In my Senior year in High school, we had a “career” day, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with my life, so trying to choose who to spend the day with was actually difficult. When I saw “flying” as an option and there were still seats left, I jumped for the chance to go up in a small plane. It’d be my first flight. Had really no idea of the role flying would play in my life years later. I just thought it’d be cool to go for a ride.
Only one other student chose this career, and every once in a while I wonder if he ever got into flying. He arrived at JeffCo airport before I did, and essentially called “shotgun” and sat in the left seat, while the pilot sat In the right seat of the single-engine Cessna. I had the backseat to myself to enjoy the hour of a scenic flight. The pilot gave him, (sorry, I really can’t ember his name), a little flight instruction and while I listened, I didn’t really pay any attention, I enjoyed every second thinking it would probably be my one and only flight in a small plane. After the flight, all I could think about was, that was really cool, but I can’t be a pilot, I’ve got to get a real job! Little did I know, not only was I wrong about that being my one and only flight, I was wrong about it not being a real job!