Inspiring pilots

I’m walking across the bustling EAA AirVenture ramp en route to Able Flight’s annual awards ceremony. Able Flight offers flight scholarships so that people with disabilities can chase their dream of becoming a pilot. AirPods in, walking through the Oshkosh throng, I’ve been struggling to solidify remarks that may be meaningful to an inspirational group of pilots and supportive families with a passion and determination that’s beyond my full comprehension. Toto’s line is a perfect opening. Destiny so tried to pass these people by, but they would have none of it.

I share the stage with two giants. Patty Wagstaff started flying in Alaska, with some fear of stalls and unusual attitudes. She decided the best way to overcome her fears and become a better pilot was to learn aerobatics. Seems she learned it well. She ignored the many voices telling her she was too small, too petite, or wouldn’t have the arm strength to pull aerobatics under G or the core strength to sustain high Gs. Besides, she was a woman, at a time when that sort of thing (competing in aerobatics) simply wasn’t done by women. Find another niche in aviation, some told her. She had the audacity to ignore the nay-sayers, then proved them wrong. She became the first woman to win the National Aerobatic Championship and then won it back-to-back-to-back. Ask anyone, competing in anything at any level how hard it is to three-peat. I wonder what it must feel like for her to walk off the mall in Washington, D.C., and see her Extra 260 hanging from the rafters of the National Air and Space Museum. I’m pretty sure that marks you an icon.

Next to Wagstaff on the Theater in the Woods stage is Jessica Cox, the first person without arms to earn a pilot certificate. Can you imagine the kind of determination and self-confidence it takes to set such a goal? So far beyond the realm of what’s accepted as possible. I’m just imagining the responses she received when she approached instructors and flight schools with her plan. I can see the well-meaning people—and in full candor, I probably would have been one of them—huddling, stewing on how to respond. Ahem, Ms. Cox, you see, yeah, no, the thing is…ahhh, well, we couldn’t help but notice that you don’t have any arms (dramatic pause). And well…you’re probably not aware, but you need arms to fly. How about you become a great companion pilot, though, how about that? Think back to when you learned to fly, in a Cessna 152/172, maybe a Piper Cherokee or a Van’s RV–12, and remember how overwhelmed you were. Now just imagine conquering all of that, including radio calls, with only your feet. Just to even think you could do such a thing is next-level imagination and determination. I wonder how many times she was told no, and I wonder, too, about the instructor who saw the vision with her, who said, “Yeah…maybe, we can do this.” There’s a quiet aviation hero! Knowing how difficult it was for me presolo in a Cessna 152, I can imagine Cox had many flights where she thought maybe this is too hard, maybe everyone was right. But they weren’t. She persevered, she and her instructor got creative, and they broke a barrier. It turns out, what’s so plainly obvious is in fact not. You don’t need arms to be a pilot.

The three of us shared an emotional and inspiring morning with Able Flight’s 2022 graduates, all with a moving story that included some combat veterans who were disabled while serving our country. In the wings of the stage—literally in the shadows—was the orchestrator of it all, Charles Stites, proud and smiling. He guides Able Flight and gathers supporters with a humble, persistent drive. I had the privilege of introducing Zack Reising. Reising isn’t an Able Flight scholarship recipient. Not that he wouldn’t qualify. Cerebral palsy affects his mobility, so he uses a walker or scooter. Upon learning of Able Flight, Reising was so moved by the mission and what it could mean for others with disabilities that he started his own online fundraising drive, which now supports five Able Flight scholarships. The irony is, by doing so, Reising eliminated his own ability to ever receive Able Flight’s help because of conflict-of-interest laws that govern nonprofits. To fully understand that sacrifice, you have to realize that Reising has been “lit” by airplanes and becoming a pilot for as long as he and his parents can remember. How do you introduce someone so giving? Someone who comprehends the dream of flight so deeply? Some people live their dreams.

richard.mcspadden@aopa.org

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