Future Pilot?

[Don]

So my wife and I are having lunch on the patio at an airport café with a view overlooking transient parking. I noticed a family a few tables over with a small child with a sketch pad. Later, the father approaches our table with his five year old son and the son wants to show us his drawing of our DA40. The father then says all his son talks about is airplanes and this is his son's favorite restaurant. My pilot wife than ask the father if his son wants sit in the pilot seat of our aircraft and of course that was a big yes. The son is then smiling which can even be seen behind the mask. This was one of those nice rewarding feel good days for all of us.

[arksat]

What a smile! His drawing looks amazing

[Chris]

Love it!

This stuff works. Ten years ago I took my friend's son, Alex, up for his first flight. This is him right as we took off.

This is him (on the right) this past September, on his first flight towards getting his PPL.

[Chris]

Very nice drawing... the nose-wheel looks a little corked just like a typical DA40.

Screen Shot 2022-02-04 at 5.25.40 PM.png (59.18 KiB) Viewed 1477 times

[MackAttack]

Thanks for posting … stories like this reaffirm my faith in the future of aviation. It may not look like the future we experienced when we were that age, but it reminds me that there will be a future with pilots and kids who want to be pilots. And that’s a good thing!

[Boatguy]

I had a similar experience last year. A friend asked if I would take the son of a friend of his for a flight. Cody had made a drawing of the DA40 from the Diamond website. We went up, he sat right seat. I let him fly for 5-10 minutes. After we landed, a Citation pulled up next to us. When the crew exited I explained it was Cody's birthday and he'd love to see their plane. They were very gracious and gave him a tour of the Citation which I think pretty much capped his birthday!

[Lou]

A couple of summers ago we went up to Jasper for a mountain vacation. There are always a gazillion tourists in Jasper in the summer but the airfield is quiet and out of the way. But when we came back to the plane to leave, a family of recent immigrants was at the airport. Amidst all that natural beauty they were looking at the planes! When I asked if the kids wanted to sit in the plane, of course the answer was an enthusiastic yes. Photos, well wishes and we were off. Reminded me how privileged we are to enjoy this activity. I am sure most if not all of DAN members are happy to share it out. Well done Don.

[Don]

A couple of summers ago we went up to Jasper for a mountain vacation. There are always a gazillion tourists in Jasper in the summer but the airfield is quiet and out of the way. But when we came back to the plane to leave, a family of recent immigrants was at the airport. Amidst all that natural beauty they were looking at the planes! When I asked if the kids wanted to sit in the plane, of course the answer was an enthusiastic yes. Photos, well wishes and we were off. Reminded me how privileged we are to enjoy this activity. I am sure most if not all of DAN members are happy to share it out. Well done Don.

Nice story. As GA pilots, I believe it is our duty to promote aviation when ever we get the opportunity to do so. I can still recall when I was a kid, maybe six or seven years old, my first airplane ride in a Bonanza V-tail with one of my dad's good friends. Been interested in aviation ever since.

[Colin]

You're a good guy, Don.

[krellis]

Here is what we decided to do with our DA20-A1. We really didn’t want it being crated up and shipped to Europe. As Don said, promoting aviation to young folks is near and dear to our hearts.

https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article ... 3b6511973f