Fathers Day: Go a Different Route

It’s almost Father’s Day. We hope by now that you have planned out a few fun ways to celebrate or bought an item to show your father and the father figures in your life how much they mean to you. If you still haven’t, though, don’t worry. Get your dad something he’ll love by taking this quiz to find the best AOPA Pilot Gear item for him.

But gifts aren’t why we are writing this because gifts aren’t always the key to our father’s heart. Not to mention, shopping for a dad is hard. We are here to talk about how special bonds with our fathers and the father figures in our lives are and can be.

Although we are social distancing, for this Father’s Day we encourage you to pick up a hobby with the fathers in your life. Spending time can be more precious than buying your dad another wallet. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s hear from AOPA member, Ed, and his grandson.

Ed is the phenomenal grandfather to Bryce, a driven young student who recently passed his commercial check ride. Both Ed and Bryce hold their Private Pilot Certificate. The reason these two are so awesome? At age 69 (Ed) and 22 (Bryce) both began flight training together. They even took their written exam—and passed—on the same day, soloed on the same day, and passed their oral and flight exam on the same day. They both received their Private Pilots License on October 21, 2019. Special, right? 

Ed and Bryce aren’t just special because they are the only grandfather-grandson duo AOPA has seen to go through the journey of becoming a pilot together, but because they used this opportunity to become closer and grow their relationship with each other using aviation.

Ed states that learning to fly was “something Bryce and I have talked about from when he was a little boy, probably when he was about eight.” But it didn’t become a reality until much later when Ed began ground school and called up Bryce to ask if he would go with him. As Bryce recalls, “I was 22 years old when I got a call late at night from my grandpa. Asking if everything was ok because it was late at night, he told me everything was great, and he just got out of his first ground school class. He told me that there was an extra spot in the class if I wanted it.”

Ed was so passionate about continuing to learn to fly with his grandson that he purchased a plane and made Bryce the third owner! As Bryce remembers, “not too long into training my grandpa said he needed some signatures from me for insurance purposes. He brought the papers to my house and let me read them. They were not just insurance ... he was making me a third owner in the plane with him and my grandma. I am so grateful that I have such loving and amazing grandparents.”

Going through ground school, flight training, soloing, exams, and a check-ride together solidified an already close bond between Ed and Bryce.

Ed sums it up perfectly, “having my grandson with me through this endeavor, especially at 70, was great and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Having survived the Vietnam war as a combat Marine and serving 30 years in Law Enforcement is pale in comparison to the feeling of accomplishment I had with Bryce!!”

And so does Bryce, “[this] new bond with my grandpa has made us a lot closer … and [I] wouldn't want it any other way. There are a lot of jokes and different sayings that only a pilot would get, it is really cool to share this connection with my Papa.”

Although it is amazing that Bryce and Ed were able to bond over flying, learning to fly with a dad in your life, might not be feasible, especially now as many local airports are not operational. That’s okay. The point is, finding an activity to partake in with the person you call dad or grandpa can prove much more valuable than a thing.

Don’t let distance stop you, either. Maybe you aren’t physically close to your grandfather. That’s okay too. Teach him how to video chat, send him a puzzle for Father’s Day—get yourself the same puzzle, and begin working on it together twice a month.

Or, if you are physically close, start biking together each Sunday. Pick a new route each week and stop at a local diner after for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Find what you both have in common, what brings you together, like Ed and Bryce did, and create something out of that. And then use Father’s Day as the beginning of this new activity.

As we all know, life is short. As we get older and look back, we will always remember what we did, not what we had. Who we had around us will matter more than the things we were surrounded by. So, challenge yourself this Father’s Day and take a new approach.