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Female pilot reaches milestone while flying high
By: Katrina Segers, Staff writer
Kim Pardon found her happy place while upside down.
Pardon, 50, received her pilot’s license last year.
During solo flying time in her “tail dragger,” the cable controlling the plane’s pitch broke, pointing the nose down. Pardon said she experienced a control failure but still had trim and power, making for a successful hard landing. However, putting on the brakes to stop the plane sent the plane upside down.
“It was really slow motion. Anything in a plane is kind of slow motion. It’s really not as bad as people think,” she said. “I had a little bump on the head. I was up in another plane two days later.”
Despite the tumble and another incident in which a door fell off a plane, Pardon said she still has a passion for flying, one she never knew she would have.
“Did I think I’d have this much fun when I started? No,” she said. “I had no idea how much fun it was going to be, how much I would learn or how it would help my relationship with my husband because we have a hobby we can do together. I had no idea I was going to meet so many wonderful people.”
Pardon’s husband, Phil, already attended Commemorative Air Force meetings when she decided to get involved.
“My husband learned to fly when he was 60,” she said. “I thought, ‘I’m going to have to learn how to fly or I’m going to sit at home and be really worried he’ll kill himself.”
Now Pardon said she flies two to three times a week when the weather is nice.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to be alone in my airplane,” she said. “It gives me time to reflect.”
The Westwood couple owns two planes; they purchased the one Pardon flies about three years ago.Her 1953 Cessna 305D L19 Bird Dog plane is in great condition, she said, because it never saw combat in the U.S. military and remained part of a surplus during the Korean and Vietnam wars. She said the plane spent about 25 years in the French military after the Korean War.
“The person that flew this type of plane was called a forward air controller,” Pardon said.
Pilots flying these planes sought out the enemy so larger planes could follow behind and attack the area.
“These were low, slow planes, which made great targets for the enemy,” she said. “A lot didn’t make it back.”
Pardon said she finds it hard to fly planes without becoming “emotionally involved with the people who flew the planes.”
“We (the CAF) want to bring that story to kids and the community that freedom wasn’t free,” she said.
She said fellow pilots served as excellent resources as she learned to fly. Other aviators offered tips and help and encouragement when she became frustrated, Pardon said.
With her plane’s large engine and ability to climb fast, all four windows can be open during flights, and “you can see forever.” However, the community of aviators inspires her the most.
“Aviation people are so kind. Aviation is for happy people,” Pardon said. “Airports are happy places.”
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Pardon, 50, received her pilot’s license last year.
During solo flying time in her “tail dragger,” the cable controlling the plane’s pitch broke, pointing the nose down. Pardon said she experienced a control failure but still had trim and power, making for a successful hard landing. However, putting on the brakes to stop the plane sent the plane upside down.
“It was really slow motion. Anything in a plane is kind of slow motion. It’s really not as bad as people think,” she said. “I had a little bump on the head. I was up in another plane two days later.”
Despite the tumble and another incident in which a door fell off a plane, Pardon said she still has a passion for flying, one she never knew she would have.
“Did I think I’d have this much fun when I started? No,” she said. “I had no idea how much fun it was going to be, how much I would learn or how it would help my relationship with my husband because we have a hobby we can do together. I had no idea I was going to meet so many wonderful people.”
Pardon’s husband, Phil, already attended Commemorative Air Force meetings when she decided to get involved.
“My husband learned to fly when he was 60,” she said. “I thought, ‘I’m going to have to learn how to fly or I’m going to sit at home and be really worried he’ll kill himself.”
Now Pardon said she flies two to three times a week when the weather is nice.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to be alone in my airplane,” she said. “It gives me time to reflect.”
The Westwood couple owns two planes; they purchased the one Pardon flies about three years ago.Her 1953 Cessna 305D L19 Bird Dog plane is in great condition, she said, because it never saw combat in the U.S. military and remained part of a surplus during the Korean and Vietnam wars. She said the plane spent about 25 years in the French military after the Korean War.
“The person that flew this type of plane was called a forward air controller,” Pardon said.
Pilots flying these planes sought out the enemy so larger planes could follow behind and attack the area.
“These were low, slow planes, which made great targets for the enemy,” she said. “A lot didn’t make it back.”
Pardon said she finds it hard to fly planes without becoming “emotionally involved with the people who flew the planes.”
“We (the CAF) want to bring that story to kids and the community that freedom wasn’t free,” she said.
She said fellow pilots served as excellent resources as she learned to fly. Other aviators offered tips and help and encouragement when she became frustrated, Pardon said.
With her plane’s large engine and ability to climb fast, all four windows can be open during flights, and “you can see forever.” However, the community of aviators inspires her the most.
“Aviation people are so kind. Aviation is for happy people,” Pardon said. “Airports are happy places.”