AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019 - 22

FLYING LIFE

A thank-you letter

BY NATALIE BINGHAM HOOVER

Gratitude for a pilot I will never meet
MY GRANDPARENTS, Charles and Janet Bingham, were
married for 61 years. It wasn't surprising then that when
Grandma died in 2012, my grandfather's mind seemed to
slip away. That left their daughter, my Aunt Nancy, with
the full-time job of caring for her aging father. Although
she never complained, I could tell her new role as primary caretaker was starting to take its toll. So, when
one of my students needed to fly a cross-country for his
commercial training, I called my aunt-who lived three
hours away-and asked if she would like me to pick up
Greypa (a name I had given him as a child, something
about gray hair) and bring him home with me for the
weekend. "When can you be here?" she asked without
hesitation, making us both laugh.
When we landed the Beechcraft Duchess in Paris,
Tennessee, the closest "large" town to my grandfather's

What if that pilot had been too busy to offer a ride
to a buddy and his three young children? What if
my grandmother had never given her blessing?

NATALIE BINGHAM
HOOVER is an FAA
designated pilot
examiner and a
corporate pilot with
a type rating in a
Beechjet.

22 | AOPA PILOT March 2019

Dover, Tennessee, home, Aunt Nancy and Greypa were
waiting on the ramp, suitcase in hand. Assuming that
Greypa would be nervous, I walked over, preparing my
speech about the safety features of the airplane and the
experience level of the pilots. But Greypa didn't need
any of that. He just hugged my aunt and walked toward
the airplane, climbing in the backseat like a man half his
age. I laughed again with my aunt, who had expected
reluctance on Greypa's part as well-for leaving both the
familiarity of his home and also solid ground.
When we leveled off in cruise, Greypa did what he
does best: told stories. When some people get started on
storytelling, it makes your eyes glaze over, but Greypa
had a knack for making you want to hear more. I loved
those stories, like the one about how Greypa sold his
prized French horn so he could buy my grandmother's
wedding ring, or the one about his great aunt who put
molasses on her toddler's fingers-then gave the child
a feather to buy herself some free time.
On this flight, however, Greypa graced us with
a story from my father's childhood. "Did I ever tell
you about the time I took your dad and Aunt Nancy
and Uncle Mike flying?" he said, in that quiet voice of

his, that always made you want to lean closer so you
wouldn't miss anything. The benefit of hearing this story
over the headset is that I was able to turn up the volume
to make Greypa's voice come in loud and clear.
"An older man I worked with had access to a brandnew Beechcraft Queen Air. He offered to take me and
the kids flying. Your grandmother didn't want to come.
I think she was scared. It's a wonder she let me take all
of our kids. But I'm glad she did. I'll never forget it. Once
we got up high enough, that pilot told the kids to get out
of their seats and stand up. Then he pushed the nose
over so fast that the kids started floating off the floor.
You should have seen your dad's little face," he said, with
an unmistakable fondness in his voice.
Now, I have to confess that the flight instructor in
me thought, "Hello? Seat belts! Safety!" But the daughter and granddaughter in me marveled at the fact that
my grandfather could not remember whether or not he
ate breakfast that morning-but he could recall, in vivid
detail, the events of a single airplane ride more than 50
years earlier. Although Greypa never became a pilot,
he had two sons who joined the U.S. Air Force-one
of whom, my father, would go on to have a successful
career flying heavies.
As I sit here now looking at a smiling photo of
Greypa from that weekend trip he took with me, I wonder how much of my life has been shaped by that Queen
Air flight. What if that pilot had been too busy to offer
a ride to a buddy and his three young children? What
if my grandmother had never given her blessing? What
if my father had never experienced that first thrill of
aviation when his feet left the floor of that Queen Air?
Would I be where I am today? Making my living in airplanes, writing about them, loving them?
We may never know the impact of our actions, for
better or for worse. But I'd like to think that even the
smallest act of kindness can have far-reaching consequences. Whoever that pilot was, I'm sure he is long
gone by now. But if he were here, I'd thank him for taking my family flying all those years ago, for possibly
imparting a love of aviation that would affect generations to come. Considering what little I know about
his fun-loving spirit, I think I can honor that pilot's gift
in an even better way-by taking someone else flying
who can tell their grandchildren about the experience
50 years from now.
AOPA
www.myaviation101.com


http://www.myaviation101.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019 - 2
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019 - Cover3
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