You Can Fly - 2023 Edition - 42

Cindy Hasselbring says
the opportunity to fly her
grandmother to a Thanksgiving
family dinner was one
of her most memorable
flights. Hasselbring and her
grandmother flew a Cessna 152.
The soaring mountains of the
Idaho backcountry near Smiley
Creek framed an unforgettable
flight for Francine Kelly Garcia.
Susan Glisson said flying her
first airplane to her home
airport for the first time made
her feel like a teenager in her
first car.
A
s we are learning to fly, our eyes are always on the
prize: the day we're officially turned loose to roam
the skies. We're going to go places and do things
we've never done-all thanks to an airplane.
What makes a flight truly memorable? Is it the place you're
flying to, the reason you're flying, or the person you're flying
with? Or is it a combination of those things? The answer is
yes-as these enthusiastic pilots explain.
FLYING MILESTONES
" This year, I bought my first airplane [a 1979 Beechcraft
Skipper], " said Jilian McLendon, of Kansas City, Missouri.
" Going up in that plane for the first time and bringing my dad
(who taught me to fly) was one of the best moments of my life!
Nothing beats flying with him in that right seat. "
Susan Glisson of Evansville, Indiana, recalled a 1997 trip flying
her Cessna 150-her first airplane-home from Tennessee. The
trip made Glisson feel like a teenager with her first car. During
the 12 years she owned the 150, Glisson " flew to practically
every airport within 200 miles of my airport. Now I'm the
proud owner of a Cessna 172S that has expanded my world
and I have flown on many long cross-countries. "
For Jim Cunningham of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, going back to the
very dawn of aviation made him appreciate his own airplane all
the more. He took a ride on a reproduction of the 1902 Wright
Glider near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
The glider was the first aircraft to fly with a three-axis
flight control system that made human flight over any kind
of distance possible-it was the " beta " version of the Wright
Flyer that flew the following year. " My mind was racing and I
wanted to press a pause button so I could take everything in, "
Cunningham said.
" I wanted to remember the sight of clear blue sky, the sand,
the waves out on the water, and the warm breeze that would
govern my flight. " Even with 2,000 hours of flight time in his
logbook at the time, he said he felt like a brand-new student
pilot. " The Wright Glider has controls and characteristics
completely unlike a modern aircraft. I had no idea how much
control input to give to make the ship even remain stable, let
alone do anything else. "
42
FLIGHT TRAINING YOU CAN FLY 2023
FANTASTIC SIGHTS
" I fly floatplanes and have many memories, " said Kit Warfield of
Seattle, Washington. " A curious seal popping up just as I come
in to land. Seeing orca whales from the air. 'Drawing' figure
eights on the water, practicing step turns, taking off to admire
the artwork. So many memories! "
Picking a memorable flight wasn't hard for Kayla Szymczak of
San Antonio, Texas. " The first time I flew in actual instrument
meteorological conditions! I was shooting an [instrument]
approach into Dayton International Airport working on my
instrument rating. The clouds were beautiful and it was so surreal! "
Szymczak is now a first officer flying a Saab 340.
Jane Geddes was trying to complete the cross-country requirements
for her private pilot certificate in the Pacific Northwest
when winter weather set in. " So, I packed up my flight instructor
with her IFR rating and we flew from northwest Washington to
central California for Thanksgiving weekend where we finished
my training and I flew my solo cross-country, " Geddes said.
" Every flight of that weekend was memorable, but flying over the
Golden Gate [Bridge] in late afternoon was remarkable. "
STUNNING LOCATIONS
For Francine Kelly Garcia, a trip from Salt Lake City, Utah, to
Smiley Creek Airport in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho provided
" some nerves with the big mountain flying and grass strip,
but it turned out to be an easy landing and OMG the scenery!
Great experience camping for a weekend with my husband and a
bunch of new best friends. "
Abingdon Chelsea Mullin said flying a Cessna 170 on skis in
Alaska and landing on the Bering Sea provided " a bucket list
item I didn't know I had! "
Kimberly Goodrich Mershon of Montgomery, Alabama, piloted
her most recent memorable trip in 2022 in her Cessna 210. She
flew round trip from Alabama to Flagstaff, Arizona, flying over
the Grand Canyon. " On the way there and back we stopped at
Kickapoo/Wichita Falls, Texas, Winslow, Arizona, Las Cruces,
New Mexico, San Antonio, and Natchez, Mississippi. We have a
beautiful country full of beautiful people. "
You Can Fly - 2023 Edition

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