The young man shown in the photos is Sabastian, the then 14 year old son of a good friend. I met Sabastian for the first time at age six, when he took his first airplane ride ever in my L-4. He was so tiny that all he could see was the instrument panel in front of him, the sky above, and the bottom of each wing. He grinned the whole ride, though.
His second L-4 ride at age 14 was also his first flying lesson. By the end of that hour, he'd pretty much mastered straight and level flight, turns, and climbs and descents. He was doing so well that I sprang my typical request on him, "Very nice! Now fly us back to the airport." Most new pilots are good and lost by this time, because there's little to navigate by out here in our wide open desert Southwest. Sabastian flew us right back to the field, straight as an arrow. I should have known how smart the kid is, based on the number of doctorates in his family!
Anyway, I just got word that Sabastian is headed to the US Naval Academy, and aspires to be a Naval Aviator. I was tickled pink when his dad told me that his interest in aviation dates to those early L-4 rides. I suppose it's true: when the flying bug bites young, it also bites hard!
Pics by his dad.
His second L-4 ride at age 14 was also his first flying lesson. By the end of that hour, he'd pretty much mastered straight and level flight, turns, and climbs and descents. He was doing so well that I sprang my typical request on him, "Very nice! Now fly us back to the airport." Most new pilots are good and lost by this time, because there's little to navigate by out here in our wide open desert Southwest. Sabastian flew us right back to the field, straight as an arrow. I should have known how smart the kid is, based on the number of doctorates in his family!
Anyway, I just got word that Sabastian is headed to the US Naval Academy, and aspires to be a Naval Aviator. I was tickled pink when his dad told me that his interest in aviation dates to those early L-4 rides. I suppose it's true: when the flying bug bites young, it also bites hard!
Pics by his dad.
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