Who among us had/has a parent who flew/flies?

"Trent Moorehead" wrote in message
...

"john smith" wrote in message
...
Just curious how much "trickle-down" aviation there is among us?

This topic has revealed a fact that I have not thought of befo I may be
the only person in our family that has held a pilot's certificate. There
may
have been some members that flew during wartime, but I am not aware of
them.
Even so, I don't recall any member of my family, mother or father's side
that flew airplanes privately.

Talk about bucking the trend!

-Trent
PP-ASEL, trendsetter.

Only two pilots in my family history that I'm aware of:

I had an uncle who flew the photo-recon version (F6? or F5?) of the Mustang
in WWII.

I have a cousin who I've not seen in many years who flew two tours in Cobra
Gunships in Viet Nam and then went on to become (possibly) one of the
earliest "Mr Moms" on the planet (mid 1970's). He married a world-class
chemist (I'm told she invented Calgon Bath Beads amongst other things...)
and he stayed home with the kids while continuing to fly in the Army
National Guard and also deliver new GA helos to customers across the
country. By weird coincidence, I actually photographed him flying several
years ago at an airshow ... his unit was long gone back to base by the time
I discovered he was one of the demo pilots.

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
AZ Cloudbusters
Chandler, AZ

I just earned my PP-ASEL on Aug 27, about 17-18 years after my first
lesson. My Dad has been a pilot since before I was born (in 1973) and
has been a CFI/CFII for both ASEL and AMEL for as long as I can
remember. In the mid-to-late 80's (87 or so), he taught my Mom how to
fly in 31 days. I know this because another instructor in the flying
club I recently joined remembers my mom for that very reason. In '88, I
began taking lessons from my Dad until some idiot (no idea who) ran the
tanks of my training plane dry over Idaho. That stopped training for me
and never resumed until this year when I found some money and time and
the support of an amazing person who is not interested in flying...my
wife. 1 year ago, I took a ground school class at a local community
college (also my employer and started shopping around for an
instructor and a plane.

Within a few years of teaching my Mom how to fly, my parents divorced
and money/time became limiting factors for flying for all of us. My mom
has not flown in many, many years and has no intent of doing so again.
She has about 95 hours TT. My Dad also quit instructing and only has
flown a handful of times since then. He lost his medical a couple years
ago after having a quintuple-bypass (no heart attack or damage!) but got
it back on a yearly basis. This year, he got it back and, with some
financial assistance from me, got back up-to-speed for flying safely and
insured to instruct. The same club my Mom was in, I joined and they
(again) let my Dad teach in their airplane.

In short, my entire immediate family flies (excluding wife/kids). My
wife was my first pax and I'm still negotiating taking our 1 year-old
flying with her. I *LOVE* flying and wish my wife shared the same
passion and enthusiasm, even a little. Maybe in time, but for now,
she's a nervous mommy who is concerned about what will happen to Alex if
we crashed, especially if he was parentless.

Anyhow, I can't wait to introduce my son to flying. I remember my Dad
flying with another pilot many years ago in a Piper Seneca II and they
were practicing engine-out procedures. I was white-knuckled holding on
for dear life to the seat because I *knew* we were going to crash. I
laugh about it now. I also remember my Dad ferrying the plane to the
Tri-Cities area of Washington State and how much fun it was when I got
to take the controls for a while.

I know my Dad is extremely proud of me. I've got the t-shirt and the
logbook to prove it. Also, he was glad I poked, prodded, pushed, and
shoved his ass back into the cockpit to fly again. Not many people can
say their Dad taught them how to fly. Even fewer can say that their Dad
taught them AND their Mom how to fly. I plan to eventually get my CFI
ticket to teach my son how to fly. He already likes playing in the
airplane.

Happy Landings, all!

Chris G.
PP-ASEL, 8/27/05


john smith wrote:
Just curious how much "trickle-down" aviation there is among us?

My father flew, that is how I got started. We never owned a plane of our
own, only rented. I got my first plane ride when I was three.
He was my first passenger upon passing my PPC checkride and J3 checkout.
I got to fly him to Oshkosh for his first trip there.

