I’d always wanted to learn to fly. After all, it was in my blood. My dad and mother had many dates in his Piper J-3 Cub. He would land in the hayfields of her father’s farm to pick her up. When the corn was short he landed in the cornfield between the rows. According to their story, he had to sell his Cub to buy a new washer and dryer to clean my diapers. He always regretted that decision, but I’m sure my mother would argue the point. My uncle George sold Pipers at the time, along with Minneapolis-Moline and Massey-Harris farm equipment. I have some of his old Piper parts books and paperwork. Recently, I found a bill of sale from Piper to my uncle for a Piper Super Cruiser that he sold to a local farmer for $2,725.69 on January 14, 1947.
A Student’s First Flight to a Towered Airport Nearly Goes Terribly Wrong
Key Takeaways:
- During a night flying lesson, the author's plane experienced a dead battery, requiring a car jump-start that unknowingly rendered its lights and radio inoperable.
- While awaiting takeoff clearance on a runway at Port Columbus, the invisible aircraft was nearly struck by an arriving Boeing 707, whose pilots had to abort their landing at the last second.
- The dangerous situation was revealed when the plane's lights momentarily activated, alerting air traffic control and the incoming jet to their presence on the active runway, prompting an immediate departure.
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