Aviation 'I dos'

I was working for Stratos Aviation at Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) in Greenville, South Carolina, while Alissa was earning her wings at the same school. In March, Alissa’s first flight instructor left the school for a career in the airlines. The flight school scheduler told me, “you’re a good match…and you’re single, Alissa’s single…let’s put you together and see what happens!”

We quickly found that we enjoyed flying together. After three months of high spirits and camaraderie at the flight school, I finally worked up the courage to ask her out on a dinner and ice cream date. After coordinating to meet up at Oshkosh that summer, we returned to South Carolina, where we entered a formal relationship and began our journey as an aviation couple.

In the summer of 2023, I concluded that I had to ask Alissa to be more than my girlfriend. I decided to pop the question at Triple Tree Aerodrome (SC00), one of the most beautiful aviation settings in the country. The immaculate green grass, the runway nestled among the lakes, and the good cheer a fly-in brings seemed to be the perfect place to ask my charming aviatrix to be my partner for life. That August, Alissa and I flew into the Young Aviators Fly-In in Woodstock, the Sling 2 that Alissa’s father had entrusted to our care. It features art of Snoopy’s feathered friend flying a meandering path across the tail. I arranged for 11 family members to be there to witness the proposal; they all hid in the gazebo on the south end of the field until I got down on a knee and Alissa said “yes,” at which point they all jumped up and cheered.

Picking a location for the wedding seemed straightforward from there. Alissa and I discussed standard ceremony locations for a short time, but nothing beat the idea of tying the knot at Triple Tree. From taking pictures with the field’s vintage Stearman and Spartan Executive to buying a commemorative brick for the patio that overlooks the stunning 400-plus acres of the expansive Triple Tree, we let our love of aviation shine at every turn. Before the ceremony, the field was to be open for wedding guests to fly in and enjoy the wonders of landing and taking off on a grass runway. Concluding the ceremony, attendees were to throw paper airplanes over us as we exited down the aisle. Finally, the family Slings would be on display: Woodstock and Snoopy, Alissa’s father’s Sling TSi with tail art of America’s favorite beagle flying his doghouse against an invisible foe.

The big day arrived, and the weather was stunning. The sky was partly cloudy, the temperature was 82 degrees, and there was enough of a northeasterly breeze to keep everybody cool. Hurricane Francine had deviated far enough west to eliminate the chances of rain in the area. This allowed two guests to fly into the field for the ceremony, making it a true fly-in wedding. The ceremony went smoothly, and Alissa and I walked down the aisle under a sea of paper airplanes. Alissa had carefully selected, flight tested, and constructed the design to ensure the flight of each would be straight and true. After a spectacular exit, my bride scurried off to change into her flying romper while I secured the final details around Snoopy.

Alissa rode to the airplane on a golf cart and hopped into the left seat as I settled into the right. We ran the start checklist and yelled “clear” in unison for all to hear. The engine roared to life, and the guests cheered, now gathered at the white fence adjacent to the runway.

I aligned the nose with the runway and smoothly brought the 141 horsepower of the Rotax 915iS to work. The nosewheel rose off the grass, and then the mains broke free. Passing the crowd, Alissa looked down and saw hands waving skyward. I brought the airplane around a teardrop turn to align it southbound down the runway, utilizing the 20 knots of wind to gain extra groundspeed as I rocked the wings to acknowledge the crowd that was still waving enthusiastically. I started another teardrop to bring the airplane northbound over the runway, and passed the controls to my wife so she could give the crowd a goodbye salute.

We newlyweds flew to Donaldson Field (GYH) to tie down Snoopy. As we finished tying down and covering up the airplane, the bridal party’s bus arrived to bring us to the reception in downtown Greenville.

A magical night of celebration soon gave way to the last dance and bidding goodbye to all that came, making the best day imaginable a memory. Our aviation dream wedding had gone off exactly as we had pictured: filled with friends, family, and flying. 

Ryan McCormack is a Gold Seal CFI/CFII and a Cirrus Training Center Instructor actively teaching at Stratos Aviation in Greenville, South Carolina.