Flight Training with Willy

Several years back, when I was working on getting my pilots license, my favorite instructor was Willy. Willy grew up in the deep east Texas woods and loved to fly. He had that wonderful genuine Texas draw that only a country boy can appreciate. I loved to hear his stories about all the flying adventures he and his dad took while he was growing up on their massive farm. They owned a tail-dragger and had their own private grass strip. This is where Willys dad taught him how to fly.



Willy never finished high school. He had to take over his dads farm at an early age, due to the untimely passing of this father.

I loved taking lessons from Willy. He had an unusual way of teaching. He always put the ball in your court and made you think. When I would ask a question about how to handle a situation, he would always say, "I dunno, what do you think?". Then when I told him what I thought, he would say, "OK, let's try that." Then after I screwed up, he would explain the proper way to do it.

I'm never going to forget one day when we were practicing touch and go's. I was a little uneasy during the flare before landing because I couldn't see the runway any more over the engine cowling. I loved his response.

"Now Smitty, what ya' need to do here is use yer' perennial vision."

"What? I don't understand." I asked.

He replied with "Ya' know, you jes' look out the side window and look at the runway on each side of the airplane and that gives you an idea of where you are. Use yer' perennial vision!"

Now, being the smartass that I am, I said "You mean I only get to look once a year?"

He looked at me at said "Huh?"

"Nevermind" I said. "I gotcha'."

I didn't have the heart to tell him because he was one of the best damn flight instructors in the world.

Smitty

Smittys RV-12iS Aircraft Construction Website