AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 38

PILOT BRIEFING
MUSINGS |

Lessons from an old photograph
The quest was far more rewarding than the question itself
BY TED LIGHTLE

38 | AOPA PILOT March 2021

He became a welder and worked on
the Fort Peck Dam Project in Montana.
His blue eyes lit up every time he spoke of
Montana. I was obliged to go there eventually and was not disappointed. He taught
me to fish and shoot, and when (and why)
not to shoot. He was as much a hero to me
as was my dad. He bought me my first guitar at Sam Solomon in Charleston when I
was 12. I played Down in the Valley over
and over from a Mel Bay instruction booklet until my fingers bled. I was mesmerized
every time we went fishing on the backwaters of the Edisto River. It was mystical,
primordial, and serene. But blackwater
runs swift and deep and to this day I have
yet to see larger snakes, gators, or owls anywhere else. He let me drive his 1954 Buick

and Lone Star boat and laughed when I
crashed it into a dock.
I never thought much about the picture, or the signature at the bottom, but I
had it blown up and framed, and kept it on
my desk because it was cool and reminded
me of him. Ten years later, a retiring South
Carolina Law Enforcement Division captain, Walter Powell, was cleaning out his
office. Powell was at the aviation unit and
was throwing out an entire Time Life
Books The Epic of Flight collection. The
picture on the cover of one of the books
looked vaguely familiar. It was the Stars
and Stripes, a 1928 Fairchild FC-2W2,
one of three aircraft then-Lt. Cmdr.
Richard Byrd took on his first Antarctic
expedition. I rescued the book from the

TRACI DABERKO

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY. Maybe so,
but you have to want to know that story.
It was a sepia photograph of an incredibly old airplane in the snow. I came
across it among my great uncle's things
after his passing in 1987. My great uncle
was the only grandfather figure in my life
and more than lived up to the role. He
had been raised in an orphanage with his
brother and sister, his parents unable to
provide for them at the time and forced
to make an unimaginably difficult decision. He loved baseball and fishing. He
had hunted, fished, and trapped the blackwater swamps in the South Carolina low
country during the Great Depression with
his brother to earn a living and loved every
minute of it.



AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 26
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 30
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 32
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 34
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 95
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 100
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 102
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 104
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 106
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 107
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 108
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 112
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_202001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201909
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201907
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201906
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201905
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201904
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201903
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201902
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201901
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201811
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201810
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201807
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201804
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201601
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201504
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201503
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201502
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201103_test
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201011demo
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot_201011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/pilot0308
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com