You Can Fly!

Door County from the air.

Dad fabricated the red airplane wings in the basement of my childhood home, fiddled with engine parts on the kitchen counter and left piles of KITPLANES on the back of the toilet seat. He varnished the wooden prop on our dinning room table and mowed a runway in the backyard.

“I used to give you and your sister rides when you were in your jammies, remember?” asked my dad recently.

Yes, I remember. I remember hearing the familiar sound of an engine humming in the air above our home, running out hand in hand with my little sister before sunset – one last ride before bedtime.

Not every child grows up with a plane in their dad’s shed – a converted Piper Tri-Pacer with a 3.8L V-6 Ford engine, to be precise. I’m a lucky girl and had the great pleasure of bragging about my dad’s homebuilt plane (now planes) to friends and acquaintances throughout my lifetime, offering rides and touring the skies of the Midwest. Again, I’m a lucky girl and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to take to the skies.

My father also considers himself fortunate. He did not grow up with a pilot in his family, but met friends who were interested in aviation when he worked at Mercury Marine in Oshkosh during his mid-20s.

“There were quite a few pilots there cause of the EAA,” explained my dad. “I got rides from guys I worked with. I’m thankful for the guys that did that for me, that showed me some of the basics. I try to give people rides in my plane as much as I can.”

Many plane owners and EAA members are like my father – eager and happy to offer rides, as well as expertise and advice to anyone interested.

What I’ve learned in my many years of flying in and out of small airports throughout the Midwest – pilots love to talk about their planes. My dad is approached and approaches anyone at the airport. They talk flying, usually skipping over niceties like, “Nice to meet you,” opting for, “What are you flying?”

Today, area young people (ages 8 – 17) will have a chance to take to the skies as Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Warbirds Squadron hosts a Young Eagles Rally at the Ephraim-Gibraltar Airport. Registration begins at 9 am and closes at 3 pm.

“Everyone should experience the thrill of flying! Most people don’t have exposure to flying, it’s something everyone should experience. They should see that if they want to be pilot, they can do it,” says my dad. “And they should experience flying in a small plane, flying in a big airliner is not the same thing.”

This longtime airplane passenger agrees and wholeheartedly recommends you attend the rally with your little ones and give them the opportunity to see Door County from the air and learn more about the incredible feat that is flying.