By Barbara A. Schmitz
Liam Hawkins, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was so afraid of flying that he had to take more than 1,000 commercial flights before he could get over his nerves of being airborne.
“I was always fascinated by aviation and anything that was noisy and would go fast,” said Liam, EAA 1210047. “But I was really scared of flying; I think it was the lack of control I felt. I knew it was irrational, and so I started what I called confrontation therapy. That is repeat, repeat, repeat.”
He had a job for which he had to travel commercially two to four times a week. But he also started flying lessons; in the beginning, fear sometimes enveloped him so he could hardly think.
“I was terrified of flying, but I was more terrified of failing to achieve my goal of becoming a pilot,” he said. Early on, he knew he needed help if he was to succeed so he reached out to AOPA, which shared some helpful information.
“They told me don’t do stimulants (like coffee) before I go flying, and fly at 7 a.m. before the heat builds up,” he said. “They reminded me that I was the customer, and I could tell the instructor what I wanted to do until I was comfortable with the basics. Even though I was an adult in my mid-30s, I had these irrational fears so I took things very slow.”
His message today is that if he can become a pilot, anyone can. It took him about nine months and 100 flight hours to earn his private pilot certificate Today, he’s logged about 900 hours in the air.
While he is proud of the fact that he has overcome his fear, he is also proud of his airplane and the message it provides. Liam flew into EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Sunday morning, and his airplane, a 1967 Mooney M20F painted like a kaleidoscopic rainbow, can be found outside of Epic Aircraft Exhibit Hangar C by the SUN ’n FUN booth.
Liam bought the Mooney right after COVID, but the paint job and the rest of it needed some work. “It was white, with a red and blue stripe,” he recalled. His friend, a mural artist named Matt Kress, teased him how ugly his airplane was and offered to paint it.
“It took a few calls to find a paint shop that would allow a partnership with a third party,”
Hawkins said. “But Matt did all the color work.”
Before the airplane went into the paint shop, Matt offered to do a mock-up. But Liam wanted to be surprised.
“I’m a big fan of his art and knew his style,” Liam said, adding that gave him an idea what the paint job would look like.
Liam said he knew the bright colors would get attention. “But it’s 10 times what I thought it would be,” he said. “People smile, want to get their picture taken next to it ….”
Liam uses the airplane to promote art and aviation, as well as inspire young people to fly. He’s given presentations at his local EAA chapter, Chapter 1602 at Albert Whitted Field in St. Petersburg, and he plans to start flying Young Eagles there, too.
Chapter President Chris Gregory flew into Oshkosh with Liam. “Everywhere we stopped for gas, everybody came out,” Chris said. “It gets equal attention to a P-51.”
Liam will be at his airplane daily from noon to 1 p.m., answering questions, selling T-shirts, and more. You can also get a free poster, which includes the brightly colored airplane Liam calls Anomaly, from the SUN ’n FUN booth. The poster promotes its 2025 aerospace expo, with the theme “Turn Up the Fun at 51.”
For more, follow TheMooneyAnomaly and MattKressArt on Instagram.