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Flying With Dad: John's Memories

John's story as told to AOPA.

John
Photo courtesy of John Worsley

Even though my father was a B-24 pilot, he didn't continue to fly after the service, so I wasn't brought up around aviation, which is why I didn't get a pilot's license until age 60. Not long after that, I was visiting my parents and wanted to take them flying. My father was fine but my mother was nervous about it. She only went because it was me. She was doing OK until I offered to let my father fly. He promptly flipped it into a turn and I heard a sudden intake of breath in the headset. I told my father that he needed to ease into the turns because he had a nervous passenger in the back (third row, Cherokee 6). He was pushing 90 at the time and couldn't hear much so I don't know if he didn't understand me or just didn't take me seriously. He He just smiled at me and soon flipped it into another turn. My mother survived the trip and they were able to go with me later on a cross country trip, but I don't think my mother would have gone if I'd let my father fly.

Thanks for the memories Dad!

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