Went to the Airport today and met a client along with her 11-year old son.
Her kid is crazy about flying so I said I'd take them up for a flight.
Weather was just about perfect, light winds out of 140, so Runway 9L (with Runway 9R being closed again, for yet more stuff to be done to it as part of the upgrades).
I had already done a pre-flight on N8428S before they got to the airport, so I escorted them to the Hangar and then walked him through a preflight.
Then all three of us got in, with some trepidation on the mom's part but she did get in which was good.
Good passenger brief, start up, run up, and we were off to the Northeast.
Flew northeast to the Romeo Proving Grounds climbing to 4,000 and then I let the kid fly the plane.
He had a ball and enjoyed doing turns, and some climbs.
After flying around for a bit I called Detroit Approach and requested a practice RNAV 9R approach with a sidestep to 9L. This let the kid see how some of the technology works and he was interested in that, and I got a practice approach in.
Came in and I did a nice approach and smooth landing on 9L. I got lots of compliments on that landing and no screams, so it must have been good, right?
Then I taxi'd us back to the hangar, shut down the plane, and had him help clean the bugs off the plane to finish up - might as well enjoy some child labor while you have it.
He was all sorts of ecstatic and a great time was had by all.
8 comments:
I have recollections of taking a youngster from our church up for his first flight. He was a delight in his enthusiasm, he showed up wearing a G1 style leather jacket and aviator sunglasses. It's great to be able to pass on the love of flight to another generation.
So, first Solo in about 5 years then?? Well done.
Flugelman: Yep, it was great to see this kid excited and enjoying himself.
Rick T: He has been bit hard by the flying bug so we may very well seem him with a solo endorsement in 5 years.
He gets a bit older he may be able to earn flight time by doing odd jobs (plane cleaning, etc.) on the flight line.
I'm jealous of that young man.
He looks like he has to pee.
My late father, a desperately poor Depression era child, received a $.25 allowance a year. Age five, he got a ride with a barnstormer at the county fair with that quarter. Many years later he had a C-182.
Rick T.: He very well might.
Gregory: He couldn't stop dancing around after the flight he was so happy.
WSF: Very cool. Those kids of the depression era were tough and resourceful.
Ain't nothin' like that smile when a Kid gets his first flight.
Good on ya
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