Seeing it through

Every once in a while, in aviation, we’re lucky enough to meet people who teach us about a lot more than flying an airplane. I was asked to do a flight review for a longstanding client of our flight school recently, George Semmes. George has called me frequently through the years to help him stay current on landings and approaches. Although I don’t instruct anymore, I’ve always made time for George. At 71 years old, he seems to have a certain peace about him, like he’s figured out what’s important to hold onto and how to let go of the things that aren’t. While we fly, he tells me stories about his family, his grandchildren, his wife of almost 50 years, and life on his Mississippi pine tree farm. He has also worked as an aircraft salesman either full or part time since 1980. Even though he’s been flying since he was 16 years old and has multiple instructor ratings, he never gives off the impression that he knows it all.

Sadly, George was hit by a drunk driver almost 18 months ago and shattered his right ankle. A blood clot ensued from the surgery, which then forced him to have to wait out the arduous FAA medical approval process. So, when he called me to schedule the long overdue flight review, it was with the caveat that he’d be rusty and may need several flights to get back to proficiency. The day before we were set to fly, I saw a man walking off the ramp that looked awfully familiar. The next morning, he confirmed that, yes, he had come out to sit in the airplane and chair-fly, remembered the position of switches, and so on. On our flight together, after his long hiatus, George surprised us both. I know they say certain things are like riding a bike. Well, in this case, it was true. He flew the airplane like he’d never left it. Sure, he made a few mistakes, like turning early on initial climbout or forgetting to use an after-landing checklist. But the feel of it, the way some people can just wear an airplane, that was not lost. His stalls were coordinated, and his landings were a thing of grace, controlling the airplane all the way until the squeak of the wheels on pavement.

When I was signing his logbook after the flight, I asked him how in the world he’d managed to pull off a successful flight review in only one flight. He brushed off my praise as usual, “I’m sure there are people who have made far bigger comebacks than me. You know, I play a little Microsoft Flight Simulator as a hobby at home, and I downloaded the Garmin app so I could make sure I remembered how to use the GPS.” Ask anyone if a 71-year-old man who has been in a terrible accident and had to sit out a year and a half before getting his medical back should be able to get in the airplane again at all, and the answer would be not likely. But George is not just any man. While he’d tell you he didn’t do anything extraordinary, little by little, through the years, he has managed to stay current, despite not actually flying for a living. He has respected the airplane enough to know that it deserves dedication and constant effort. George just keeps on keeping on, quietly doing what he’s supposed to do. It’s an old-fashioned value, I think. Sticking with something for that long: a career, a spouse, a passion. This is an age of quick changes and throwaway parts. If something’s not working, drop it. Get something new. Upgrade. That’s why George’s constancy is inspiring. I’m sure he’d laugh to hear someone say that, humble as he is.

When George used to call me every few months, I often wondered why he bothered. Why wouldn’t he just wait until he had an airplane to sell, then get current if he needed to fly it? But I see it now. It wasn’t as much about currency as it was about character. He became a pilot long ago and would see it through, despite difficulty and expense. Through long years and car accidents, he persisted, because that’s what people like George do. They don’t give up on their commitments, especially not the ones they make to themselves. When I asked him how long he planned to fly, he said, “As long as I can pass my medical, I guess I’ll keep doing it.” Maybe you’ve been out of aviation for a bit or maybe you’ve been in it so long that you wonder if you should still bother. But it’s good for us all to be reminded that it’s never really been about the airplane. We do not walk away from hard things. We keep at it as a matter of habit, because it’s who we are.

Has it been a while since you have been in the cockpit? Have you decided it’s time to hop back in the saddle and start flying again? The AOPA Rusty Pilots program has helped more than 13,000 inactive pilots return to flying. Visit aopa.org/rusty-pilots for the resources you need to get back in the air.

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