(Note to everyone: Here it is, the sequel to Part I but if you are pressed for time, please come back to this post later to relax with your favorite beverage because this is an exceedingly long one - probably the longest I’ve ever written to date but hopefully it will be an enjoyable read for you).

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It was a good thing I departed Michigan on the 24th because Mother Nature threw a hissy fit and dumped several inches of snow in New York the following day, giving us the first white Christmas in a long time. This was followed by a low pressure system covering the entire Northeast, which meant I might be stuck for a few days longer than I anticipated.

In the winter of 2002, I was working part-time as a line service specialist at Berz Macomb airport to supplement my income in between speaking engagements. It was a fun job towing planes, refueling them and providing customer service for pilots and their passengers. They also had a very generous 50% aircraft rental discount available for the few employees who had a pilot’s license.

Rather than booking a commercial flight to fly home for the holidays, I decided to take advantage of the discount and rent myself a plane instead. My choice airplane was a small four-seat Piper Cherokee similar to this one.

Since I’ve written about the “Flight to Hartford” project before, I wanted to update you on a few things:

1. Ryan and I were interviewed on the local news, which can be seen here (go to the bottom of the article and click on the video link - note that this link will be invalid within a week).

2. The fundraising was an enormous success - it went far beyond our wildest expectations for we raised $7,700 for this event, thanks to heartfelt supporters from around the country!

3. For those of you who missed previous posts about “Flight to Hartford,” you can see them here:

You all know I’m involved in the “Flight to Hartford” project through my church here in Akron, OH. You’ve seen the promotional video, read about it in the papers or perhaps have told others about it. Maybe you donated toward the cause. Whatever it is, you’re probably somewhat familiar with it.

Well, we now have an actual footage of a flight that was recently undertaken to not only practice getting Ryan in and out of the airplane (it requires two people as you’ll see) but also go for a brief “get acquainted” flight.

Once again, Ron Hoff does an extraordinary job putting together not only a humorous account of what happened but also captures the spirit of “Flight to Hartford” rather well.

Today I was going to write about the success of the “Flight to Hartford” project and tie it into the universal laws of attraction and giving. But something else came up, taking priority.

I just learned that a man who helped me make my dreams of becoming a pilot seven years ago recently passed away. While I understand most of you didn’t know him, I want to share the story of how we met and the incredible impact he had on my life. I believe and hope you’ll be touched even if you’re not a pilot yourself.

One of the most important spiritual principles involve the cycle of giving and receiving, which represents the true nature of the universe. So my question for you today is: “How are you ‘paying it forward’ this week?”

A little over a year ago, I relocated to a small sleepy town of Akron, Ohio to undergo special flight training which eventually resulted in aviation history. In Feb 06, I defied the nay-sayers who said it couldn’t be done and became the world’s first deaf instrument rated pilot. You can read more about this by visiting the aviation biography section at: http://www.sjhopson.com/bio-flying.htm

(Continued from Part IV)

Next to the door at the bottom of the tower was the intercom. This didn’t faze me in the least. Long ago, I learned a neat trick in New York City where almost everyone lived in apartment buildings with an intercom system. All I had to do was press the button and simultaneously pull on the door handle until the person upstairs buzzed me in. I did it again that morning.

Closing the heavy vault-like door behind me, I saw before me a long, winding staircase that forever spiraled upward. The steps were muddy and the walls were murky brown, giving off a dark, ominous feel to it. I was immediately transported to a windowless medieval castle from the Middle Ages. Taking a deep breath, I began the long ascend.

(Continued from Part III)

I was smiling because I was struck with the idea of having breakfast at the Jackson County Airport (KJXN), a mere 33 miles away. With mounting excitement, I entered the new airport identifier into the GPS and punched the “Direct To” button. It indicated that I would be there in about 20 minutes in the Piper Archer.

Glancing at the Detroit chart in front of me, I found the airport was encircled by broken blue lines with the number 35 enclosed in brackets. That meant pilots could not enter Jackson County’s airspace between the ground up to and including 3500 feet without first establishing radio contact and then obtaining a clearance to land.

(Continued from Part II)

Making my way across the inky black ramp to the airplane, a gust of cold air blew across the landscape, causing me to shiver involuntarily. Goose bumps spread like wildfire causing me to rub my arms vigorously. A cold front was passing through.

Opening the door to the luggage compartment, I hurriedly rifled through my duffle bags, not remembering whether I had packed a sweatshirt. All I had that was remotely useful was a lightweight Gore-Tex jacket. In the far corner, I noticed something clumpy. Thinking that it was a blanket, my hope surged and then went flat in one fell swoop when it turned out to be a bunch of oily rags.

(Continued from Part I)

Five and a half hours later, I arrived in Kansas, tired but elated. A handful of deaf pilots were on hand at the airport to welcome me. I felt right at home.

Throughout the week, we flew to different locations, including Amelia Earhart’s birthplace. On most of those flights, one or two passengers was usually on board to share in the cost of flying the airplane. Although Kansas is well known for its thunderstorms during the summer, we were mercifully spared and got to do almost everything that was on the schedule.

The story I’m about to share with you contains small measures of obstacles due to my deafness and is not related to major adversity. But as you read through the story, watch how I turned an idea into an adventure. It is broken up to 3, perhaps 4 parts.

Deaf pilots have been flying since the late forties. They are not required to use the radio as long as they stay out of “controlled airspace.” Out of 12,000 airports in this country, only 700 have control towers, the rest do not. That means deaf pilots can fly in and out of 11,300 airports without the need to use the radio.

Dan Poynter recently sent an email to some of his aviation friends in the speaking/writing business. I liked them so much, I went to www.airliners.net and downloaded the photos. The photographer’s name is on the bottom left corner of each photo, giving them full credit.

Imagine you’re a pilot trying to make a landing on one of these strips!

Why don’t you try this one with stiff crosswinds!
Or taking off in a Boeing 747 at an airport like this one in China….
Going to the Blue Lagoon? Be sure to bring your lifejacket! 

Several years ago, after spending time in quiet reflection and reviewing childhood playacting roles, I wrote down things I had a passion for when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I had read some wonderful books that I found quite helpful including Carol Adrienne’s The Purpose of Your Life.

It is said that passion can make your life richer in more ways than one. By recognizing what makes you happy and simply doing more if it, you can create a fulfilling and rewarding life for yourself. All kinds of people are transforming their passion into profits these days.

From time to time I will post things on “Adversity University” that may be unrelated to overcoming adversity. I’m doing that on purpose to make this blog a little more enjoyable, unpredictable and inspiring. And yes, I will showcase some of my achievements because if I can achieve the impossible, so can you!

When I started instrument flight training at American Winds Flight Academy here in Akron, OH, I decided to apply for a scholarship on a whim to help pay for expenses. My thinking at that time was, “you never know.”

Well, based on that “you never know” thinking, I ended up winning a $2500 scholarship from the National Air Transportation Association!

Below is a link to a Google Video that I found on the Internet of an actual instrument approach. This is as real as it gets. You may need to download Google Video to your hard drive in order to view this 43 second video. It was taken by an unknown pilot who makes his living flying cargo in the worst of weather conditions.

As you view this video, imagine what it’s like to literally fly “blind and deaf! (Note: You may need to download the Google Video program to get this to work).