On July 2, 21-year-old Mac Copeland took another step toward joining the ranks of two generations of pilots before him by successfully soloing in a Cessna 172.
Mac grew up in a family rich with aviation history. His father, David Copeland, EAA 702331, became an aviator at just 3 weeks old while in a bassinette in the back seat of a Piper Tri-Pacer that his father was flying. Now, with more than 5,000 hours under his belt, David is an aviation enthusiast to the core and has been to 46 EAA conventions.
Both of Mac’s grandparents were active aviators as well. Taught to fly by her husband, Mac’s grandmother flew in over 30 transcontinental air races, was president of the Ninety-Nines, on the board of directors at an Amelia Earhart museum, and founder of the Wichita Aeronautical Association. His grandfather, equally impressive, was the founder of Flying Dentists Association, a paratrooper in World War II, CFI, and owner of Copeland Airfield, now Beech Factory Airport.
As for Mac, while he has always had an interest in aviation, it wasn’t until EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 when his passion was truly ignited. During his senior year of high school, while visiting AirVenture, he had his very first Young Eagles flight with none other than Sean Tucker.
“I’ve flown with my father and many other pilots before, but that was my actual, official Young Eagles flight and I was lucky enough to experience that with Sean in his airplane and with the Oracle team,” Mac said. “That was an unreal experience and I still have the towel they gave me after sweating profusely after doing barrel rolls and all those air show flight maneuvers that you see when you’re watching the air show and you’re like, ‘How in the world is a piece of machinery like that able to do barrel rolls and all those crazy stunts that Sean does as a very experienced aviator?’”
“But I was able to hop in the front seat as he was behind me and we were able to do all those rolls and just flying in the air with ease,” Mac said. “That’s when it struck me, after doing something as amazing as that, I was like, ‘Okay, this is the real deal. This is what I want to pursue and be a future aviator because there’s nothing like it.’”
That fall Mac started at the University of Kansas in pursuit of a degree in strategic communications with a business minor. While he has been quite busy with his studies and playing football, he is still finding the time to pursue his aviation dreams.
Mac flew his initial flights on campus, but with COVID-19 forcing the university to shut down the campus, Mac had to find another way to continue his flight lessons. Luckily, through the Air Capital Flight Club based out of Colonel James Jabara Airport in Kansas, he was able to continue training.
Prior to soloing, Mac and his instructor planned so that when he was ready, his solo experience would be special for the whole family.
“Three of the original hangars that my grandparents built at Copeland Airfield are still there, and I was able to arrange with my flight instructor to solo out of Copeland, which is now the Beechcraft Airfield, the Beech factory,” Mac said.
Come the morning of July 2, Mac was anxiously listening to ATIS, unsure of whether or not he would be able to fly.
“There were some storms out to the northeast, and I know there was another storm coming over about 7:30, so at that point I was very unsure if I was going to solo or not,” Mac said. “But I was determined that I was going to solo that day. So, my instructor and I, we were about wheels-up at about 5:30 in the morning.”
Mac said the whole experience was unreal. As he was taxiing down the ramp, he was able to see the hangars his grandparents built and feel the family history before him.
“I was able to solo at the same airfield that my grandmother soloed at, and then my father soloed at, it was a pretty nostalgic event that took place,” Mac said. “That was the first time I’d ever flown into Beech field where Copeland Airfield was back then. I was able to do three touch-and-goes flawlessly. Just as the sun was rising, I was able to do three stop-and-goes on the same runway, same airfield that Copeland Airfield [where] existed back then, as well as the fact that my grandmother and my father saw it at the same exact airport.”
“As soon as I did my third stop-and-go, I felt like I was going to punch the top of the airplane,” Mac said. “I was so happy and so excited to be that third generation of aviators in my family, and to continue that tradition, which is what I plan to pursue in my future career, only being a 21-year-old and wanting to continue that aviation history in my family. So that whole experience meant a lot to me. It was an awesome feeling.”
While Mac still has to pass his written exam and checkride, he has big goals for his future, including flying into Oshkosh himself one day.
“I intend to earn my private pilot, then I look to either fly private or pursue a commercial license in the near future, and quite possibly I’d love to pursue aerobatics,” Mac said. “I think it’d be a great and really inspiring accomplishment, goal, to pursue in the near future. But being up in Oshkosh has really fueled my desire to pursue my license. Seeing all the airship performers, from taking a ride in Sean Tucker’s airplane, to flying in three abreast at Oshkosh for the Bonanza Fly-In, has just fueled my excitement for aviation. And I’m very excited to pursue this feat of my life and I intend to hopefully fly into Oshkosh one day.”
Congratulations on your solo, Mac. We have no doubt you will go on to successfully tackle the rest of the goals you have set forth, and we are excited to see what the future has in store for you!
Have you reached a milestone recently? Passed a checkride, given your first or hundredth Young Eagles flight, flown your homebuilt for the first time? Tell us about it at EAA.org/submissions.