AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018 - 41

I was happy he was going to learn to fly, but jealous that his
opportunity was coming at such an early age.
for me since Clermont County is the home
of Sporty's Pilot Shop, where my headsets
were purchased using their online services.
Walking into Sporty's, I was like a kid walking into a candy store filled with delightful
treats-a true mixture of museum and
aviation.
We were warmly greeted by Trey, a
young man with a firm handshake, who was
Matt's flight instructor for the morning.
After initial introductions, the family took
the elevator to the second floor where we
could observe Matt and Trey as they walked
past a lineup of gorgeous Skyhawks-each
one begging for the air-until finally reaching the chosen one. I felt a sense of pride
watching Matt carry his headset alongside
Trey carrying his. The headset dangling
from his left hand gave the appearance that
he was already a part of the flying world.
Watching them from the observation deck, I could almost hear what Trey
was saying as they arrived at the airplane
for the preflight inspection. I became the
interpreter for the eagerly watching family, answering their questions at each stage
of the preflight inspection: "What are they
doing now?" Later, Matt said that when he
put on his headset, Trey remarked, "Your
headset looks just like mine."
"They will start taxing and then stop to
check the brakes," I explained to the family-which they did, then off they went
down the taxiway heading for Runway 22.
In the absence of questions, my thoughts
now turned inward as I remembered when
I walked toward a Cessna for the first time
and headed for the right side of the airplane.
But then I was directed to the pilot's seat by
the instructor, who jokingly declared that he
was along just for the ride.
Strange feelings of envy challenged my
feelings of joy for Matt. I was happy that
he was going to learn to fly, but jealous
that his opportunity was coming at such
an early age. I earned my certificate at the
age of 67, purchased a Cessna Skyhawk,
and flew for eight years. Eventually, I sold

it after retirement and haven't flown since
then. I envied the young flight instructors
who had years of flying adventures ahead of
them who could climb into a Skyhawk and
own the sky for a few hours or experience
the delight of teaching others how to command an airplane from the ground to the air
and back again.
I watched the line crew guiding airplanes after landing to their taxied spots
welcoming pilots to Clermont County. If I
could turn the clock back, I would train for
a flight instructor certificate or even gladly
become a "hangar bum." Or, in some other
way, step back into that secluded world of
aviation; but Father Time only smiles without any reset. It was a great day, however,
even with the emotional struggle. The invitation, the headset, and being the family
interpreter delivered me from a total emotional grounding.
After landing, Trey filled out Matt's flight
certificate and entered 0.6 in Matt's first logbook. He then expressed appreciation that
we had come and encouraged Matt to continue flying. Back in the family van, Matt,
who was all smiles since landing, expressed
with great enthusiasm that he had taxied
the airplane, rotated it on takeoff, and flew
except for taking pictures, which immediately found their way onto Facebook.
Matt's experience rekindled the spark
for flying within me as I wondered what to
do. Make an appointment to see if I can pass
the physical, and then rent an airplane? Or
fire up my simulator in the basement and
be content to fly there? Or, be satisfied to fly
vicariously through Matt in his future experiences and just "suck it up" and deal with
the generational shift?
I will not use the headset I gave Matt
again, but only hope that he will find hours
of fun-filled adventures listening through
them. The headset has successfully transitioned the generational shift, and I will, too.
KEN LINDSEY is a private pilot living in

upstate New York.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018
