My Kid the Pilot

Our family likes adventures.  We have camped.  We travel internationally.  We've road tripped and rail traveled.  We scuba dive.  We ride motorcycles.  Now, we can say we have flown (half way) across the country in a small plane...piloted by our favorite son (we only have one so we can say that).

Now that our kids are old enough to not need us, we have the freedom to do things on our own - like visiting parents.  I planned for a short trip to Grand Rapids to visit my folks.  Since Patrick became a pilot, we have talked about having him fly us to there to see them, but the schedule just didn't work out.  Maybe this time would be different.  I booked a round trip commercial flight (just in case) and Patrick set up a rental.

I flew west on a commercial jet.  Queue lines, constant reminders to not let my bags out of my sight followed by a trip through security where they promptly separate me from my bags.  Cramped seats.  Snippy flight attendants making sure that my seat belt was "snug across my lap" and my carry-on was so far under the seat in front of me that I would have to get it from the pilot when the flight was over.  And people listening to music/entertainment without headphones (seriously?). 

I enjoyed a couple days of relaxation and chat time with my folks.  I had them all to myself for the first in 22 years.

On Saturday, Joerg and Patrick flew - in one run - from Burlington VT to Grand Rapids MI and arrived at the local FBO (that's pilot talk for Fixed Base Operator...mini airport for the private flight crowd) and we picked them up in front of the building.  We enjoyed an evening of chatting and dinner.  On Sunday, we returned to the FBO to prepare for our journey home.  Imagine that.  We all walked out to the plane.  No security guards.  No arrows and fenced walkways.  Relatively quiet.  And we could take as much time as we wanted to chat, take pictures, and say good bye.

 

Farewell, Grand Rapids.

 

Since the return flight was more heavily loaded (by me and my luggage) than the flight inbound, we made a fuel stop in Dunkirk  New York.

 

While the plane is fueled, we enjoy some lunch.

 

Then it was back in the plane for the last leg of the trip.

 

Patrick has taken me flying a few times now, but this was the first time I got to fly above the clouds.

 

Leg room (just have to keep my feet off the pedals), reasonably comfy seats, and enough room to break out the knitting.  Take THAT commercial jet!! 

 

Flying over the Adirondacks.  We're almost home!

 

And here he is, my personal pilot for this fantastic journey.

At home, Patrick is still my "kid" with messes here and there, occasional transportation issues, and schedules to juggle.  But as we flew from one ATC zone to the next, Patrick was all business.  My "kid" was replaced by this young man; commercial pilot, flight instructor, and soon-to-be college graduate.  In some strange way, this great experience (flying private is waaay more fun than flying commercial) was a farewell flight; a reminder that in a very short time he will be taking off for real...without me.

But before that happens, I still want my flight down the Hudson River Corridor! :)