By Barbara A. Schmitz
The saying may be “A family that prays together stays together.” But for the Smith family, it’s a family that flies together.
After getting stuck in Chicago due to the CrowdStrike outage instead of being back home in the Houston area, Jonathan Smith, a United Airlines captain/line check pilot, rode a jump seat to Green Bay, found a ride to Oshkosh, and arrived on the EAA AirVenture grounds in time to see two of his sons taxi in upon landing in a 1971 Piper Cherokee 140.
Flying the airplane was Landen, 18, who graduated from Klein High School in June, and his 17-year-old brother, Miles, who is a junior at the school.
Landen soloed at 16, got his private pilot certificate at 17, and became a commercial flight instructor at 18. He is also instrument and seaplane rated and tailwheel endorsed, and has logged nearly 1,000 hours in the air.
Miles has 380 hours logged and is awaiting his checkride to become a certificated pilot. While his father may have been his first flight instructor, his brother has now taken on that role, allowing them both to gain hours.
This is the third trip to AirVenture for the teens and the 13th trip for Jonathan, who started flying in 1990, has logged 9,500 hours, and once flew for Samaritan Ministries in New Guinea, where the family lived for five years.
Landen said it is nerve-racking to fly into Oshkosh. “There are a lot of planes, and it definitely keeps you on top of your toes,” he said, adding that they arrived Monday after the air show. It was the second time he was PIC upon arrival.
The family belongs to a small flying club where Landen also flies a Quicksilver seaplane and J-3 Piper Cub.
Aviation is truly a family affair. Jonathan and his wife have two other children, a daughter who just started ground school and another son who is working on his commercial certificate.
Landen and Miles said they also hope to become commercial pilots, but they plan on having a backup plan in aviation, just in case.
“But if I’m flying, it means I’m having fun,” Landen said.