Don Stephens and his Cessna 182

Richard L. Collins

Wednesday, September 08, 2004 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Don Stephens, a 67-year-old pilot with 37 years and 2,400 hours of experience, regularly flies a highly-equipped Cessna 182S Skylane and maintains his skills with monthly CFI-I practice approaches.
He identifies crowded skies and adverse weather as the primary risks in general aviation, utilizing modern avionics in his Skylane for enhanced safety.
Stephens is undertaking a significant aviation challenge by adding a BAC Strikemaster single-engine jet warbird to his fleet, acknowledging the inherent risks of transitioning to jet flight at his age.

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Can one man’s love affair with flying safely lead him from a Skylane to the jet lane? Richard Collins evaluates one pilot’s flying.

Don Stephens, 67, is a (retiring), as he puts it, builder/developer. He has been flying out of the Lakeland, Florida, airport since he started 37 years ago and has owned a Cessna 152, two 172s, and currently has a 1998 Cessna 182S Skylane, “which has every conceivable instrument known to man.” As this was prepared, he was moving ahead on plans to add a BAC Strikemaster single-engine jet warbird to his fleet, which, he says, “might sound a little crazy at my age, but it’s just something I need to do.”