Age doesn?t ground these pilots

[thedrifter]

October 31, 2003

Age doesn?t ground these pilots

By James Hannah
Associated Press


NEW CARLISLE, Ohio ? In her spare time, 84-year-old widow Violet Blowers knits hats for military veterans.
Her sewing machine sits at the edge of a cozy corner furnished with a recliner, television set and refrigerator ? in the hangar with her ivory-colored, single-engine 1966 Cherokee 140.

?It?s a thrill every time I go up,? said the 4-foot-10 Blowers, who began flying 36 years ago, starting with a seaplane. ?I have a fuel bill you wouldn?t believe.?

The number of people age 80 and older who hold active-pilot medical certificates in the United States increased from 1,948 in 1999 to 3,111 in 2003, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Membership in the United Flying Octogenarians pilots? club more than doubled in the past 10 years, to 420. The group was founded for fun in 1976 by pilots attending a conference of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association on the West Coast.

Bob Vandel, executive vice president of the Flight Safety Foundation, believes there are more older pilots simply because the number of older people has increased.

The number of Americans ages 80 and older rose from 7 million in 1990 to 9.2 million in 2000, according to the Census Bureau. During that decade, the most rapid growth in the older population occurred in the 85-and-older category, which increased 38 percent.

Nathan Morris, 96, of Stevensville, Md., began flying when he was 30, inspired by the feats of Charles Lindbergh. He has crossed the Atlantic Ocean eight times and has done a lot of flying in the Arctic, a place he finds fascinating.

The retired electrical engineer still pilots his 1973 Cessna long distances, to Florida and California to visit his children or to Alaska for sightseeing.

Morris said he gets little reaction from people when he lands at airports.

?They say I don?t look my age,? he said. ?I?m fit as a fiddle. I just tire a little easier.?

Blowers? arrival at Andy Barnhart Memorial Airport ? behind the wheel of her fire-engine red, late-model BMW roadster convertible ? draws waves from other pilots.

?The fellows will stop in as they go by and visit for a while,? she said, sitting in a lawn chair inside her hangar.

When the skies are clear, she yanks open the hangar door and pushes her 2,150-pound airplane out toward the runway.

She flies four or five times a week, mostly to nearby airports for lunch or shopping. On Sundays, she flies to the Airport Cafe in Urbana 30 miles away to dine with friends.

Upon returning, she lands on the grass runway instead of the concrete to save wear on her tires.

The FAA sets no maximum age for pilots. However, every two years, pilots 40 and older must obtain medical certificates from doctors picked by the FAA. Younger pilots must get certificates every three years.

All pilots must past vision and hearing tests, and certain heart problems, epilepsy and other medical conditions can disqualify them.

Physical requirements for driver?s licenses are similar. For example, both pilots and drivers in Ohio must have at least 20/40 vision, with or without glasses. And drivers can be disqualified for certain medical conditions.

All pilots also must meet with a certified flight instructor every two years to review flight maneuvers and emergency procedures.




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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.

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Sempers,

Roger