The Community Fly Day by the Tri-State Pilots Association is scheduled for Saturday June 10 between the hours of 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

If perchance the weather is not nearly perfect, the rain date will be Sunday June 11. If you have not marked on your calendar, please do so now.

It is really a unique opportunity for you to experience a view of the earth from a small plane. It is pleasant experience that you will treasure.

It will give you something to talk about with your friends and maybe interest them in flying. Flying in an airliner is not the fun it used to be.

Be assured that, at this event, you will not ejected from the plane for someone else to take your seat.

Bring the kids. There is a special price of $5 for kids 7 and under who will be flying with a paying adult. For adults, the price will be $30. Then the kids will have something special and unique to share with their friends.

There will be food and soft drinks and probably some cookies. Even if you don’t want to fly, come on and have a look at airplanes up close. The Tri-State Pilots Association and friends will have the airport grass cut and the area spruced up. It will be an opportunity to share experiences with our kids and/or grandkids.

There will be five or six planes flying, most of which will be Cessna 172s, a high winged plane capable of flying four people, three passengers and the pilot. If the pilot agrees, and you are sitting in the right seat, he or she may let you fly just a bit. It is a thrilling experience.

Now let’s update the flight, as I know it, of Shaesta Walz as she starts on her around the world flight in a single engine plane, the Beech Bonanza A36. One of her first stops as she flew from Florida was Columbus. She says she was inspired by the famous woman pilot Jerrie Mock and wanted to visit Columbus to honor her memory. Jerrie was one of the first women to fly solo around the world, she took off from Columbus and 22, 860 miles was back in Columbus.

Shaesta left Columbus on May 15 at 11:12 a.m. on her way to Montreal, Canada. She landed there, 3 hours, 58 minutes. Two days later, she is still there. Her intent is promote STEM education especially among young women. Incidentally, I flew to Montreal to the World’s Fair several years ago, back in the days of no GPS, in a 1947 Aeronca Sedan. I would like to inspire people to try flying, but I think Shaesta can do it better than I.
Her next leg of the flight will be to St. John’s, Canada and then the big jump over the Atlantic Ocean to Santa Maria, Portugal which is 1,374 miles. I’ll try to keep you informed.

She is an amazing woman, having been born in a refugee camp back in the days of the Russian – Afghanistan war.

I’ll try to write more about Shaesta and her life in later columns.

Don Lee, a pilot flying out of Lawrence County Airport since 1970, has been in charge of equipment and grounds maintenance for the last several years. He can be reached at eelnod22@gmail.com