Recluse
07-28-2013, 06:50 PM
The adopted grandson decided he was ready for his first airplane ride. After all, he explained to me, I took MY first airplane ride when I was five and a half years old, so he was already behind.
So Dylan, Mom, Dad and little brother Landyn and myself head out to Cabela's/Fort Worth for a field trip and lunch (none of them had been to the big Cabela's in FW--only the small one in Allen). Breanne (Mom) was feeling pretty horrid so Ricky (Dad) took her and little brother back home. Dylan insisted on staying with Grampa so we could go flying.
Out to the airport we go and up into the Cessna he went. Ready to go.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77429&d=1375050323
Of course, these things don't fly themselves and while the boy is plenty confident, he told me he couldn't fly this airplane by himself because his legs were "too short to reach the foot pedals." So I went ahead and volunteered to take PIC (pilot-in-command) duties.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77430&d=1375050324
We'd decided on the way to Cabela's earlier in the day to fly over the Texas Motor Speedway. To do that, we would have to transition Fort Worth Alliance Airport's airspace. No problem except for a bunch of Air Force student pilots from Columbus, Mississippi were all arriving on their first long cross-country trip. Thank God for IPs (Instructor Pilots).
So we deviated our route further to the north to avoid the baby jet-jockeys, who we later met at the KAFW fbo and who were all outstanding young men and who took Dylan out to see their jets and Texans. Here's the young man during climb out--the typical big grin and wonderment on the face as the main landing gear leaves the runway and you slip the surly bonds and begin climbing.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77431&d=1375050325
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77432&d=1375050326
And here is Texas Motor Speedway as seen from 2500' msl by a young man on his first flying adventure.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77435&d=1375050330
On the way back to our airport, I once again talked to the controllers at KAFW, who upon learning that this was the young man's first ever airplane ride invited us to land and come take a tour of the ATC tower. Here are the controllers and Dylan. The woman in the middle is named Crystal and her and I have had many a radio conversation over the past three years since she was assigned to that tower. I absolutely love her to death and she is a great one to have "in the radio with you" after a long day of hard flying and all you want to do is get back home.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77437&d=1375050332
After we got through visiting with the tower folks, we met some of the Air Force pilots who all told Dylan he would make a fine United States Air Force airplane driver. We loaded back up, taxied, took off and turned back to the home airport. I asked the young man if he was having fun.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77434&d=1375050329
It had been determined a long time ago, back in the early/mid-90's that if the wife and I were going to have a family, God was going to have to provide it. Well, He did it a few years after I retired from the advertising agency world. We know now that He waited until we had time for what's truly important in life--and that is the unabated joy of taking in a young lady, watching her grow and raise a family and seeing the unfettered, unconditional love on faces belonging to the people you cherish and love right back.
All in all, it was a pretty awesome day.
:coffee:
So Dylan, Mom, Dad and little brother Landyn and myself head out to Cabela's/Fort Worth for a field trip and lunch (none of them had been to the big Cabela's in FW--only the small one in Allen). Breanne (Mom) was feeling pretty horrid so Ricky (Dad) took her and little brother back home. Dylan insisted on staying with Grampa so we could go flying.
Out to the airport we go and up into the Cessna he went. Ready to go.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77429&d=1375050323
Of course, these things don't fly themselves and while the boy is plenty confident, he told me he couldn't fly this airplane by himself because his legs were "too short to reach the foot pedals." So I went ahead and volunteered to take PIC (pilot-in-command) duties.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77430&d=1375050324
We'd decided on the way to Cabela's earlier in the day to fly over the Texas Motor Speedway. To do that, we would have to transition Fort Worth Alliance Airport's airspace. No problem except for a bunch of Air Force student pilots from Columbus, Mississippi were all arriving on their first long cross-country trip. Thank God for IPs (Instructor Pilots).
So we deviated our route further to the north to avoid the baby jet-jockeys, who we later met at the KAFW fbo and who were all outstanding young men and who took Dylan out to see their jets and Texans. Here's the young man during climb out--the typical big grin and wonderment on the face as the main landing gear leaves the runway and you slip the surly bonds and begin climbing.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77431&d=1375050325
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77432&d=1375050326
And here is Texas Motor Speedway as seen from 2500' msl by a young man on his first flying adventure.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77435&d=1375050330
On the way back to our airport, I once again talked to the controllers at KAFW, who upon learning that this was the young man's first ever airplane ride invited us to land and come take a tour of the ATC tower. Here are the controllers and Dylan. The woman in the middle is named Crystal and her and I have had many a radio conversation over the past three years since she was assigned to that tower. I absolutely love her to death and she is a great one to have "in the radio with you" after a long day of hard flying and all you want to do is get back home.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77437&d=1375050332
After we got through visiting with the tower folks, we met some of the Air Force pilots who all told Dylan he would make a fine United States Air Force airplane driver. We loaded back up, taxied, took off and turned back to the home airport. I asked the young man if he was having fun.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=77434&d=1375050329
It had been determined a long time ago, back in the early/mid-90's that if the wife and I were going to have a family, God was going to have to provide it. Well, He did it a few years after I retired from the advertising agency world. We know now that He waited until we had time for what's truly important in life--and that is the unabated joy of taking in a young lady, watching her grow and raise a family and seeing the unfettered, unconditional love on faces belonging to the people you cherish and love right back.
All in all, it was a pretty awesome day.
:coffee: