Cody Abner grew up around airplanes. His parents had a private airstrip on their property north of Bemidji, Minnesota.

“I was fascinated by aviation before I had ever attended my first day of school.” Brad Lee is not exaggerating.

Harold Kennedy took his first flying lesson when he was fifteen years old and purchased his first airplane when he was just 18 years old.

It wasn’t much to look at. When Garrie Moore first approached the 1968 Cess­na 177 Cardinal, yellow jackets were flying in and out of it.

As the story goes, Cessna marked the Skyhawk’s Silver An­niversary (25 years) by painting the first one off the line that year metallic cardinal silver, with a midnight red pri­mary stripe and a flag red accent stripe.

Jared Calvert was only 5 years old when he took his first plane ride in a Cessna 175 around Ranger Airfield (F23) in Ranger, Texas.

Nobody in my family was involved in aviation, but I started flying roughly 10 years ago on a whim, and I simply got hooked.

For individuals like Cory Rance, of Moody, Texas, there is only one mode of transporta­tion that is both practical and exhilarating.

Chris and Liz Bron fly a Cessna 172M from their home base, Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (KSPI), in Springfield, Illinois.

The 210 makes its mark in the GA world as a good choice for its speed, six-passenger capacity, relatively high useful load, roominess, and long-distance capability.

Bradley McKee is an enthusiastic young aviator with an ambition to become a corporate pilot. His passion for flying began almost as far back as he can remem­ber, around 5 years old.

N737VE began its life like all of the other Cessna birds; it was a stellar representation of what the company does best, blending reliability and accessibility.

Patrick is wild about his current aircraft. “It’s my forever plane,” he said. But he actually had two other planes before discovering the Cessna T310Q.

Are modifications worth it? One group that thinks they are — South America Mission (SAMAIR) — is located in Pucallpa, Peru. The 206/T206 aircraft they operate are a vital part of their organization.

Sean Sullivan, of Fort Worth, Texas, is an example of these positive impressions actually matching the man. An entrepre­neur in the construction and real estate fields, Sean has parlayed his take-charge attitude into his piloting experiences and plane ownership.

Although Eric Bradley has been around airplanes his entire life and had an ambition to be a pilot for three decades, he didn’t reach that milestone until several months ago.

Charlie Gasmire is a pilot and entrepreneur who founded Airplane Academy (airplaneacademy.com) in 2018 to bring more people into aviation and equip them for suc­cess.

It took a while for Blaine to find the aircraft he was looking for. When he spotted the plane online nearly five years ago, he knew it was just what he wanted.

Since the Cessna 150 debuted in 1957, it’s played a central role in helping students earn their pilot’s certificate. It’s also played a major role in the success of the Tango Thirty One Aero Clube

When Russel Moore talks about his airplane and about flying, he speaks in third person. It’s always about the people who got him where he is today.

Al Sidaras is proud to be an 80-year-old pilot, as well he should be. Most pilots have had to give up their flying hobby by then.

“If your purpose is genuinely the enjoyment of flying and truly experiencing every­thing, there is nothing that can beat a gyroplane.

Donn Hopkins was the pilot of the photo-shoot flight, while friend and student pilot Erin Clancy...