Kansas Summer

Wings Over The Rockies

“It's beautiful!” Jenna exclaims after I point out the two-seater Piper Cherokee 140 that my dad and I own to her.

“You don't have to hold the sarcasm, Jen. It's painted an awful color and the pilot's side door has a dent in it. The engine also has more than two thousand hours on it; it's a piece of junk.” I stride to the green and orange machine and sweep my hand along the leading edge of the wing. “But it's the best piece of junk I've ever known.” I gaze into my reflection on the shiny aluminum and continue to pet my plane.

“Those seats are—old,” Jenna remarks, peering through the tinted cockpit glass. I look up towards Jenna.

“Yes they are. This plane was manufactured in nineteen seventy-one.” I chuckle. “The seats are older than your dad.”

Jenna turns her gaze toward me, shielding her eyes from the morning sun. “Gosh, that's really old.” She giggles. “Are we going to get in the plane now? I can't wait to get up in the air!”

“First things first, Jen. A pilot always does a preflight before he flies his plane. It's so that we are sure nothing is wrong with the plane that could result in an emergency in flight.”

“Oh.”

“First, how much do you know about planes?”

“Well, doesn't the air flowing across the wings produce lift that makes the airplane fly?”

“Yes, there's more to it, but that's the short version. Do you know what the control surfaces are?”

“Like the steering wheel in the cockpit?” Jenna replies, unsure of her answer.

“No, the yoke is not a control surface. The control surfaces are the ailerons, elevators, and the rudder. The yoke is what controls the ailerons and elevators, and the rudder pedals control the rudder. Pretty simple stuff. The ailerons make the airplane roll.” I demonstrate to Jenna what a roll is with my hands. “The elevators control the pitch, or the degree at which the airplane flies.” I use another hand motion to show Jenna. “The rudders are special; they work with the ailerons to make a coordinated turn. That is, when you make a turn in a plane, almost always the rudder and the ailerons are used together to turn.” I can tell Jenna is a little confused, but I tell her that once we get into the air, she will get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Jenna decides to change the subject. “So what all do we have to check before we can fly?”

“A whole bunch of things; and they're all on this list,” I reply, producing a weathered clipboard with a checklist taped to the front of it.

“That's a lot of things,” she slowly murmurs.

I chuckle. “Flying a plane is not like driving a car. There are so many more things that can go wrong in the air with a plane than driving on the ground than a car.”

“Then why does everyone say driving is more dangerous than flying?” Jenna asks, puzzled.

I laugh again before I hit her with the answer. “Because you're less likely to run into something in the air. I know, the less people know about flying, the easier it becomes for them to do it.”

Once all of the flaps and control surfaces are tested, fuel tanks are full and clean, the oil level is checked, and I have visually inspected the plane, I remove the chocks and climb into the pilot's seat with Jenna sitting to the right of me as first officer. I close the door, and be sure to secure it. Then, I put on my harness, and make sure that Jenna does the same. I also hand her a set of large headphones with a snake mic mounted on the side.

“Why do we need to wear these things?” Jenna pouts as her headphones fall off her head.

“You will know once we start the engine. Sorry about that, you're wearing my headphones; they don't really fit you, but I can adjust them. There we go.” Jenna's headphones now seem to fit her, and she adjusts the microphone.