After passing my Check ride, there were many people I needed to take for a ride but the flight with my Mother was one of the most memorable. As any mother would, she worried about me during my flight training but remained ever supportive of my pursuit to obtain my pilot license.
I wanted to take her somewhere special and after much searching I found a pilot friendly place to fly for lunch. It would be Fish Creek in Door county Wisconsin (3D2). After reading a review online indicating Julies Café in Fish creek would pick you up from the local airport, I knew this would be the perfect destination. I called ahead and sure enough, they would send someone to pick us up as soon as we arrived. My parents run a Ben and Breakfast in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin and Mom is always interested in exploring new privately owned hospitality establishments.
The weather looked good the morning of our flight and for once in my life I was running ahead of schedule. In an effort to show off the convenience of General Aviation I decided to make the short flight from West Bend to Sheboygan County Airport (SBM) to pick Mom up as close to home as possible. After all, one of the major benefits of small airplanes is the ability to take off from an airport close to home and arrive at your destination in minimum time. A quick text message before departing West Bend signaled I would be arriving in Sheboygan in about 20 minutes. The short flight gave me the opportunity to make sure the airplane was in top condition for our adventure. I approached Sheboygan and entered the traffic pattern knowing my mother would be closely scrutinizing my landing from the ground. Favor smiled upon me and the conditions were perfect for a smooth as silk touchdown.
I parked the plane and walked to the FBO where my Mother was waiting at the door with a big smile on her face. It was a proud moment for both of us and we were not even in the airplane yet. I ran through my standard pre-flight briefing and received a panicked look while discussing the emergency landing procedure of unlatching the door before touchdown. “Don’t worry, we will be fine” I reassured her. I started up the engine and setup the airplane for our flight then looked over to my mother and said “Are you ready?” I saw her nod and say something but it did not come through my headset. “You have to put the microphone in front of your mouth Mom” I said with a smirk on my face. This was my opportunity to to share a whole new world of Aviation with a loved one and show her what I had been doing for the last 2 years. (Yes, it took me over 2 years to complete my flight training.)
After a long taxi around the construction at Sheboygan, we were ready to go. I double checked the airplane setup and my VIP passenger, then pushed in the throttle and we took off down the runway. The flight would keep us in view of the Western shores of Lake Michigan for almost the entire flight. Like most passengers, my mother enjoyed looking out the window for most of the flight. A few miles after passing Manitowoc, Green Bay was visible and we could see Lake Michigan on both sides of the Door County peninsula.
As we passed Sturgeon Bay, I started to check the area weather an found the wind had picked up more than I was expecting. It would require the full extent of my crosswind landing capability (It was quite limited at this point). The runway length of 2700 feet was plenty for our C172 but almost 1000 feet shorter than any hard surface runway I had previously landed on. We entered the traffic pattern behind a twin engine and I made sure to give them plenty of time to get out of the way. The approach and landing views were spectacular with extensive views across the bay and portions over water.
On short final I could feel the wind gust and start to push us off course. A small correction and we were right over the runway threshold. This is where my flight training kicked in full steam. I focused all my attention on cross controlling the airplane and looking down to the end of the runway. Using 30 degrees of flaps was not the best idea and the wind kept us aloft longer than I would have liked. For a brief moment, I considered a go-around but ultimately decided against it. As we settled to the runway I noticed the end approaching faster than normal and used ample brakes to slow us down. In hindsight, if it was close enough to consider a Go-Around, I should have done it.
Loading ...After parking the airplane on the ramp, I called Julies Café and they sent someone to pick us up in just a few minutes. The airport had bicycles to rent and Julies Café was only a little over a mile away but neither of us were really interested in biking today. We both ate light lunches and talked about what I might do with my pilots license. She told me a story about how the strangest thing happened today and she wanted to give me a gift. It was a St. Christopher metal my Grandfather had carried with him until he passed a few years ago. It fell out of her purse as she was getting ready for the flight and took that as a sign she was supposed to pass it along. It had an airplane on the back of it and she wanted me to carry it with for safe travels. It couldn’t hurt to have an extra level of protection so I always carry it with me now.
On the flight home the cloud ceiling near Manitowoc had dropped in the time we had stopped to eat and I needed to decide if we should go under or around the clouds. A quick check of the weather at Sheboygan indicated the clouds were localized and I would be able to go safely under them. I warned mom of the impending turbulence and we carried on for home. As we approached Sheboygan there was more activity in the traffic pattern than I wanted to contend with so we slowed down and let a few airplanes land before we approached the airport. It was not my best landing but far from my worst.
I left mom in Sheboygan and she watched as I departed for the short flight to return the airplane to West Bend Airport. It was a spectacular day of flying and I had another Cross Country flight to add to my logbook.
It was exactly ten years to the day since the World Trade Center attacks in New York. I can not thank those people enough who fought to keep General Aviation flying when much of the country wanted to shut it down. I hope to educate as many people as I can and keep fighting for our right to fly as private citizens.
UPDATE: A few weeks after this flight, my mother told me a story I could not have been happier to hear. She had attended a seminar in Door County and one of the attendees was complaining about the noise the airport contributed to their area. My mother defended the airport vivaciously and told the story of how we had recently visited the area because of the proximity of an airport. I’m not sure if she changed the other persons opinion of their local airport but I was happy to have converted her to full blown supporter of General Aviation and local airports. She is a prime example that don’t have to be a pilot to defend, support, or promote aviation.
