Brian (as a complete surprise to Ashley) found a volunteer pilot to take her up for a scenic flight in a 1940 J-3 Piper Cub, a simple, low-speed lightweight aircraft, and Ashley's first tandem-seat open-cockpit flight.
Piper Cubs' were produced between 1937-1947 by Piper Aircraft as trainer general aviation planes, and later mass produced for WWII. By the end of WWII, 80% of all military pilots had received most of their initial training in a J-3 Piper Cub (wikipedia).
With huge respect for the history behind these aircraft as well as the origin of the Piper Aircraft company being right here at this location, Ashley was ecstatic to be given a chance to fly above the hills of Lock Haven, PA, just west of William T. Piper Airport during the Sentimental Journey Fly-in in a Piper Cub!
Upon climbing the stairs to the control tower, Ashley had not yet seen Brian, nor did she notice Amanda hiding back there in full Highland Dress holding bagpipes! Ashley is from Laurinburg, NC (Scotland County)... sister-city to Oban, Scotland where the Scots are a huge part of their community, so Brian decided to add that feature to the surprise.
Brian is a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) at Wilgrove Aviation (8A6) in Charlotte, NC-- where he met Ashley, a student pilot working on her Private Pilot's License in 2014. They started dating in 2015.. and since a big part of their history was in flying Piper Cherokee 140's, Brian had the idea of what better place to take Ashley than where the Piper story began? Because after all, 'Piper' is where their story began!
(Please excuse the poor quality... impromptu cell phone video!)
Thursday, June 21, 2018 just before sunset--
Негізгі бет Surprise at Sentimental Journey 2018
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