AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022 - 24

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
Inspiring pilots
Overcoming challenges is just a way of life
BY RICHARD MCSPADDEN / Senior Vice President, AOPA
Air Safety Institute / AOPA Foundation Legacy Society member
SOME PEOPLE LIVE their dreams. Some people close their eyes.
Some people's destiny passes by. The start of Toto's classic rock
ballad " I'll Be Over You " is serendipitous. I'm walking across the
bustling EAA AirVenture ramp en route to Able Flight's annual
awards ceremony. Able Flight offers flight scholarships so that
people with disabilities can chase their dream of becoming a
pilot. AirPods in, walking through the Oshkosh throng, I've been
struggling to solidify remarks that may be meaningful to an inspirational
group of pilots and supportive families with a passion and
determination that's beyond my full comprehension. Toto's line
is a perfect opening. Destiny so tried to pass these people by, but
they would have none of it.
I share the stage with two giants. Patty Wagstaff started flying
in Alaska, with some fear of stalls and unusual attitudes. She
decided the best way to overcome her fears and become a better
pilot was to learn aerobatics. Seems she learned it well. She
ignored the many voices telling her she was too small, too petite,
or wouldn't have the arm strength to pull aerobatics under G or
the core strength to sustain high Gs. Besides, she was a woman,
at a time when that sort of thing (competing in aerobatics) simply
wasn't done by women. Find another niche in aviation, some told
her. She had the audacity to ignore the nay-sayers, then proved
them wrong. She became the first woman to win the National
Aerobatic Championship and then won it back-to-back-to-back.
Ask anyone, competing in anything at any level how hard it is to
three-peat. I wonder what it must feel like for her to walk off the
mall in Washington, D.C., and see her Extra 260 hanging from the
rafters of the National Air and Space Museum. I'm pretty sure
that marks you an icon.
Next to Wagstaff on the Theater in the Woods stage is Jessica
Cox, the first person without arms to earn a pilot certificate. Can
you imagine the kind of determination and self-confidence it takes
to set such a goal? So far beyond the realm of what's accepted
as possible. I'm just imagining the responses she received when
she approached instructors and flight schools with her plan. I
can see the well-meaning people-and in full candor, I probably
would have been one of them-huddling, stewing on how to
respond. Ahem, Ms. Cox, you see, yeah, no, the thing is...ahhh, well,
we couldn't help but notice that you don't have any arms (dramatic
24
AOPA PILOT / December 2022
pause). And well...you're probably not aware, but you need arms to
fly. How about you become a great companion pilot, though, how
about that? Think back to when you learned to fly, in a Cessna
152/172, maybe a Piper Cherokee or a Van's RV-12, and remember
how overwhelmed you were. Now just imagine conquering
all of that, including radio calls, with only your feet. Just to even
think you could do such a thing is next-level imagination and
determination. I wonder how many times she was told no, and
I wonder, too, about the instructor who saw the vision with her,
who said, " Yeah...maybe, we can do this. " There's a quiet aviation
hero! Knowing how difficult it was for me presolo in a Cessna 152,
I can imagine Cox had many flights where she thought maybe
this is too hard, maybe everyone was right. But they weren't. She
persevered, she and her instructor got creative, and they broke a
barrier. It turns out, what's so plainly obvious is in fact not. You
don't need arms to be a pilot.
The three of us shared an emotional and inspiring morning
with Able Flight's 2022 graduates, all with a moving story
that included some combat veterans who were disabled while
serving our country. In the wings of the stage-literally in the
shadows-was the orchestrator of it all, Charles Stites, proud
and smiling. He guides Able Flight and gathers supporters
with a humble, persistent drive. I had the privilege of introducing
Zack Reising. Reising isn't an Able Flight scholarship
recipient. Not that he wouldn't qualify. Cerebral palsy affects
his mobility, so he uses a walker or scooter. Upon learning of
Able Flight, Reising was so moved by the mission and what it
could mean for others with disabilities that he started his own
online fundraising drive, which now supports five Able Flight
scholarships. The irony is, by doing so, Reising eliminated
his own ability to ever receive Able Flight's help because of
conflict-of-interest laws that govern nonprofits. To fully understand
that sacrifice, you have to realize that Reising has been
" lit " by airplanes and becoming a pilot for as long as he and his
parents can remember. How do you introduce someone so giving?
Someone who comprehends the dream of flight so deeply?
Some people live their dreams.
richard.mcspadden@aopa.org
SpadMcSpadden
PropBlast
RICHARD MCSPADDEN
leads the AOPA Air Safety
Institute.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022
