|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The view: Taking off Kingsbury with a friend for one of my first passengers and their first small airplane ride.
The pilot: Charlotte Parker
The airplane: Ercoupe
The mission: Fun flight around the airport
The memory: Still can’t believe I can fly by myself at the age of 70. What an accomplishment for a farm girl from Kentucky. The thrill of flying friends and family or just getting away from the earth when you just want to be alone… I always say it’s as close as I can get to God and not die, He and I talk a lot when I’m up there.
Want to share your “Friday Photo?” Send your photo and description (using the format above) to: [email protected].
Charlotte Parker is originally from Poole, Kentucky, but moved to Texas about 10 years ago. She retired from driving a school bus after 34 years (she was raised on the farm and drove about everything). She has a daughter and son with the added blessing of two great-step kids. Even though their dad and she divorced they are still close. Lots of grand kids and great grand kids, too. She is a board member for the Pioneer Flight Museum and grounds keeper for the grass airport she lives at (85TE).
Latest posts by Charlotte Parker (see all)
- Friday Photo: Miss Piggy and me - November 4, 2022
- My excellent Ercoupe adventure - August 29, 2019
Have you read John Gillespie Magee Jr.’s poem “High Flight”?
Especially his closing lines…
“And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God”
Like many other aviators, I too have ‘Been there, Done that!”
Keep enjoying your time “Slipping the surly bonds of earth and dancing the skies on laughter-silvered wings…”
Cheers,
Boots
What a fantastic and joyful photo! At age 50 I am just now discovering my love of general aviation and on the path to get my license. It’s never too late to learn and grow; your photo inspires me to keep going! Love that you chat with God while you’re flying, thanks for sharing your thoughts and photo.
Thanks I only wish I had learned to fly 50 years ago. Blue sky’s good luck . You can do it.
I started training just as Covid got going and got my license last July. I will be 75 in December. Now, while working on my high performance and complex airplane certificates I am looking for a Cirrus SR22. IFR afterwards. I wish I had started early, at 50, like you did. I intend to fly for at least 10 years but oh to have at least 25 more years of flying ahead of me like I am sure you do.
Thanks , I was 62 when I got my certificate,
An amazing story.
I received my wings at age 56, after a life long passion for flight.
In 2016 I had a quad by-pass. Received my license back after two years but received restricted status in 2019.
I did not renew my certificate and dream of the day Canada introduces basic med, so I can solo again and reach out my hand once more, to touch the face of God.
Prayers for you to continue your journey.
Thank you for the photo and the memory caption. There really is something to be said about just being a few thousand feet above the ground flying over farmland, water and just see the ground from the perspective of heaven. I am 69 and approaching 70 and not only do I still fly regularly, I’m also working on my IFR rating.
Thanks it was a great adventure for sure.
How envious am I! Congrats of being over the hill and above the clouds. In 1994, at age 50, I took lessons at San Antonio International. Just prior to my first solo, my wife’s parents died that same year. She asked me to stay on Mother Earth and I did. I will be 80 in January and friends ask if I regretted not getting my license. Well, maybe so, and maybe not. Raising 4 daughters was a bit expensive. Either way, I will always envy you flyers.
Never give up follow your dream.