There are many pilots who take a hiatus from flying for years, focusing their time and disposable income on their families and other activities rather than their flying hobbies. Others may stop flying after losing their aviation jobs and getting into new careers. Many of those who stop flying unfortunately never have an opportunity to return to the skies. But recently a pilot from Texas decided to earn back his solo flight privileges 60 years to the day from his very first solo flight.
On May 7, 1954, Scott Doug soloed a Piper J-3 Cub on his 16th birthday and flew for about three decades before hanging up his pilot hat. For the past 30 years, Doug had stayed on the ground, pursuing a non-aviation related businesses. But he recently decided to get back into flying. He contacted Bruce Bohannon at the Flyin’ Tiger Flying School in Angleton, Texas. Bohannon trains pilots in an American Legend Aircraft’s Legend Cub — a modern version of the taildragger Doug first soloed in.
Bohannon spent only 1.6 hours preparing Doug for his solo flight, “one hour of which was just waiting to see if any demons would show up. None did,” Bohannon said.
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