|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Editor’s Note: Fifteen-year-old Colton Brown shares the story of the flight that turned his casual interest in airplanes into a lifelong passion for aviation. This is his first contribution to Air Facts.
Everyone has that one story—the moment they fall in love with flying. Mine began on a cool September morning at a small grass strip in Missouri.
It was a crisp Saturday morning, and my family and I were headed to the yearly Lincoln Fly-In (0R2). Unfortunately, it had been canceled the last two years due to COVID, so this was my first time back in a while. If you’d known me before that day, you probably would have guessed I’d become an engineer or something like that. I didn’t really have much to do with aviation, except that my dad worked on electrical and environmental systems in the Air Force. We had a flight simulator, and I’d used it some—but mostly just to mess around in an A-10 or something fast like that. Most of my free time went into learning how to code and make circuits. So, you can imagine aviation wasn’t really on my radar.
That Saturday morning was foggy, so nobody showed up early like usual. I guess nobody wanted to file IFR to reach a little grass strip. We grabbed some food to bide time until the fog lifted. Eventually, planes began arriving: Cubs, Skyhawks, Skylanes, and even a few experimentals. I recognized many from my simulator time.
Then we met a great guy named Josh Andrews. We started talking about airplanes, and I told him I liked flying but had never really flown. He mentioned that he had a YouTube channel—Josh’s Aviation Adventures—and had one of his videos playing on a laptop. Then he said something that changed my life. He put his hands on my shoulders and said, “I’m bored. You want to go fly?”
I looked at Mom, then back at him, hardly believing what I’d just heard. Time seemed to slow down as I waited for her answer. After what felt like an eternity, she said the golden word for any kid: “Yes.”
I was finally going to fly. Suddenly, time sped up. We climbed into his Piper PA-28-140, and Josh briefed me, did the run-up, made his radio calls, and then we were rolling. Just feeling that 150-horsepower engine push us down the runway would have been enough for me—but there was more to come.
We flew for a while, and I just sat there in awe. Josh probably thought I was feeling sick because I was so quiet, but I was just overwhelmed with excitement. We flew along the river, made some tight turns at low altitude, dodged vultures, and even did a little zero-G. That was the second-best part of the flight. The best came when he asked, “You want to fly?”
At first, I didn’t quite understand him—my pilot ears weren’t tuned yet—but when he asked again, I smiled from ear to ear and said, “Yeah!” I took the yoke and put my feet on the rudder pedals. I was shaking from excitement. At first, I didn’t know how to hold the yoke, so I did what Dad always taught me when driving—two hands. I kept climbing at first because I wasn’t using enough control pressure, but soon I settled in, making a few shallow turns left and right.
We flew toward Truman Lake, hoping to pass over the dam, but we had to turn back north since the Warsaw airport was nearby. Back over Lincoln, I gave Josh the controls, and we made a few low passes over the strip. Those were thrilling. The landing felt a little scary, seeing the trees and ground rush by at 65 knots, but I trusted him completely.
That was the most fun 40 minutes of my life. I knew from that day forward I wanted to be a pilot. Josh and his wife mentioned Sporty’s and how they offered ground school, and they told me about the EAA Young Eagles program. A month later, I went on my first Young Eagles flight—but that’s a story for another day.
I would never have discovered my love for aviation if it weren’t for Josh and “Foxy,” his Piper Cherokee. Thanks, Josh—you truly changed the course of my life and showed me what I want to do forever: fly airplanes.
- From Sim to Reality: How a Piper PA-28 Changed Everything - November 5, 2025
Welcome to the world of aviation. The real thing is a LOT more exciting than any flight simulator and your comment of flying something fast like an A-10, made this old A-10 driver laugh! We were always the slowest thing on wings at a Red Flag or Cope Thunder, but we got a LOT of respect for the 30MM cannon (GAU-8 — look it up) that we employed. I later transitioned to the F-16 and THAT is a F-A-S-T beast. I likened the OV-10 Bronco (what I flew in Vietnam) to an ATV, I thought of the T-38 Talon that I flew as an IP in the Air Force’s Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) program as a Corvette, the A-10 was my HUMVEE, and the F-16 was my Formula 1 racecar. If you want some help in flying, look up the Order of the Daedalians and perhaps you can get a scholarship — our Daedalian Flight in Atlanta supports ROTC cadets who are going to military (Army, Navy, Air Force) flight training.
Hey Dale,
Thanks so much for the comment! Lol I can imaging that an F16 is just a bit faster than an A10. Also thanks for the tip about the Order of the Daedalians. Love the encouragement from other pilots!
Thanks,
Colton
Welcome Colton! You just accomplished something most people only dream about!
Remember: Always keep pushing, pay attention, and never be afraid to ask questions. But most importantly, and as our own Serrhel Adams would say: JUST HAVE FUN!
Alexander
Thanks for the comment and the encouragement! This was no doubt an unforgettable time in my life.
Thanks,
Colton
Great job Colton, congratulations on your article. I’m glad you had a good experience flying with me. I know I have a blast getting to share a flight or two with kids that haven’t been able to fly yet and that’s what makes it worth flying. Keep up the writing and maybe that can help you with your aviation journey. Can’t wait to hear that you’ve gotten your ticket punched so get out there and keep learning
Hey Josh! Thanks for the comment and the experience! Changed my life completely.