kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
I'm tired but feel the need to write this down.
A lot of aviation, it seems, is directly related to two things:
1. Who you know / who your friends are
2. Just showing up, being in the right place at the right time.
I am very good friends, buddy buddy, with the owner of my flying school. I am also great friends with the weekend airport manager. In fact, we are like the three stooges, hanging out together a lot at the airport and giving each other crap and in general making fools out of ourselves in the man cave. We are all pilots.
So tonight, I was invited (and have been for many months) to the monthly dinner. My airport has a private group of pilots, who meet once per month (just like the EAA or the 99s). I am not a member, but both my buddies are, and they have asked me to attend.
I finally decide to check it out. I then decide to park my car in the main parking lot and walk all the way down to the other side of the airport for exercise. If I had not made that choice, none of tonight's events would have occurred.
You see, I was parking my car and saw a woman who looked lost. She asked the restaurant owner a question and didn't get any help. I got out of my car and asked if I could be of assistance. She was telling me that she came to find the dinner. I could sense this was her first time at the event, and she was alone. I recognized her face and asked if she was a 99 locally, she said yes.
I told her where to drive to, and park, and then watched her drive off. Didn't think too much of it.
I walked to the dinner, my friend had not arrived yet, though I saw many people I know, some from EAA, some from the flight school, etc. The seats next to all the people I know were taken. So I walk the room full of tables, looking for an empty seat, and the only seat left was near the lady I helped in the parking lot.
We put on name tags and I ask why she has come to the dinner. I explain to her this is my home airport, and I want to find out more about the June flour bombing and July Young Eagles Flights. She tells me she flies out of a nearby airport but wanted to check out my airport. She is just starting her instrument training, and is roughly 20 years older than me (I didn't ask but she says she got her PPL in the 70's and her instrument written and commercial written have expired long ago). She lives in my town.
I start bragging (as always) about my planes and the flight school. I've flown out of her airport, in her airplane, with her instructor, last year, and I point out the many differences. For one, my planes are newer, more equipped, properly maintained, and cheaper. For two, I explain that if she gets checked out in my planes I can help (if she wants me to) by acting as her safety pilot while she practices IFR approaches. She asks questions, and seems really REALLY interested. She says "do you need a right seat checkout"? And I explain she is PIC, I'm simply looking for traffic.
The owner of my flight school is there, and I decide to ask him if I can have the keys on a total whim. I tell her that if she is free I will demo both the 172 and 150 for her (hey any excuse for me to fly, right?)
I have an account, so they simply charge me the next day.
The meeting goes on and on, and the flight school owner disappears. I tell the woman that I'll be right back, and I leave the meeting to call the flight school owner to find out where he went. I want to get the keys from him ASAP so he can go home to his wife.
He picks up the phone and tells me to meet him near the flight school.
I end up meeting him, my other buddy, and a Pilatus pilot.
In this hangar:
They are all busy using a simulator and I say hello. I sit down but can't help to wander out of the room. They ask me why I am leaving, and I say "Look, I promise not to touch anything, but I want to walk around the airplane if that is OK." The pilot gets up, plugs in AUX power, lowers the stairs, and sits me IN THE RIGHT SEAT. He sits in the left seat and shows me all the panel stuff.
Awesome!
All this time I'm still waiting for my new pilot friend to get out of the meeting and come fly with me. She keeps texting that she doesn't want to be rude and walk out in the middle of the dinner presentation. I text back:
"No hurry. Take your time. I'm in a Pilatus cockpit!"
It is getting really dark.
Finally, the meeting ends and she drives down to our hangar to meet us. By this time we're at the flight school getting me the keys to all the planes and getting her a headset.
She is so excited to go on a flight, and keeps saying "I only came here for the chicken dinner."
The owner of the school shows her all the planes (keep in mind it is now well after 9pm) and his website, card, pricing, etc. I show her the binders and all that fun stuff. She comments they don't do any of this stuff at her school (our binders show AD's, Maintenance, WB, and other copies from the POH - right in the binder). He lets her use the bathroom, unlocks the whole place, leaves the light on for us to come home and taxi.
Everyone goes home and when I find out more about what she flies, all four seaters, I decide to not show off the little 150.
We preflight th 172 instead, I give her a flashlight, I wear my headlamp. She is very calm and helpful. She later tells me I completed the most thorough pre-flight she has seen.
Though she is a pilot, I double check everything she has done (oil, chocks, etc) since I am PIC and not her. For all purposes, tonight, she is only my passenger.
I decide to just do one lap around the pattern. I can't believe it, she asks if I want to be a CFI, says she's learned a lot of things about preflight and flying from me, and even says nice things about me as a pilot (stick and rudder). I am so happy.
We land, just a perfect landing (OK OK I could have been more on the centerline). Again, she pours on the praise.
She drives me to my car, offers to split the cost, and says she'll email me. She says we should fly to Columbia. She got the name of the Pilatus pilot, too, who says his FO is a woman who would love to meet her. She tells us all her mom has 8000 hours but at 83 can't pass a medical.
She got checked out in the planes at the other airport just to let her mom fly again. She's going this weekend to the seaplane base (the owner / CFI gave a presentation at the meeting tonight) because her Mom always wanted a sea plane rating. They will all three fly together.
And to think, tonight, she just came for the chicken dinner. And I just came to find out if I qualify to fly Young Eagles.
Every time I fly, I think "this is the best aviation day I've ever had" and it just never stops.
On Saturday, I did this:
On Sunday, two POA pilots came with me on a Bay Tour, and now, on Wednesday, I sat in a Pilatus and offered a pilot a ride in my airplane.
What an awesome week!!!
