TOO OLD TO FLY SOLO?
This story is of my father and the years immediately following my mother’s death. My father, alone in a small town he had never liked, made the usual mistakes: sold the house, changed cities, projected his loneliness outward into anger with the world. And then, at 70, he did something he’d been wanting to do since he was a lad. He signed up for flying lessons. The aircraft pushed his reflexes, his endurance and his patience. The ground school pushed the edges of his mind. But he WANTED TO FLY. He stuck with it. And at last there was only a physical between him and solo flight. He went to the doctor and passed the medical exam, only to have his hopes dashed when they said, “Sorry, we can’t let you solo. You’re 70 years old.” As it turns out, there were no regulations about maximum age so my father pushed it. He went to higher and higher authorities…
To view this resource, log in or sign up for a subscription plan
