Passing It On: All In The Family

When Andrew Register was growing up, his grandfather, David Gore, taught him many life lessons about hard work, traditional values, and the importance of family. Now Register, 21, is teaching his grandfather a few things—such as how to turn around a point, recover from a stall, and plan a cross-country flight.

Register, a flight instructor at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, began teaching his grandfather to fly in 2016. The two men share a passion for aviation, but Register didn’t know it until after he had earned his pilot certificate. At that point, Gore shared something with his grandson that he had kept to himself for 50 years: In the late 1960s, he had taken flying lessons with a dream of flying for Piedmont Airlines. He got as far as his first solo before he was drafted into the military.

A heart condition kept Gore from being sent into the Vietnam War, but he never went back to flying. After his release from the military, Gore went to college, got married, had children, and found himself with other priorities. Flying became just another piece of his past. He never mentioned it, but he thought about taking lessons again someday.

Even after Register started getting involved in aviation—through a job-shadow program at the airport, then a Young Eagles flight and a trip to Oshkosh—Gore remained quiet about his own flight experience. “He always supported me but he wanted me to make my own path and didn’t want it influenced by him,” says Register, who grew up only a mile away from his grandfather.

When Register turned 16, Gore announced that he had found a flight instructor who could teach Register to fly. He also had a proposition: If Register would help Gore work the farm, Gore would help Register pay for flying lessons. Register jumped at the win-win deal.

After going up with Register on one of his training flights, Gore decided it was time to get back in the saddle. He quietly applied for his medical certificate, which he knew would be a long process because of his past heart problems. As the medical made its way slowly through the system, Register made his way through his ratings—private, instrument, commercial. At one point, Gore shared with Register the news that he had kept to himself for half a century: He had once taken flying lessons—had even soloed—and now he planned to again.

The two began flying together. “He likes to travel to new places,” says Register. “When we have free time, we’ll occasionally go grab a $100 hamburger.” Register used those flights to teach his grandfather some of the initial flying skills he would need to learn. Gore’s medical finally came through right about the time Register earned his flight instructor certificate—and his grandfather became his first student.

The training process was slow because Gore didn’t want anyone but his grandson instructing him, and Register wasn’t home a lot. Between flight instructing out of town in the summer and at ECSU during the school year, his available hours were limited. Still, they fit in training flights where they could. In October 2016, Register soloed his grandfather—almost exactly 50 years after Gore’s first solo. In early February, Gore finished his solo cross-country and planned to complete his long cross-country over Register’s spring break. If all goes well, Register anticipates getting his grandfather signed off for the checkride in June—before Register, who has job offers from two regional carriers, heads to the airlines in mid-July.

Gore, who once imparted lessons to his grandson, is now learning from him. Gore’s dream of flying professionally is about to be lived out by his grandson. And above all, before he leaves for the airlines, Register will do all he can to close the loop on flight training that his grandfather first started 50 years ago.