A lot of aviation, it seems, is directly related to two things:
1. Who you know / who your friends are
2. Just showing up, being in the right place at the right time.
I am very good friends, buddy buddy, with the owner of my flying school. I am also great friends with the weekend airport manager. In fact, we are like the three stooges, hanging out together a lot at the airport and giving each other crap and in general making fools out of ourselves in the man cave. We are all pilots.
So tonight, I was invited (and have been for many months) to the monthly dinner. My airport has a private group of pilots, who meet once per month (just like the EAA or the 99s). I am not a member, but both my buddies are, and they have asked me to attend.
I finally decide to check it out. I then decide to park my car in the main parking lot and walk all the way down to the other side of the airport for exercise. If I had not made that choice, none of tonight's events would have occurred.
You see, I was parking my car and saw a woman who looked lost. She asked the restaurant owner a question and didn't get any help. I got out of my car and asked if I could be of assistance. She was telling me that she came to find the dinner. I could sense this was her first time at the event, and she was alone. I recognized her face and asked if she was a 99 locally, she said yes.
I told her where to drive to, and park, and then watched her drive off. Didn't think too much of it.
I walked to the dinner, my friend had not arrived yet, though I saw many people I know, some from EAA, some from the flight school, etc. The seats next to all the people I know were taken. So I walk the room full of tables, looking for an empty seat, and the only seat left was near the lady I helped in the parking lot.
We put on name tags and I ask why she has come to the dinner. I explain to her this is my home airport, and I want to find out more about the June flour bombing and July Young Eagles Flights. She tells me she flies out of a nearby airport but wanted to check out my airport. She is just starting her instrument training, and is roughly 20 years older than me (I didn't ask but she says she got her PPL in the 70's and her instrument written and commercial written have expired long ago). She lives in my town.
I start bragging (as always) about my planes and the flight school. I've flown out of her airport, in her airplane, with her instructor, last year, and I point out the many differences. For one, my planes are newer, more equipped, properly maintained, and cheaper. For two, I explain that if she gets checked out in my planes I can help (if she wants me to) by acting as her safety pilot while she practices IFR approaches. She asks questions, and seems really REALLY interested. She says "do you need a right seat checkout"? And I explain she is PIC, I'm simply looking for traffic.
The owner of my flight school is there, and I decide to ask him if I can have the keys on a total whim. I tell her that if she is free I will demo both the 172 and 150 for her (hey any excuse for me to fly, right?)
I have an account, so they simply charge me the next day.
The meeting goes on and on, and the flight school owner disappears. I tell the woman that I'll be right back, and I leave the meeting to call the flight school owner to find out where he went. I want to get the keys from him ASAP so he can go home to his wife.
He picks up the phone and tells me to meet him near the flight school.
I end up meeting him, my other buddy, and a Pilatus pilot.
In this hangar:
They are all busy using a simulator and I say hello. I sit down but can't help to wander out of the room. They ask me why I am leaving, and I say "Look, I promise not to touch anything, but I want to walk around the airplane if that is OK." The pilot gets up, plugs in AUX power, lowers the stairs, and sits me IN THE RIGHT SEAT. He sits in the left seat and shows me all the panel stuff.
Awesome!
All this time I'm still waiting for my new pilot friend to get out of the meeting and come fly with me. She keeps texting that she doesn't want to be rude and walk out in the middle of the dinner presentation. I text back:
"No hurry. Take your time. I'm in a Pilatus cockpit!"
It is getting really dark.
Finally, the meeting ends and she drives down to our hangar to meet us. By this time we're at the flight school getting me the keys to all the planes and getting her a headset.
She is so excited to go on a flight, and keeps saying "I only came here for the chicken dinner."
The owner of the school shows her all the planes (keep in mind it is now well after 9pm) and his website, card, pricing, etc. I show her the binders and all that fun stuff. She comments they don't do any of this stuff at her school (our binders show AD's, Maintenance, WB, and other copies from the POH - right in the binder). He lets her use the bathroom, unlocks the whole place, leaves the light on for us to come home and taxi.
Everyone goes home and when I find out more about what she flies, all four seaters, I decide to not show off the little 150.
We preflight th 172 instead, I give her a flashlight, I wear my headlamp. She is very calm and helpful. She later tells me I completed the most thorough pre-flight she has seen.
Though she is a pilot, I double check everything she has done (oil, chocks, etc) since I am PIC and not her. For all purposes, tonight, she is only my passenger.
I decide to just do one lap around the pattern. I can't believe it, she asks if I want to be a CFI, says she's learned a lot of things about preflight and flying from me, and even says nice things about me as a pilot (stick and rudder). I am so happy.
We land, just a perfect landing (OK OK I could have been more on the centerline). Again, she pours on the praise.
She drives me to my car, offers to split the cost, and says she'll email me. She says we should fly to Columbia. She got the name of the Pilatus pilot, too, who says his FO is a woman who would love to meet her. She tells us all her mom has 8000 hours but at 83 can't pass a medical.
She got checked out in the planes at the other airport just to let her mom fly again. She's going this weekend to the seaplane base (the owner / CFI gave a presentation at the meeting tonight) because her Mom always wanted a sea plane rating. They will all three fly together.
And to think, tonight, she just came for the chicken dinner. And I just came to find out if I qualify to fly Young Eagles.
Every time I fly, I think "this is the best aviation day I've ever had" and it just never stops.
On Saturday, I did this:
On Sunday, two POA pilots came with me on a Bay Tour, and now, on Wednesday, I sat in a Pilatus and offered a pilot a ride in my airplane.
What an awesome week!!!
Last edited:
I am told I get to go next year. That is if the B17 visits us again. This economy made it tough for us to meet our ride quota...
