View From Above: The Crossing

Editor-in-chief Julie Boatman shares her initial thoughts following a ferry flight of a Daher TBM 940 from Tarbes, France, to Groton, Connecticut, with master ferry pilot Margrit Waltz.

Julie Boatman

Friday, November 19, 2021 at 05:08 PM ET

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Editor-in-chief Julie Boatman with master ferry pilot Margrit Waltz.

Key Takeaways:

The author reflects on her mother's impactful 50th birthday, which was marked by significant personal achievements like adventurous travel and overcoming a fear to stage her first art exhibit.
Initially, the author had to cancel her own ambitious 50th birthday plans due to the pandemic and demanding work transforming *FLYING* magazine.
An unexpected opportunity arose to join a master ferry pilot in flying a new TBM 940 aircraft across the Atlantic from France to the U.S., fulfilling a lifelong dream and providing a profound way to mark her milestone.

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Last summer, I turned 50. When my mother met the same milestone 24 years ago, she marked it with big plans, focused on doing things she either always wanted to or never before dared to do.

She went to Italy for three weeks—with just me along—an embrace of the culture she’d studied for her master’s degree in art, as a single woman with her daughter as a companion, directing her own itinerary.