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Granny Gets a Ride

Scott Chastain

Scott Chastain

Active Member
For Zion's sake I will not hold my Peace,
And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.

Isaiah 62:1
 
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Totally Awesome

Those are great shots and I bet she will never forget that.
But first of all, good for her for going, totally awesome. :D

So she was born in 1915.
Powered flight was only 12 years old.
Lindbergh would fly across the Atlantic 12 years later.

Here are a few aircraft that were flying when she was born.
15.jpg


1918
35819755_9AWMt-L.jpg


Around 1915
35820208_a7YAB-L.jpg


Nice job!
 
Too cool, but please get her a thick booster cushion before you take her up again. Granny needs to see outside!
 
Thanks for sharing !!

Scott,

Your post and the pics of your grandma brought tears to my eyes. That smile on her face is worth a million bucks !!!
My mom and dad are both 87 and were both involved in aviation when they were younger. (That's an understatement. since my dad was with Claire Chennault from '42 to '45 in Kunming, China.) They live 1200 miles away in Florida but I keep 'em updated with pics of the 9A morphing in my garage. It is truly my fondest wish to be able to give them both a ride in my RV when it's flyable. Your post says that's eminently do-able. :D
 
Scott,

Way to go! I had the opportunity about 18 months ago to take my wife's great uncle on a flight (albeit in my old 172) when he was 99 about to turn 100. He has a license but quit flying in about 1952 when he received an inherited life insurance policy from his father and the insurance people told him that the policy would be no good if he kept on flying! So last year was his first flight in a small plane in over 50 years! He was grinning from ear to ear, especially when I let him take over the controls. He still has his original logbooks and can remember every airplane he ever flew (none of which had a radio). Soon as I am out of Phase I, I plan to go over and give him a ride in the RV - he has been anxiously following my building progress. Anyway, it really is a joy to have the opportunity to give someone like this a ride and see the smile it brings.

cheers,
greg
 
That is just

Way too cool!

Awesome!

I can't get anyone over 60 to go flying with me..Maybe they get sensible at that age?..:)

Frank
 
Very humbling......

......indeed! My Dad preached most of his life and the one thing he said that I always remember....."Give people flowers while they're alive to smell them, not on top of their casket".

A fine example of the way giving feels way better than receiving...Good on ya, mate.

Regards,
 
Way to go!!!

My Mom will turn 89 in a few weeks and she loves riding in the RV.
 
Flying Granny

Scott,
What a great story. My Dad taught me to fly back in the sixties. He was a tough instructor, and demanded perfection from his student son. Of course, I could never quite please him. Still the price was right, and all these years later, I am still thankful for his training.

On several occasions, he helped me building the Doll. I was looking forwarding to taking my old instructor flying in the plane we built. I was finishing up the firewall forward when he suddenly died. The Doll was just months from its first flight.

Looking at your pictures, I couldn't help but flash back to that day in late 1999 when I lost him. I could be wrong, but I feel that your beautiful RV-8 was inspired, in part, by the plane my dad and I built. Your are lucky to be able to share it with the people that raised you!
 
Wonderful story. But one of my regrets about the RV is it's a terrible thing for an elderly person to get into. How did you do it?

I remember giving my mom a ride in a Warrior one time. it was a struggle getting her in but she would not be denied.
 
Hey..............wait a second.........I was just IN Merced, and you couldn't see across the street in the fog. Are you sure these aren't morphed photo-shop pictures!!
 
another granny's first flight

The day after I got my private ticket 5 yrs ago, I convinced my 90 y/o granny to go for her first flight. She had always had poor eyesight (until eye surgery in her 80s) and recollected hearing airplanes but never being able to see them. She told me she saw a plane when she was a little girl when it landed in the cotton field where they were picking cotton. Two "soldier boys go out and were very nice." Once I got her into the 172, she loved the flight. Only after the flight did I realize she was surprised it was a closed cockpit plane. She had never seen one. She's gone now and this is one of my fondest memories of her later years.
 
Granny's ride

Scott: That's a wonderful post and the pictures are priceless! Glad she liked the upside down. Flying older ladies in the Pitts has taught me a lot of them are more adventurous and able than same-age men. N.B. You can do the Bach anytime - look at Schweizer. Thanks for your post. Bill
 
Flying Granny

Great story, Scott.
I recognize the background in your pictures. My parents were my first passengers after I got my private license over thirty years ago, and they got in a C172 in almost the exact same spot your plane was sitting in.

Was your dad a high school teacher in Merced? If so, I believe I was in one of his classes in the late sixties. I graduated Merced High, Class of '69. My dad still has a house in Merced, but he is presently living in Florida.

Howard Long, retired FAA controller, CFII, UAV pilot
 
flying granny

Did same thing recently, only she's my 89 year old Mom. I'm 63, so a member of the old guy club. Mom hasn't flown w/ me in 20 years & loved the trip to the NC mtns to see colors change. I have a booster seat in my -8, so her view was great. Lets all try to get parents & g'parents up once before they check out...
 
Good Job Scott!

A year or so ago a good friend asked me if I could take his uncle flying who was visiting from California. His uncle who is now 88 used to own a 206 and then a twin before losing his medical and giving up flying in 1975. We had a great flight and he was smiling from ear to ear the whole time. I've had my share of smiling passengers but this one was just different and one I will not forget. It's like there was a glow or energy in the air if that's hard to describe. His relatives in the area say it's still all he talks about. Pretty dang cool.
 
I guess I've given my share of these kinds of rides. My 85 year old mother hates flying the airlines and said my RV-6 was more comfortable. I used a short step ladder to help get her in.

A couple of years ago I took my friend Tom's father-in-law up from the Las Cruces airport. He flew P-51s and a lot more in WWII. He uses a walker now.

Shoot, I took my elderly grandfather up in a C-172 when I was 17 years old (about 42 years ago); a flight I still remember.

I enjoyed those flights, but I guess I don't equate the age of the passenger with how satisfying the flight was. The enthusiastic 14 year-olds are great as are the 40 year-olds that have always wanted to fly and just got the chance of a ride.

It is satisfying to take the ones up who are the type to enjoy it and I don't see age as a big factor, one way or the other!
 
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