Why We Fly

From apprehension to almost-owner

Her introduction to small airplanes, about 30 years ago, included stalls, steep turns, and other maneuvers that should not be performed with first-time passengers aboard (see "Your First Passengers," July 2003 AOPA Flight Training).

"I had a lot of friends in college who were in Air Force ROTC, and several of them used that path to get their private pilot certificates," Bowne said. "At that point in my life I didn't appreciate all the twists and turns, and the ups and downs. I've run into other people who had that same experience -- it must be common."

Fast-forward a few decades.

Bowne's son, Greg, had been interested in flying since he was 10 or 12, and was considering it as his career path. He earned his private pilot certificate near their Columbus, Ohio, home before enrolling at Ohio State University and then transferring to St. Louis University's Parks College of Engineering and Aviation.

Jann Bowne was "quite reluctant" to get into the airplane with her son after her previous experience. "He promised he'd fly smooth and gentle, and he did."

Later, Greg Bowne rented a Mooney at Bolton Field so the family could fly to New Jersey and visit relatives. "I said, 'Can I be the copilot?'" Jann Bowne recalled. "He gave me the Jeppesen private pilot handbook and said I needed to read this before we went flying."

Not long after that flight, her son earned his flight instructor certificate. "I said, 'I've got a flight instructor in the family -- why don't I take flying lessons?'" she said. "Once I did it a few times, I said, 'This is fun!' The rest is history."

Her son didn't turn his back on her training, however. "Every time he was home on vacation we'd go up, and he'd say, 'You're doing good, Mom -- you've made progress.'" She earned her private pilot certificate in April 2004.

Greg Bowne's mother was his first primary student. "It helped me learn to be a CFI by teaching her as a student," he said. "My friends thought it was really cool." On their drive to the airport for lessons, he made it a point to separate the flight-training environment from their home life. Now an airline dispatcher in St. Louis, he still flies occasionally with his mom.

Bowne's friends weren't too surprised by her new interest in aviation. "I'm sort of the adventurous one of the group. Everyone really supported me."

Many of Bowne's flights are with her husband. A frequent destination is Danville, Kentucky, so they can visit their daughter in nearby Harrodsburg.

"My husband likes to fly -- he likes having me take him places -- but he doesn't have time to learn to fly himself," she said. "But he's good with navigation and helps with that." He may take an AOPA Air Safety Foundation Pinch-Hitter course, she added.

They usually fly a Cessna 172, the model she trained in. "We're now at the point that we're thinking we might buy an airplane."

Bowne makes it a point to fly regularly. "If I don't fly every week, I worry that I'm going to forget something. I've worked too hard for these skills and I want to keep them up," she said. "Plus, it's fun."

And when she takes others for first flights, Bowne is determined to avoid the abrupt maneuvers that nearly kept her out of the cockpit. "I've never done that with the many friends of mine who have gone flying with me," she said. "I know that I didn't enjoy it, and I don't expect other people to enjoy it."