AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2020 - 22

FLYING LIFE

Flying lessons from
an 8-year-old

BY NATALIE BINGHAM HOOVER

Turning a flight into a grander adventure

NATALIE BINGHAM
HOOVER is a
CFI, CFII, and
multiengine
instructor with more
than 3,000 hours of
dual given.

22 | AOPA PILOT January 2020

EVERY TIME I SHARE THE GIFT OF FLIGHT with someone new, I end up receiving far more than I give away.
Perhaps it is because everyone has something to
teach, even when they are very young-maybe especially when they are very young. My Cessna 172, Lola,
was in the paint shop for several weeks and it just so
happened she was ready to come home at the same
time my 8-year-old daughter, Ellie, was out for fall
school break. Ellie had ridden in the back seat of the
airplane several times as a passenger, but never in the
front as my co-pilot. So, I bought a brand-new logbook and brought my daughter along on what I hoped
was the first of many flights together. Knowing that
kids generally require two things-food and entertainment-I packed granola bars and books, and an
iPad for good measure.
When we arrived in Mena, Arkansas (the airport is famously home to Barry Seal, the TWA pilot
who in the 1970s turned drug smuggler and ended up
dead), it turned out we would have to wait for a few
hours while the paint shop made some last-minute
touch-ups. They offered me a crew car so we could
get something to eat while we waited. My first inclination was to decline in favor of the granola bars I
had packed. Plus, if the airplane got ready sooner
than expected, we could head home. But Ellie had
another idea. "Mom, ice cream?" Her eyes sparkled,
and I knew we'd be taking that crew car. Lesson number one from my 8-year-old teacher: If you ever get
the chance for an impromptu ice cream date, choose
that over granola bars any day. So what if it means
your trip may be a little bit longer?
After we got back from our trip to town, the
airplane still wasn't ready, so we found ourselves
waiting on the ramp of a sleepy airport. Airplane
ramps are generally not my chosen spot to spend
time because they provide no shade in the summer;
in the winter, there are no buildings or trees to stop
the wind from cutting right through to the bone. But
Ellie saw all that wide open space and requested
that I get out my stopwatch. "Mom, time me! I'm
going to run from here alllllllll the way to there."
Her moving hand marked a distance of maybe 30
yards of empty blacktop, just begging for an energetic child to test her speed. Lesson number two:

Don't let a little thing like the weather keep you
from an opportunity for fun. On my last day, I will
not remember the momentary discomfort of being
a little hot or cold, but I will never forget the sight
of my daughter sprinting across the ramp with the
wind in her hair.
When we finally launched from Mena with our
newly painted airplane, Ellie remained quiet, as
instructed, for the climbout. As quiet is not my daughter's normal state, I had made sure to pre-brief on
the importance of a sterile cockpit. When I dialed
up 123.45 MHz to speak to our friend in the chaser
airplane, Ellie couldn't resist the chance to hear her
own voice on the radio. "Hey, Nathan!" She called out
to our friend in his Beechcraft Bonanza as he zipped
past us, saying something about having to slow to stall
speed just to get a picture of our slow-moving 172.
I let his comment slide, however, because Ellie had
moved on to a new game.
"Little Rock Approach," she said in her most
serious voice, thankfully without pressing the
push-to-talk switch, "we're going to have to change
direction and go check out a possible fire situation I
can see. Firewoman Ellie Hoover reporting for duty!"
I allowed the heading change for a moment, about
30 degrees to the right of the nose, where a pillar
of smoke rose above the horizon. It's not an uncommon sight in the Southeast where farmers burn fallow
fields between seasons. Sure enough, I found myself
smiling and playing along as we firewomen discussed
how best to assist the burning village below. Lesson
number three: When you're traveling from A to B,
making time for a diversion means you get to be fully
present.
It turns out we didn't end up needing those granola bars or the iPad. With Ellie's help, we made
our own fun. The trip to Mena turned out to be a
much grander adventure than I had planned. When
Ellie goes back to school next week, she will have a
new story to tell her friends about her airplane ride
with mom. And I'll have a new perspective to carry
with me the next time a cold wind cuts through my
jacket on the ramp or I see a smoke plume on
the horizon.
AOPA
myaviation101.com

http://www.myaviation101.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2020

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