Funny, because it all started here in Sedona long ago. Right where I am now....but now is all these years later. Back then, I was in college and I played music on the weekends. It was a great way to earn money while in school. We (the band I played in) had a gig up here in Sedona, and we stayed the night.
The next day driving around, we saw a sign that said, "Plane Rides $7". Our curiosity was peaked. So we headed up airport mesa and took a ride.
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| My little plane, Cessna 24518, the plane I learned to fly in |
The pilot was a young woman, a student at Embry Riddle. She took us up and I sat in the co -pilot's seat. We breezed above Sedona. She let me take the yoke (the wheel), and I felt the wind as I turned the plane.
I was hooked. I had to learn how to fly!
And so I did. I took lessons in a little Cessna plane, a 152. I still remember the tail n number, 24518. In this plane, I learned to fly and earned my private pilot's license.
I wonder where that little plane is today...if it even still exists. But I found this old photo...
And now, I have not flown as a pilot for over 20 years. After I stopped flying, I wondered why, why I had learned to fly. All those hours, the cost...and I did not become a professional pilot. Oh well, it was fun anyway. It was thrilling. Great memories. And I had a few spiritual lessons up there...
But years later I realized why.
Years later in life, I was (am) a chaplain in the military, the USAF. Was it any wonder I wound up in the USAF? Was it any wonder why I still love to be around aviation, and the people of aviation? I know the lango of aviation. It was/is great to serve the people of aviation.
Well, I may have never become a professional pilot...but there is a reason for everything in life.
We never know what the future may hold...in the things we do, the experiences we have, why we do them, the people we meet...
Or how taking a little plane ride for $7 can impact your life!
I agree with you on that Laura. But flying and from humble beginnings at $7. We start forging a path and then we see where it leads. When I was barely 18, I saw a movie with women in the service and I graduated from High School early and so thought I would join the Marines. Well long story short, I wore glasses and so did not qualify and then after I cried myself to sleep, I remember being in the Civil Air Patrol and taking part in the Air Shows and all and ended up in the Air Force. I then met my 1st husband and we married and had 4 kids in different places and bases and I still get a thrill when I see those jets zooming across the sky. Blessings, Nedra
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your enthusiasm for flying, Laura. My husband trained in and was licensed to fly a Stearman biplane at the beginning of WWII. Although he served as an aircraft fighter director in the Navy, he shared his pilot experiences for the rest of his 90 years.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about flying that is so compelling?
ReplyDeleteI had been intrigued by flying since I was a little boy....and this surfaced as a possibility, in 1975, when we arrived in Botswana Africa to serve the Anglican Church under Bp. Shannon Mallory.I trained in a Cessna 150 ---call letters --Alpha two-hotel mike.