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Flight instructor taught young student about life and "Fly the dang plane"

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(Editorial note: Airplane pilot Gene Meade from Casar spent much of his career teaching people to fly planes. Although retired from instructing, Meade said he flies for fun now, but said he was interested recently to read a story by Susan Hewitt, a former flight student from 1979. Susan, who lives in the Six Points area, wrote her own story about flying out of the Polkville grass strip in a Piper Cub under the instruction of Meade. Susan said she flew about 10 years after receiving her pilot's license, but gave up flying when her baby daughter was born. Susan writes her story).

"Fly the dang plane!" These words were impressed on me countless times in my student piloting with Gene Meade back when I was 22. He taught me to fly at a dirt strip in Polkville which had a cow pasture on one end and telephone lines on the other end. It was known as a short strip, so you had to take off and land quickly. The strip was run by Fred Simmons, an old wing walker from the 30s. He devoted a giant field and hangar to area pilots to fly vintage planes.

Gene was teaching me to fly a 40s era Piper Cub tail dragger, which has to be landed with the nose up so that all three wheels just ease right on to the runway. At least that's the goal. It's harder than you think because you can't see the ground through the front window. You have to 'flare' the plane as you look out the side window and ease it to the ground. That's what we'd been practicing and after 8 hours of instruction and on my 22nd birthday, we pulled up to the hangar at the end of our lesson and he got out and said "you're good to go."

It was one of those moments where you keep going without thinking. My Dad was at the field with me (he soloed at 20 when he was a Wake Forest student). So he and Gene waited on the ground while I taxied down the runway and took off. I'm a parent now and I can't imagine the feeling of seeing your 22 year old take off in a plane she's piloting. Once in the air, the October trees were radiant red, yellow, orange, and green. My feeling of exhilaration knew no bounds. I was flying a plane by myself. It soon turned to terror when I realized I was going to have to land without Gene backing me up as a crowd gathered to watch my first solo landing.

I circled the airport and prepared for the final approach with knees a little wobbly. I pulled the power slowly as the plane descended and attempted the flare Gene had instructed me to do. There was a slight bounce...couldn't quite get all three wheels to land simultaneously...but not too shabby...soon I was safe on the ground.

The tradition after a solo flight is to have a corner of your t-shirt cut out into a square and some statement like "death defying act completed today" is written in magic marker with your instructor's signature and then hung on the hangar wall with all the other pilots who have done the same. A proud moment.

At that point in my life, it was just the best birthday ever. And Gene's wisdom "Fly the dang plane" has stayed with me for life. It's about keeping focus on the thing that needs attention and remembering what you know. Don't get distracted by the things that can take you off course. Dad was proud. His youngest had followed in his footsteps. He took me out to a nearby mini-mart to celebrate and bought me a six pack of Budweiser, which was one of the best memories ever with him. There was a lot of grinning and detailing every single moment in a continued replay.

And since then, that moment has reminded me at every terrified edge in my life to "fly the dang plane", that my knees might be wobbly but I can do it. It's seen me through skydiving, Toastmasters, parasailing, Hospice Chaplaincy, my own internal deep dive into therapy, both with myself and others, giving birth, ballroom dancing, and so much more. I recommend it. It's the only way to know how big you are and the opportunity for growth is there are every corner.

Gene is still flying. Spoke with him yesterday. He received an award recently for 50 years of flight instruction without any accidents. So grateful for the lessons he taught me, not just about flying, but living.

-Susan Hewitt

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