Why We Fly

Spreading the joy of flight

Mention "Come Fly With Me" at Bruce Campbell Field in Madison, Mississippi, and the conversation will likely turn to Allen Lieberman instead of Frank Sinatra's popular song.

That's because the 46-year-old is quick to offer anyone hanging out at the airport a ride in the Beech Sundowner he's owned for almost five years. An empty seat is a wasted seat, in his opinion, so he keeps spare headsets in the airplane at all times. "I don't care if you're 5 years old or 50 years old, I'm always looking for someone to take flying," Lieberman explains. "Aviation has given so much to me, I don't hesitate to give back."

His passion for sharing the thrill of flight comes from decades of patiently watching airplanes "from the other side of the fence." It wasn't until five years ago that he learned to fly. Now he takes every opportunity to pluck someone from the other side of the fence to let them experience the world from a different perspective.

A frequent passenger is Michael Anthony Cunningham, a 24-year-old lineman at the airport who wants to become a pilot. He's a self-described airplane watcher just like Lieberman. The two met a year ago, shortly after Cunningham started working at the airport, and he's since racked up 30 to 40 hours flying with Lieberman (although those hours can't be logged because Lieberman isn't a flight instructor). "[Flying is] all I ever wanted to do," Cunningham says, explaining that Lieberman is the only pilot who has set aside time to mentor him.

Lieberman makes time for anyone who wants to fly. And since he's retired from the Social Security Administration and is working part-time for the state of Mississippi, he has more time to "commit aviation."

So far, he's taken 42 different people flying--even complete strangers at the airport. A handful had never experienced flight, and 35 had never flown in a general aviation aircraft. Lieberman knows these statistics because he notes all of the flights and the people in his logbook. When he looks back at more than 650 hours of flying, each entry recalls memories of the flight.

Like the time he took a VFR pilot along on an instrument flight to protect him from what the AOPA Air Safety Foundation says is the leading cause of fatal weather-related accidents: VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. "There were times he said he didn't know which way was up," Lieberman says of his passenger. "I said, 'That's why you want to avoid this.'"

Lieberman particularly delights in introducing younger generations to the world of aviation. His youngest passengers, who were his 1-year-old niece and nephew, still fly with him today. Now age 5, Lieberman's nephew can't yet read the Sundowner's checklist, but he can name the parts of the aircraft and help his uncle preflight the Sundowner.

"Our children learn from us, just as we learn from our adults," Lieberman says. "To offer $20 of avgas to take someone flying is worth $200 to me."

But it's priceless to those he's taken flying--like Cunningham, his prot�g�, who is still motivated and more determined than ever to become a pilot and pass on the joy of flight, just like Lieberman.

Alyssa J. Miller is an assistant editor for AOPA's electronic publications. She has been a pilot since 2001.