It was her first official lesson. We were met at the aircraft by two of my partners; Larry and Joe. They helped us prep the aircraft; after it was ready Joe slipped off for a moment in his golf cart. When he returned he handed my Daughter Kaitlyn a brand new pilots log book.
“Congratulations!” He said with a smile that ran ear to ear. “You’ll need one of these.”
That in a nut shell is the pilot community. A close knit group bonded by the love of flight; compelled to share the experience, especially with the next generation of Aviators, or in this case Aviatrix. It was a beautiful day, sunny, bright; with tremendous thunderstorms blossoming as a back drop miles away.
We plunged into the humid atmosphere; sharing the day. She wasn’t tentative in the least; wearing a slight smile as we practiced basic air work in our mighty Musketeer. An NCAA Athlete (yes, I’m bragging) she displayed that same confidence even when we entered the landing pattern. On the last pass I couldn’t help showing off a bit, flying a tight and steep fighter type approach. She was grinning throughout the demo.
As we drove home in her mom’s convertible, top down, watching the looming thunder boomers get closer; I couldn’t help but realize we had not shared much time in years. Passing’s really, moral fly-bys; but no real time. She had been daddy’s girl, my only girl out of four great kids. Then the awkward teenage years interfered, and my jobs, and daily life in general.
Through many of those busy years I kept updating my CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) Rating, even though I never really used it. I’m glad I did. If nothing else we had yesterday to share, it was worth it.
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There’s nothing better than time spent teaching our children about the things we love. Thanks for this beautiful little story. Makes me smile.
Thanks LaVonne;
Just got back from Pensacola, flew my little machine down for a vacation. chip