| |
Perspectives
No Stranger in Among Friends
 Each summer, as the warm-weather flying season reaches its Zenith, we are again reminded how lucky we are to be among this small fellowship of aviators.
Sometimes it happens heading west, during that last half hour before sunset, when the air is calm, the view is brilliant, and the cockpit turns quiet as pilot and passengers pause to reflect a beauty that few people get a chance to see.
Or it comes from the people we meet along the way, fellow adventurers, drawn together by a common love and yet as diverse and different as grains of sand on a Florida beach.
On one recent trip to Phoenix, we ran up against thunderstorms in the mountains and took refuge in Springerville, Az. The next day we arrived at the airport just after a Cessna 210 had taken off heading west, and we pulled up in time to see the airplane disappear over the ridge. The airport manager offered to call him and get a PIREP for the trip west, and we eagerly accepted.
We listened as he called the pilot over the Unicom frequency and explained that we were also bound for Phoenix but had set down the night before because of the weather. Before he could explain what we wanted, the pilot asked, “Do they need a ride?”
There are few areas in life when strangers are as willing to help one another. But in aviation, it happens all the time.
We think of Angel Flights as selfless acts, and they are. But there are other acts of kindness played out every day, whether it’s the airline pilot who relays a radio call, the pilot who puts in a turbulence report, or the 172 owner who man-handles his or her way to the ground to leave room fora jet on short final.
Aviators are a cooperative bunch, each understanding that we compete not so much with each other as we do with ourselves.
This summer we celebrate the fellowship share with so many perfect strangers at fly-ins and aviation festivals across the country. These events are a chance to celebrate aviation, a chance see a show and learn new things.
But most importantly, these events are opportunities to share a picnic table with a complete stranger who might some day, without even thinking, offer to help a fellow aviator.
|
|
|
|
