Lainey's first airplane ride, 6 years old

THAT IS THE BEST EVER! What a wonderful experience for that cute little girl, and done with care by her dad. It is a joy to watch and I will archive it. We have a 6 year old great grand daughter that looks and behaves much like Lainey so I thought of her while watching this delightful sequence. Fine job, sir!!

 

That's nice! My first plane ride was at the age of 7, but it was in a DC-8 - very different from an Aeronca Champ! Thanks for sharing that.

 

Ron- Great video. Brings a tear to your eye.

 

Great!

 

I feel the need to add some other comments about Lainey's first flight. As an old fogy I can see a building block here that is desperately needed now. Lainey has been given confidence by being thoughtfully exposed to something a bit foreign to her and her enthusiastic response is wonderful to see. Her dad did it in the best way possible and I'm certain that this little girl, with the gentle and loving support of her father, will be a good and productive person in years to come. It is sad that many children in this country will never experience this sort of thing so that they can continue to give it to their children in the future. This is what makes us strong .

 

Brought a tear to my eye.

Ok, I said it.

 

Bob, it's because there are not enough fathers, and too many babydaddys......(trying not to get sent to P&R....)

 

Very well said Bob. And of course I blew it when I took our daughter up in the Champ for the first time around age 8. Everything went great until I did the zero G (last photo.) What was I thinking? We still laugh about it though.

Dave (world's most well meaning idiot dad)
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Men aren't supposed to get emotional about things but when it comes to kids I can turn into a bunch of putty. My wife and I raised 7 in our combined family and took on the care of three more grandchildren. We now have 14 grandchildren and 5 or 6 great grandkids ( lost count) and Lainey showed the poise and grace of a little girl who has loving parents and a friend who carefully treated her to something that she will never forget. My first flight was when I was 9 and I went up with a guy who only wanted get aloft and earn his 25 dollars and get me out of the airplane, an Aeronca C-3. Four years later I met a crop duster pilot who took me under his wing and treated me like a son and showed me parental care, flying, and guidance for a brief time until the war started. One does not forget the importance of responsible interaction with good adults. I took all of my kids flying in our old airplane and they all had their responses, all different but they were at least introduced to it. One continued to become a very good pilot.

 

Wow Bob, That's a lot of kids! I hope our daughter will one day get her licence and become a fourth generation pilot. But if not, she has had her turn at the controls.

Dave

 

Bob- You have Jan and I beat. We only have four grandkids and five great-grandkids.

 

That's why we don't have any money but it doesn't matter when kids show up to do things for us when they weren't asked and the Xmas Eve crowd sometimes blows the walls out of the house. And that is just those who live near us.

 

Noisy Christmases are great. Do not get that now. They all live in California.

 

I don't want to come across as some kind of incredible shrinking old man. I actually have a "portfolio"...with lots of artwork in it. I drive an incredible BMW...23 years old. We have a special nice Honda van that has been loaded to the gills with art festival paraphernalia...ten years old. We live in a 12,000 square foot home...wait a minute...I had the comma in the wrong place...1200 is correct. My four boys are good productive citizens who haven't been arrested in for at least 2 or 3 years. Judy's 3 kids are pretty good too. All of them married to successful people and doing really well. Grand kids are doing even better with one soon to get her doctorate and some of the other ones teaching, etc. Great grand kids show signs of being pretty smart. So, that's what we have to look at and think about every day...really tough.

 

Saw this on Boing Boing. Awesome video...it really should be posted in a general section here, not just the section for the aviation nuts. Everyone should see this, especially if you're having a bad day.

 

I also saw it on PelicanParts.com, a Porsche forum (in Off Topic)... wildly popular...

 

Around 10 or 11 years ago I flew commercially non stop - every weekend without fail, sometimes a dozen takeoffs and landings in a weekend. I developed a serious and uncontrollable fear of flying - went to see a few doctors and even got a prescription for Xanax. Read up on hypnotism, too. Also joined a support group for fearful flyers. None of it helped. I had the whitest knuckles of the white knuckle flying group for sure. Any kind of turbulence freaked me out and I figured I was probably moments from death.

So I went and got an FAA medical and bought myself some flying lessons. I was cured immediately the first day. And seeing this little girl with that smile when that Aeronca leaves the ground is exactly how I felt as an adult 10 years ago when I faced my fear head on. I don't have any kids but this kind of makes me want them.

 

Must confess that the video got me a little misty. Thanks for sharing.