So what do you give a guy that has everything? How about a flight in the Piper Cherokee Warrior? I gifted my buddy a “50 minute” flight with me in the FAA Flying Club’s Piper Cherokee about a month ago and he finally got permission from his wife to redeem his gift certificate.
We made a day of it! Bobby, his wife, and kids picked me and my wife up at our house and we set out for Manassas Regional Airport around noon. The plan was for them to drop off Bobby and I at KHEF and the wives and kids would meet us at Warrenton Airport where they could see us fly in and then could get an up-close introduction to the Piper Cherokee.
The plan went off without a hitch! After a thorough pre-flight and introducing Bobby to the plane and it’s systems, we took off and departed Manassas and the SFRA. Once we received approval to “squawk VFR”, we headed over toward the Casanova VOR so I could show Bobby a couple of steep turns and introduce him to slow flight, etc.
After that, we headed over to Warrenton where the winds were favoring runway 15. After landing and taxiing over to the ramp and parking, we were greeted by our families and a large group of folks who were there to greet a Stearman bi-plane. It was quite a scene. After a quick debrief of the flight from KHEF to KHWY with Bobby’s wife (who is not a big fan of flying), everyone went over to check out the Piper Cherokee. As you can see from the photos, Bobby’s kids loved it! They got to sit in the pilot seats and I showed them how moving the yoke changes the control surfaces.
The kids love the Cherokee! 
Hanging out at KHWY.
We got to watch the Stearman take off and depart the pattern with a new passenger and then we decided to head back to Manassas after another lap in the pattern at Warrenton.
Bobby has experience with some “puddle-jumper” commercial flights, but this was his first time sitting in the co-pilot seat of a small, general aviation aircraft and I think he really enjoyed it.
One of the best parts of being a member of the FAA Flying Club is introducing friends to the joy of general aviation! Look us up at KHEF and come join us!
