Occasionally even the most passionate aviation lovers need motivation to go flying… Amazing, right? But it’s true and to that point, “traditions” are one of many great reasons to go flying…
A tradition is a reason many people do many things, whether it means to visit a family member, travel to a distant place or wear a specific jersey to a sporting event… Similarly, a tradition is great reason to go flying. Over the years I discussed many of the traditions I’ve had for reasons to fly. These have included going flying to watch fireworks on the 4th of July, seeing the first sunrise of the year or to celebrate my birthday…
The 2017 Thanksgiving Night Sandwich!
One non-flying tradition that I have is my annual Thanksgiving Night Sandwich. You’re probably thinking that a lot of people make leftovers sandwiches once they get over their initial fill of Thanksgiving dinner. But this isn’t just a sandwich, it’s a once-a-year event. The sandwich has evolved over the years and it isn’t just a bunch of ingredients slapped together.
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Over time I’ve experimented with different techniques. As an example, for a couple of years I’ve used 6 pieces of white bread to provide the structure for the sandwich, two on top, two on the bottom and two in the middle. Probably three years ago I discovered that filling the bread layers with gravy allowed for the perfect taste of gravy in each and every sandwich bite. This year I took it a step further and included one of the two types of cranberry sauce on hand within the bread layers with the gravy. The results, perfection!
Just like my Thanksgiving Night Sandwich is a tradition so is an annual Christmas Eve flight. Over the years my good friend Peter and I have made many Christmas Eve flights, often with Rudolph along for the ride! The Patriots are playing on Christmas Eve this year so as long as the weather is good my Christmas Eve flight will be an early morning flight! There is nothing particularly special about Christmas Eve as a day for a flight, but dating back to when Peter was learning to fly we’ve made the flight to get the skies ready for Santa!
KING Aviation where I was teaching would be open on Christmas Eve morning and Peter and I always had a lesson booked. After that it stuck, I had flown over my parents house a few times prior on Christmas Eve to take pictures and to wave to my mother (her birthday is Christmas day!). Thus, a tradition was born and while I’m in Massachusetts for the Christmas holiday this year I fully intent to continue the tradition!
So start today, pick a reason and a date, find a passenger or co-pilot and start your own flying traditions!
-Fly Safe, @MTElia1B9
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