Peggy Long Andalusia, AL
Here is her story in her own words:
I had always wanted to learn to fly and when I was in my twenties I had the
opportunity and time but no money. That was in the mid 70s when it was
estimated to cost as much as $800 to get your private pilots license. In the late
80s I had neighbors were very intensely involved with the Colorado Pilots Assoc.
This is mostly a social group but also they lobby for laws that will protect general
aviation and after Sept. 11th we were wondering if there would ever be any more
general aviation. Even though all of the planes involved were airlines the
restrictions on the small private pilots where the most severe. My neighbors were
always flying somewhere to do interesting things. My first trip was to Greede, CO
to see the repertory theater which turned out to be excellent theater, perfect
weather and great food.
My work, training people to use my company's computer software, kept me on the
"road", a different city everyday, about 12 days a month, 3 to 4 days a week. With
advances in technology we were able to rewrite our software so that in person
training was no longer needed. Now I had the time, opportunity and the money to
learn to fly. I was 51 when I got my private pilots license. I immediately started
shopping for a plane that I could afford and felt comfortable that I could fly with
confidence. After shopping for months on Internet sites and Trade A Plane (a
tabloid size newspaper that is full of planes for sale), I found a plane in
Chattanooga TN that was old (1961) but appeared to be in good shape. I made
the deal and with the help of one of my instructors, flew her to Denver. Betsy is a
Cessna 210B; she has a Continental 10470 engine, 260HP. She burns about 12
gals of 100LL (low lead gas) an hour. Fuel is now around $4 a gallon; when I
started flying, it was less than $2 a gallon. I earned my instrument rating in 1998.
The best adventure to date is flying to Guatemala and Nicaragua with a group of
6 planes -- all members of the Colorado Pilots Assoc. It was the trip of a lifetime.
Flying over smoking volcanoes is something I won't forget. I've flown west to the
Mojave Desert and Las Vegas, northwest to Jackpot NV, north to Sturgis SO, east
to Savannah, GA, Chattanooga TN, Montgomery AL, Pensacola FL, Austin TX,
Tulsa OK and lots of places in between. Several years ago I learned to fly a float
plane which opens up another wonderful way to see country. From the air you can
see so much beauty that you can't easily see on the ground like a hundred miles
of aspen leaves that have turned yellow, glacier lakes on the top of mountain
ridges, wagon ruts that run for hundreds of miles of the Santa Fe Trail, parts of
the Oregon Trail in Wyoming. It's all so very beautiful I'm just sorry that I waited 50
years to get my license.
Here is her story in her own words:
I had always wanted to learn to fly and when I was in my twenties I had the
opportunity and time but no money. That was in the mid 70s when it was
estimated to cost as much as $800 to get your private pilots license. In the late
80s I had neighbors were very intensely involved with the Colorado Pilots Assoc.
This is mostly a social group but also they lobby for laws that will protect general
aviation and after Sept. 11th we were wondering if there would ever be any more
general aviation. Even though all of the planes involved were airlines the
restrictions on the small private pilots where the most severe. My neighbors were
always flying somewhere to do interesting things. My first trip was to Greede, CO
to see the repertory theater which turned out to be excellent theater, perfect
weather and great food.
My work, training people to use my company's computer software, kept me on the
"road", a different city everyday, about 12 days a month, 3 to 4 days a week. With
advances in technology we were able to rewrite our software so that in person
training was no longer needed. Now I had the time, opportunity and the money to
learn to fly. I was 51 when I got my private pilots license. I immediately started
shopping for a plane that I could afford and felt comfortable that I could fly with
confidence. After shopping for months on Internet sites and Trade A Plane (a
tabloid size newspaper that is full of planes for sale), I found a plane in
Chattanooga TN that was old (1961) but appeared to be in good shape. I made
the deal and with the help of one of my instructors, flew her to Denver. Betsy is a
Cessna 210B; she has a Continental 10470 engine, 260HP. She burns about 12
gals of 100LL (low lead gas) an hour. Fuel is now around $4 a gallon; when I
started flying, it was less than $2 a gallon. I earned my instrument rating in 1998.
The best adventure to date is flying to Guatemala and Nicaragua with a group of
6 planes -- all members of the Colorado Pilots Assoc. It was the trip of a lifetime.
Flying over smoking volcanoes is something I won't forget. I've flown west to the
Mojave Desert and Las Vegas, northwest to Jackpot NV, north to Sturgis SO, east
to Savannah, GA, Chattanooga TN, Montgomery AL, Pensacola FL, Austin TX,
Tulsa OK and lots of places in between. Several years ago I learned to fly a float
plane which opens up another wonderful way to see country. From the air you can
see so much beauty that you can't easily see on the ground like a hundred miles
of aspen leaves that have turned yellow, glacier lakes on the top of mountain
ridges, wagon ruts that run for hundreds of miles of the Santa Fe Trail, parts of
the Oregon Trail in Wyoming. It's all so very beautiful I'm just sorry that I waited 50
years to get my license.
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