The first flight with a proud father
As we navigate life many people come in and out of our life. Some become friends for awhile and a very few become a close friend and stay in our lives forever.
Rick Erwin is a Captain for UPS and has been a close friend since he was a young man, fresh out of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, with a dream of becoming a professional pilot. For a short period of time he was my flight instructor and for over 30 years has been a very dear friend.
Earlier this year Rick contacted me and said that he was going to renew his Flight Instructor rating because his son Matt had expressed an interest in learning to fly and perhaps following in his Fathers’ footsteps. He was scheduled for a number of trips to the West Coast and was wondering if we might get together and spend some time flying and discussing what might be important as he got back in the right seat of a single-engine airplane (it had been over 20 years) to get Matt ready for his Private Pilot license. To my delight we got together at Santa Paula airport and spent most of the day hanging out, flying and sharing a good time. The best part is that not only is his name in my logbook as flight instructor I had the opportunity to make an entry in his logbook for the time that we spent together on a gorgeous April day.
On August 10th Matt became a Private Pilot and Rick had the privilege of teaching his son not only to fly but has played a key role, each day, in guiding this young man to this point in his life. I am very proud of both of them and cherish the friendship that Rick and I have shared.
