Sunday, March 13, 2011

Flying it Forward!


Yesterday was a BIG day. A dozen pilots gathered at Out of the Blue to give free flights to girls of all ages, 5 to 105. On the way in, my car broke down - in the pouring rain - and I had to get a push and a jump from a taxi driver (thank you Mr. Taximan!). I arrived barely in time for the scheduled pilot briefing, but I managed to get them briefed, fed, coffeed up, and ready to go for the first passenger.

Dick and Todd were there with their 180s, Lane in his 182, Pete with the SR20, Laith, Jeanne, Casey, Jerry, Mike, Marla, and Tim with 172s, Teri in her PA-140, and Mike in the Remos. Between them all, we flew 152 girls in one day!

I know some businesses won't do a thing unless they've carefully calculated the return on investment. They probably make more money than I do. When my son asked me at the end of the day, "Was it worth it?" I had to acknowledge that I spent way more time and money on this than I'll probably recoup. It will be a long time before that grinning nine year old girl becomes a paying customer. Likewise, those pilots who spent all day and lots of dollars on fuel will get nothing in return. Except maybe one thing: the satisfaction of making a difference in someone's life. In a little way, I like to think that we made a difference yesterday. And that, is priceless.

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