AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2019 - 37

along. It's all about dreaming and hope. It's
all about imagination and adventure and
mystery.
Stacey Timms and Chris Kehn wear
Top Gun T-shirts: Ice Man and Maverick.
"Actually," Timms says, "you're going to
love this: The commander of the Blue
Angels is a relative of mine. Like my third
cousin or something. Never met him. As
soon as my son graduates from high school
in two years, I'm going to get my pilot's
license. This is my first time being here.
First time at any airshow."
Timms gets to see a lot of family, too.
"They all came here, 20 some odd people came here today. Some more coming
tomorrow. Coming for a reunion with
the commander, to meet him. I'm super
pumped to be here!"
A Pitts Special stops conversation with
cartwheels and loops and dives. Screamin'
Sasquatch, a Waco biplane with a jet engine
bolted underneath, roars through its routine. And then it's time for the Blue Angels.
Chris and Stephanie Shafer stand at
the edge of the ramp with their daughter Kaitlyn. Chris is afraid of heights.
Nonetheless, he says, "I saw them when I
was a kid, practicing, and my mom stopped
on the side of the interstate. One of them
rolled upside down and I saw him wave."
Kaitlyn reaches out to touch a TBM
Avenger. "This is awesome!"
Standing on the ramp, I look at the
faces of the people around me. They look
amazed, thrilled, proud. Everyone dreams
of flying. Everyone leaps from the upward
arc on a swing set and wishes they would
just keep going. "If happy little bluebirds
fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can't
I?" Superman. Ironman. Wonder Woman's
invisible jet.
This, I think, is the magic of an airshow.
Right here, right at the end of my fingers,
right over the runway in front of me, the
dream is real.
W. SCOTT OLSON is an aviation writer and

private pilot living in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Make plans to join AOPA for the celebration of its eightieth anniversary at a fly-in
on May 10 and 11 at Frederick Municipal
Airport (FDK) in Maryland. See p. 50.
www.aopa.org/fly-ins/fdk

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AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2019

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