By Heidi Reinke
A few months after starting my new job in the marketing department at EAA, I received a call from my grandmother, Ruth Clark. Living within a few blocks from Wittman Regional Airport her whole life, she was wondering if I knew anyone that could take her for an airplane ride. Neither she nor my grandfather, John Clark (90), both Oshkosh natives, had ever flown on an airplane, and her dream was seeing the city she had lived in her whole life from the sky.
I sat on this idea for a few weeks, and then it hit me. Wouldn’t it be cool for my 92-year-old grandmother to experience her first flight aboard a 92-year-old Ford Tri-Motor during AirVenture? Absolutely. So tickets were purchased and arrangements were made for Grandma and Grandpa to take their first flight. And Grandma has been giving my mother a daily countdown to flight day every day for the past two months.
“Ever since I’ve seen an airplane and enjoyed the beauty of the airplanes that fly over, I’ve always wondered what it would be like,” Grandma Ruthie said. “I never dreamed this would happen.”
While EAA’s Ford Tri-Motor is currently down for maintenance, the Liberty Aviation Museum’s Tri-Motor was at the ready to provide flights for AirVenture attendees.
On Tuesday, Grandma experienced her first flight alongside some important members of her family. Accompanying Grandma on her maiden voyage was my grandfather, with whom she celebrated their 70th anniversary this year. This trip was also purposefully scheduled to include my brother, Bryan Reinke, who celebrated his 38th birthday on the day of the flight, and Bryan’s 2-year-old daughter, Piper Reinke — my grandmother’s great-granddaughter — who also experienced her first flight Tuesday.
“This is the ultimate pinnacle of our lives,” Grandma Ruthie said. “Something we were able to do together and with part of our family. Just the ride and seeing the pilot, we’re very grateful for this experience and will have something to remember fondly in the days we have left.”
Growing up with AirVenture in her backyard, Ruth and John remember attending the convention the second or third year it was held in Oshkosh, and they’ve watched the air show from their backyard every year since then.
“We would sometimes sit in the backyard and watch the air show from 8 in the morning until 8 at night,” Grandpa John said. “Early on, there wasn’t much to do in Oshkosh except the horse races at the county fair. Then EAA came to town and they had all the aerobatics and warbirds, and it was like, ‘Wow!’
“Having owned my own masonry and concrete business, I’ve been up on church steeples in Oshkosh, and I’ve seen quite a bit, but I’ve never seen Oshkosh from this high up,” Grandpa John said. “This is probably as close to heaven as I’m going to get.”
The day of the flight started out a bit rough with some rain that delayed the Ford Tri-Motor from flying first thing in the morning. But like AirVenture 2021, the flight was well worth the wait for Grandma and Grandpa.
As the Tri-Motor pulled up to the tent for its first trip of the day, you could see the awe in my grandparents’ eyes. Grandma clapped her hands together with a “wow!” as the Tin Goose whirled around like a dervish in the grass with its three engines growling. Grandpa’s grin was priceless.
Grandma was so excited to tell her story about this being her first flight to every other passenger near her. The volunteers and staff took such amazing care of them. They even made a special announcement to all of the bystanders about this being their first flight. The crowd clapped as they boarded the airplane and after the roaring gentle giant safely landed.
It was such a special moment for Grandma and Grandpa. As the landing gear from the Tri-Motor separated from the ground, you could see the joy in their faces as they felt their first moments of fleeting buoyancy that comes with takeoff. At one point during the flight, I’m pretty sure I saw Grandma with tears of joy as she looked down over the city she grew up in and saw Lake Winnebago and all of the buildings from a view she never before this day knew was possible. One volunteer even gave Grandma a big hug as she was leaving the departure area.
“To be able to fly on my grandson’s birthday with my great-granddaughter Piper is the most amazing thing for me,” Grandma Ruthie said.
Grandma would like to thank the pilots of the Ford Tri-Motor for all of the hard work and training they’ve put into becoming pilots and for ensuring a safe first flight for her and her family. I’d also like to give a big thank-you to all of the volunteers and staff that make this such a special moment for so many people. You all put such great care into making sure my nonagenarian grandparents had an experience they will never forget.
“I’m so thankful for EAA and being able to see all of these airplanes all of these years. To be able to experience this airplane ride is a dream,” Grandma Ruthie said.
Considered the first luxury airliner in its time, the Tin Goose tours the country offering passengers the flight of a lifetime. To book your own flight on this vintage beauty and say that you flew on the same airplane as Oshkosh native Ruth Clark, visit FlyTheFord.org for tour stops near you.