the time we arrived at Hanover Airport (KOFP) to pick Shivi up.

We stayed low until we were clear of restricted airspace around Richmond and then climbed to 5,500 AGL for cooler and less turbulent air. I got in a bit of hood time with Rich as my safety pilot, before coming in for a gusty landing at Currituck (KONX), where the fuel price was remarkably reasonable at $2.85/G.

From Currituck, we were heading to Dare County Regional Airport (MQI) until Rich pointed out that I had managed to pick the only airport in the Outer Banks that is on the intercoastal waterway instead of the ocean. I explained that it's a Canadian thing. EH?

With the canopy open and pretty views of the water, we considered going all the way to Oracoke (W95), but our stomachs and a desire to get to the beach sooner rather than later convinced us to land instead at Kitty Hawk Airport (KFFA).

Another gusty landing, and we were tying the Tiger down beside the historic site of the Wright Brothers' first flight. It took us a little while to figure it all out, but that's what signs are for.

Apparently, however, the sign for the Womens Restrooms --> Pilots Briefing Room --> is still on backorder.

Rich explained that the mound / monument that we were admiring was not actually the mound that they had taken off from, which has shifted 400 feet due to erosion. It was still cool to stand on such symbolic pilot terrain, though.

We continued on foot and managed to stumble across a hotel in relatively short order, where we called a cab, and enjoyed a late seafood lunch at Awful Arthurs. Once we realized the pier charged an entrance fee just for looking, we claimed a spot on the sand and the braver Canadian swam (for at least a good three minutes before getting back out).

After some deep beach thoughts - Shivi and I would have been mirror opposites, if only I had worn a brown bathing suit instead of a white! - we played a little frisbee. All too soon, however, it was time to head back home.

We had a smoother run back to Hanover, where we dropped Shivi with little fanfare and only a tad of pomp. We saw stunning views of Lake Anna as the sun set on our way North. ATC assigned me a Bravo clearance, so I got some more practice at being under their control, and it shaved 15 minutes off our flight too.

As we drove home from the airport, it was hard to believe we had only been gone 11+ hours. It felt like so very much longer. In the best possible way, of course.