The Joy of Flight

"When once you have tasted flight,

you will forever walk the earth

with your eyes turned skyward,

for there you have been,

and there you will always long to return."

~ Anonymous

Jeremy is a 3rd generation Alaskan bush pilot. It's in his blood, and now, it is in our children's blood. Each one of our precious babes knew flight while they were still in the womb. Our girls have flown across Alaska. They have had quasi-command of the controls. They have felt the lightness and freedom flight can provide.
Madeline and Jeremy in the spring of 2006.
Madeline liked being in her car seat in the plane so she could see, and so she would keep her hands off all the instruments.

Abbie riding in the cargo area just behind the seats on July 4, 2007. We were on our way to visit Dee at Chena Hot Springs.

Abigail loved to be in Jeremy's lap, holding the yolk, while Maddie gazed out the window sitting in my lap until the purr of the engine lulled her to sleep. We had peaceful times in the air. Brayton has since joined in his share of flights (two to date) and is more calm than he is in the car...maybe because I get to hold him...

Nonetheless, our children have been around, been in, and up in planes their entire lives. They were fearless!

Notice I said "were"?

It's been about a year since they've been flying with daddy because we no longer have access to grandma Dee's Cessna 150. Jeremy thought that going for a plane ride would be a fun family activity on Friday night. We loaded into the plane (a 4-seater this time!) and once the girls were buckled, the screams of terror began. Maddie started and then freaked Abbie out, but Brayton just thought they were both crazy. The guy at the front desk could hear them screaming from the tarmac before we even got moving! Here's what we listened to until takeoff (note: turn your volume down a bit).



Their screams didn't stop us (even though I thought we'd scar them from ever wanting to become that 4th generation pilot) so I held Brayton, held the girls' hands, and after saying a prayer with the kiddos, we were off. They calmed down and enjoyed seeing what they could of Topeka (we should have put a few phone books on their seats). We were only up for 15 minutes and when it was time to land, Madeline started screaming again asking, "are we going to land or crash?" We had a good laugh to ourselves about that one. After reassuring her that daddy is a good pilot, and having a safe landing, we grabbed some ice cream.
The girls before takeoff. Yes, those are teardrops on Abbie's shirt.
Here's the view from the front. Our serious little boy and sobbing little girl.

Abbie is enjoying the flight now, although that smiles looks a bit apprehensive.

Here are the girls safely on the ground again. Abigail is more cold than scared and Maddie really needs that ice cream!

Could this mean that Madeline is potentially out of the running to be our next pilot? We sure hope she longs to return...