Back To Basics

FLIGHT THROUGH MY NEPHEW’S EYES

- Sam Weigel

I drove out to Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM) with my 8-year-old nephew Dylan in the right seat, and as I pulled up to the green-and-white 1949 Cessna 170A, he was practically bouncing up and down with anticipation. Dawn and I had taken him flying before, having ferried him to and from his grandparents in the back seat of a rented 172, but this was different. Today, it was just the two of us, a few free hours on a nice Saturday with an old airplane, and nowhere in particular to go.

Dawn and I don’t have children of our own — cannot, so far as we know. It wasn’t our decision, but we’ve made the best of what the fates have handed us, becoming quintessential DINKs (dual income, no kids): traveling the world, seeking adventure, selling the house and sailing off on a boat. Come to think of it, Dawn quitting her job makes us single income, no kids, but that’s not a promising acronym for sailors! A lot of our parental instincts are invested in Piper, our over pampered flying/sailing hound of indeterminate lineage. The rest is directed toward our nieces and nephews, of whom Dylan is the oldest. All but the youngest have been in our airplanes a time or two, but none took to flying quite with Dylan’s level of enthusiasm. After that first ride in the 172, every conversation included the query of when I’d take him flying again. Now, with Dylan visiting for the weekend, was a perfect occasion.