Flight Training - July 2019 - 10

FLYING CARPET BY GREG BROWN

GREG BROWN thrives on piloting missions.

He's been known to sit home on perfect flying
days, wishing for a reason to take off.
www.GregBrownFlyingCarpet.com

FLYING CARPET RIDE
Nothing's more rewarding for pilots than a mission.

"Shay needs a ride home for Easter weekend-do you know anyone driving
to Flagstaff from Phoenix?" texted our friend Terri from Window Rock, in far
northeast Arizona.
Terri's niece Shay is a university student in suburban Phoenix. Along with
joining family for the holiday, she wanted to visit an ailing relative and her cousin's young baby. But Shay has no car, nor is there efficient public transportation
for the 300-mile drive from Phoenix to Window Rock. She sometimes rides five
hours home with a classmate, but this time he could offer only the return trip.
Flagstaff is only halfway to Window Rock,
but from there Terri
could retrieve Shay in an
afternoon's drive. None of
my neighbors, however,
expected holiday visitors
from Phoenix. So I offered
my young friend a Flying
Carpet ride.
Delivering Shay from
Glendale Municipal
Shay (right) greets her grandmother and Aunt Terri (left) at Airport (GEU) directly
to Window Rock would
Arizona's Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport.
10 FLIGHT TRAINING JULY 2019

have saved Terri hours of driving, but
for me it meant flying four hours in
afternoon turbulence, half with an
inexperienced passenger. Instead I
proposed rendezvousing Shay with
Terri at Winslow-Lindbergh Regional
Airport (INW), just an hour flight from
Glendale and two hours' drive from
Window Rock.
Shortly after I landed at Glendale
on the appointed day, Shay texted that
she'd arrived-but she was nowhere in
sight. Thankfully her ride had delivered her to the wrong building, not the
wrong airport.
Normally I avoid flying novice
passengers in turbulence, but lacking
other options I'd decided not to worry
Shay about it beforehand. Only upon
boarding did I reveal that we faced a
bumpy ride. I briefed her on sick sacks,
"though you won't need one," opened
all cabin air vents, snugged her lap
belt, and asked her to tell me if she
got warm. I'd also brought half-frozen
water bottles for sipping, and cooling
her forehead or neck.
"Everything looks so small down
there!" observed Shay as we surfed
smoothish air over Phoenix. Turbulence began over the rugged Verde
River Canyon, which I'd warned Shay
to expect. The ride wasn't bad by pilot
standards-light to occasional moderate
turbulence. At first unaffected, Shay
spoke of school and her nursing career
plans. But when she asked, "Do these
bumps bother you?" I directed cool air
and an icy water bottle her way, noting
we were only 29 minutes to landing.
"Already?" said Shay. Soon afterward we entered high desert south of
Winslow. Given my passenger's discomfort and no traffic, I landed straight-in
on Runway 4. Terri and her mother
waited, beaming, outside Winslow's
1929 adobe terminal building. Thanks to
the Flying Carpet, Shay would be home
for Easter. Terri wanted to watch me
take off, so following hugs I waggled
wings goodbye and steered 20 minutes
homeward to Flagstaff.
"AWESOME!" Terri replied when I
texted her after landing. "U ARE THE
GREATEST!" Bumps or not, this is why
we are pilots. FT

http://www.GregBrownFlyingCarpet.com

Flight Training - July 2019

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