People: A modern-day 'Flight of Passage'

After 70 flight hours, Hans, who earned his pilot certificate in July 2019, was ready to test his newfound freedom and explore the country, but he wanted his brother along. Although Arthur had not yet taken formal flight instruction, he had picked up information from watching his brother, and Hans knew Arthur’s navigational assistance would prove invaluable. Because neither young man had been away from home before, they could lend each other moral support on their adventure.

Their father, Wilbur Graybill, owner of a farm and a commercial overhead door business, encouraged his two oldest sons in their endeavor. With 11 children at home, it was an opportunity Graybill himself had not received. He was, however, responsible for infecting his sons with the aviation bug. After a 70-mile, round-trip flight in a neighbor’s Aviat Husky A1–B in 2018, Graybill was smitten. He went home, downloaded a simulator app, and began flying in the privacy of his home. A month or so later, he purchased the 1968 Cessna, began flight instruction at Aurora Aviation in Aurora, Missouri, and earned his private pilot certificate shortly thereafter, followed closely by Hans.

“Hans and Arthur work tirelessly alongside me on the farm and in my business,” Wilbur Graybill said. “They deserved a vacation. They’d earned it, and I was happy to give them a chance to spread their wings.”

First, a destination was chosen.

“We chose the Grand Canyon, mostly because it sounded like a nice area, and we’d never been there before.” Hans said. “And because February was the best time for us to take a vacation, we had to choose a destination that would be compatible with flight during that season.”

Two months of planning for the trip then began, during which Hans celebrated his twentieth birthday. Routes were carefully chosen, based on projected winds and temperatures for the climate and season. The altitude tolerance of the Cessna was tested at home, by taking it up to 12,200 feet for a brief period. It responded well. With two cylinders rebuilt at its last annual inspection, the airplane appeared to be mechanically sound.

The Cessna’s 500-pound useful load presented a challenge. After fuel, oil, and the boys’ weights were taken into consideration, only 72 pounds of additional baggage could be taken. With an overnight stay in the bottom of the canyon planned, a sleeping bag for each was a necessity. However, there would be no tent for this duo. They did find room, though, for the beautiful but lightweight hiking poles that Arthur had carved, one from oak, one from pine.

Their mother, Joanna, excited about her sons’ adventure, shopped for the groceries they would need.

“Because weight was a consideration, we packed dried food and trail mix,” Hans said. “Plus, a half-gallon jug of water that we refilled at each fuel stop.”

The pair left home from the airport at Monett, Missouri, at 1 p.m. on February 13, with each fuel and overnight stop en route to the Grand Canyon carefully planned. As with many best-laid plans, however, deviations were required.

“Headwinds ate up much more fuel than we expected,” Hans said. “Our first fuel stop was planned for Oklahoma City, which we made without a problem. From there, we hoped to make it to Amarillo for the night but couldn’t quite get that far. We had to stop again in Elk City, Oklahoma, for fuel. There, the card reader on their fuel pump was broken, so we had to stay overnight in a motel until it could be fixed the next morning.

“The next day, we couldn’t make it to Amarillo because of bad weather, so we had to stop short at Perry Lefors Field in Pampa, Texas, to wait for low clouds to pass. When we finally spotted an opening, we climbed through the clouds and flew to Tucumcari, New Mexico, where we fueled again. By this time, we realized the journey would take three days, instead of the two we had planned for. From Tucumcari, we fueled again in Moriarty, New Mexico, then flew into Albuquerque, where we spent the night in the pilot’s lounge.”

The next day, after a fuel stop in Gallup, and another at the Winslow-Lindbergh Airport in Arizona, the duo arrived at Grand Canyon National Park Airport at 3 p.m.

Although the following day’s hike into the canyon and a night under the stars offered a reprieve from the quarters of the Cessna, after climbing back out of the gorge the next day, the boys were at a loss. They’d seen, they’d conquered. What remained?

“They called me,” their father said, “asking me what I thought they should do next. They could go anywhere they wanted, fly on to California, or maybe down to the Gulf Coast, but they didn’t seem interested. They were ready to get back into their second home, the Cessna, and head back to their first one. The emphasis, for them, was on flying. Hiking the canyon, as it turned out, was more of an afterthought.”

With tailwinds to facilitate them, their flight home was made in two days instead of three with an overnight stop made in the pilot’s lounge in Amarillo. They touched back down at the Monett Airport at 3 p.m. on February 20.

“Mechanically, the Cessna performed perfectly,” Hans said. “I learned a lot, though. In higher altitudes it takes a lot more time to get off the ground. On one takeoff, I wasn’t quite as high as I thought I was, and my wheels touched back down. It kind of startled me. Luckily, though, I had room to continue the climb.”

“I was glad to have them back home. Although I encouraged them to spread their wings, I looked forward to those telephone calls they made every time their wheels were on the ground,” Graybill said.

“I think Wilbur was missing them more than I was,” his wife said.

Hans and Arthur, although glad to be back home, are already thinking about their next trip in the Cessna: probably to Niagara Falls, they said.

Sheila Harris, a freelance writer, lives in southwest Missouri.