The Neighbor Kid.....

[petehowell]

Steven is the neighbor kid. He was the one that was always in the garage when I was building the plane. He asked all the questions, never got in the way and could hold stuff when you needed 3 hands. He can carry on a conversation all by himself and can quote lines from every movie he has ever seen. He's also a speed skater, like the olympic kind. For his young age he is very good, to quote Will Farrell "he's sort of a big deal".

Well, to get really good at speed skating you train all year, on rollerblades in the summer. Long, fast rollerblades, and if you hit a slick spot on the track, you go down hard. Steven had a tough week - he found the slick spot. He broke a bone in his wrist and shattered 3 teeth. He had to endure 3 root canals before the broken arm was set. So when I wandered down to say "hey" tonight, I expected him to be on the couch watching TV and bumming. Not the case. I walk in and he pounces on me and says "Can we go flying?" His mom gives the nod, and we are off to Anoka.

We shot some T&G at STP and circled his house - the tower guys and gals and STP love GA traffic


Steven snapped pics with the Rebel - the kid has a great eye!

KSTP


Downtown St Paul - Home of the RNC


Sunset over Minne, St Paul, and KSTP, and the Mighty Mississippi (departure end of 32 just visible)


Your narrator acting important


The Stevenator


Pics used with permission of the Stevenator

[N941WR]

Pete,

I hope he recovers soon!

Back when I started on the -9 I was heavily involved with the skaters here in Charlotte.

One of the reasons I built a -9 over a -7 was because in getting ready for the 84 Mile Athens to Atlanta race I tail ended a Suburban doing about 35 MPH. The suburban was going about 5 MPH after cutting me off and putting on his brakes, I was the one doing 35 MPH.

The suburban got off cheap, it only cost me $3,500 to replace his tailgate, my medical bills were just a little bit higher. The three broken ribs, seven stitches, dislocated shoulder, and some injured disks limit my G tolerance. The ongoing back pain eventually drove me out of the sport. Every once in awhile I'll get out and skate 10 to 20 miles but not like I did five years ago.

Trust me, I know what your friend is going through.

[Bob Martin]

Pete,
Steven sounds like a great kid!
You did a good thing just by ckecking on him after his fall.
I bet his mom was grateful for you to distract him for awhile too.
I sure wish there were more kids or young adults around our airport.
Wishing Steven a speedy recovery!
Thanks for a wonderful story.
The pictures were fantastic too. Yes, he has a good eye!

[pierre smith]

...You can fly left seat in my RV anytime you're down here in Georgia!!

Get better soon,

[AlexPeterson]

Pete (and many, many others who have flying RV's) has discovered the most rewarding part of these planes - simply sharing them. I haven't added them up recently, but I believe I've given around 150 unique people rides in my plane. For those of you who typically fly solo, have a look around next time and think about whose day/week/month/year you can make. My first light airplane ride is firmly etched into my mind - it is and was a big deal. Even after something like 35 years has passed since then. Even after around 1500 flights in the RV.

While no one takes flying in their RV for granted, it is easy for us to forget just how big a deal it is for others.

Make the phone call, knock on the door, etc.. You won't regret it.

Pete, thanks for bringing in the human side of this - I'm not sure of the word - this adventure we call RV's.

[Ironflight]

Ya' know Pete, 35 years (or so) ago, Don Hendrickson, of Hendrickson Aviation hosted an Explorer Post out there at Anoka County Airport. (His hangar ended up as part of the Polar Air Museum, which has subsequently closed....). Back then, the lucky ids that belonged had a place "inside the fence" to hang out, work on airplanes, and cadge rides when they could. I still remember crawling around the old B-25 at the south end of the field (the OLD south end) and smelling new-mown grass in the July setting sun. Flying a Cub just before sunset in August brought the smell of fresh corn through the open door.

In the winter, we kids almost faught for the thrill of fueling Cessna's in the bitter cold - the regular line guy must have been laughing like Tom Sawyer, but hey, we were INSIDE THE FENCE and touching real airplanes!!

I just ran across an old home movie we shot when I got to fly the freshly restored J-3 into the 1,000' long empty Midway at the State Fair grounds with my instructor for a static display at the Scout Exhibition. I was fifteen years old, and dropped it in over the St. Paul Campus of the U of M almost like I knew what I was doing.

Giving kids the chance to get inside the fence is probably one of the best things any of us can do for aviation - Kudos you you and everyone else who takes the time to reach out to the future of aviation!

Paul

[N282S]

Your a good man, petehowell.

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

[petehowell]

I am thrilled to report that "The Stevenator", that neighbor kid that helped build the RV-9A in my garage did turn out to be "sort of a big deal". Today he qualified for the US Speedskating Junior World Team and earned a trip to Italy in a few weeks.

"Little Steven" is now 6'6"+ and nearly 7' tall on his skates! He has worked his butt off and it could not have happened to a nicer kid. I offered to go along as his photog, but was informed that the budget would not allow that.

I hope to be cheering for him in the the Olympics one day! Go USA!

[rockwoodrv9]

Pete, thanks for the update. Tell the "kid" we are all pushing for him to do will in Italy and hopefully the Olympics. Keep us up to date on his progress.