I share the same passion and get giddy when my children (7 and 2)
express an interest in going flying! Up until recently, we would take
family trips up to the airport and throw the kids bikes in the back of
my truck... I would wash and wax the plane and the kids would ride
their bikes around our fairly vacant airport. (Okay, so my two year
old son would sit in the airplane, pulling and pushing anything he
could get his hands on, while my seven year old daughter would ride her
bike around the airport). I would want to go up for a quick spin
around the pattern and would ask my daughter if she would want to go
for a quick ride, to which she would respond, "No thanks... I'll just
ride my bike around..." OUCH!!!

Well... about a month ago, my daughter said, "daddy, will you teach me
how to fly?" I told my wife, "gotta go!!! I'm going to give my first
"unofficial" flying lesson!!! Woo Hoo!!!". My daughter and I went up
to about 5,500 feet and I started explaining the horizon, showed her
the altimeter and what it does when you pull back on the yoke and what
it does when you push forward on the yoke... Showed her the VSI and
it's reactions, then the DG... I then had her peforming shallow turns,
while maintaining altitude. It would often require a little nudge with
my thumb to get her back down to altitude, or a tug of the finger to
get her back up to altitude, but for the most part, I would point out
the VSI and point out that it was going down and that she needed to
pull back gently and visa-versa. So, we did this for about an hour and
believe it or not, I think she got it, to some extent??? She then
asked me what every single instrument in the plane was for and
expressed a genuine interest in hearing my response!

I am soooo stoked about this, and look forward to MANY trips as she
gets older, where I can sit back and let her get us from point A to
point B, because she wants to!!!

1 year old is still young and all that seems to happen at that point is
the engine noise puts them right to sleep. I'm sure your wife will
come around in time and you can start taking the family on those trips
that will forever be engrained in their minds!

My friends think I'm a little nuts because I want to continue teaching
my seven year old to fly, so I'm glad to hear that there are others who
feel the same way!

Best of luck!
Todd

Todd,

Thanks! I'm glad I'm not alone in this either. I did forget to mention
that my first word was "airplane" (in kid-speak, of course).

CUL!
Chris

My two year old can spot a Jet flying over at 50,000 feet! (We live
under a victor airway from SAC to RENO) He can say airplane, but for
some reason he sticks to umm-umm??? He's been saying it for over a
year.

It is so cool to see him perk up, when he hears one flying over... He
goes, "ooooohhhhhh, umm-umm!!!"

Best Regards!

I think we live under that same victor airway in Grass Valley. WHere you
at?

Jim



" (We live
under a victor airway from SAC to RENO)

Do airlines really fly along victor airways at that altitude? I thought
by now everyone would be going direct.

I also remember my Dad ferrying the plane to the
Tri-Cities area of Washington State and how much fun it was when I got
to take the controls for a while.

BTW - It was out of Snohomish, where my dad took me up at two weeks
old. I think I've
flown out of there a lot, but don't remember much of it... ;-)

john smith wrote:
Just curious how much "trickle-down" aviation there is among us?

My father flew, that is how I got started. We never owned a plane of our
own, only rented. I got my first plane ride when I was three.
He was my first passenger upon passing my PPC checkride and J3 checkout.
I got to fly him to Oshkosh for his first trip there.

My paternal grandfather was an instructor for the Signal Corps before
and during WW1. His license was signed by Orville Wright. My dad
learned to fly but could never get a license because he was color
blind. His brother flew, and had (among other things) a T6 and a
Stagger Wing.

My wife's father was an aircraft mechanic in WW2 and got his private,
but couldn't afford to keep flying. She grew up across the street from
Bakersfield Airport. When I met her sister she told my wife "A kind
man that likes airplanes. Well, it worked for mom."

My daughter is now 21 months old. Her first word wasn't "dada" as
expected - it was "up!"

I am the first in my family to get my pilots license.
I have a second cousin on my father side that has his pilots license as
well. We are the only two in an extended family of over a hundred.
Michelle

john smith wrote:

Just curious how much "trickle-down" aviation there is among us?

My father flew, that is how I got started. We never owned a plane of our
own, only rented. I got my first plane ride when I was three.
He was my first passenger upon passing my PPC checkride and J3 checkout.
I got to fly him to Oshkosh for his first trip there.