Seventeen-year-old Brady Sherrow, EAA 1062054, flew into Oshkosh on his longest cross-country trip yet, just two weeks after earning his private pilot certificate!
Brady has been coming to AirVenture since 2012 and has dreamed of flying in one day himself.
“It was kind of surreal,” Brady said. “I’ve seen so many people fly in throughout my life, and I thought — how great of a feeling would that be flying in myself. I was proud that I was able to do it, and I was really just excited how supportive my family was and helping me get there, and it made me realize all of these people that have helped me get everything together to make it possible for me to fly in. It was a great experience, it was exciting, it was surreal; it gave me a great sense of accomplishment.”
Brady flew from Viburnum, Missouri, to Oshkosh, making it the longest trip he’s flown to date.
“It took me six hours to fly here. I stopped three times, and then in Portage [Wisconsin] I spent the night at their FBO, before getting here on July 22 at 1:20,” Brady said.
For a low-time pilot, flying into the world’s busiest airport requires a lot of planning and focus.
“It was a great flight, a little nerve-wracking,” Brady said. “… I spent a lot of time looking through the NOTAM, had all my frequencies written down. I spent a lot, a lot of time getting prepared because whenever I got here, I wanted everything to be second nature, muscle memory. I didn’t want to be worrying about anything, or stressing about anything. I thought the more prepared I am, the less eventful, and uneventful is always better when you’re flying.”
Brady’s inspiration to become a pilot started with his dad.
“He flew helicopters a couple of years in the military, then he got back in aviation in 2010 and encouraged all of us to get into aviation, too, and our whole family kind of fell in love with it,” Brady said. “I learned to fly in his Cessna 150, and right before I started getting into my flight training, I decided that I wanted to go a different route. I wanted to fly something older. I’ve always loved old cars, old airplanes, and so we thought what … fit my personality better than a ’46 Aeronca Champ.”
Brady said what helped him the most in his journey to getting his certificate was having someone keep him accountable.
“My dad has just always been there to push me and encourage me,” Brady said. “He held me accountable, which is what I needed to keep that motivation.”