The ultimate flight simulator: Our dads
Last week, I visited the site of our new Avelo Airlines flight training center in Orlando. It is a state-of-the-art campus run by the Avenger Flight Group, LLC stocked with multi-million-dollar high-fidelity flight simulators. I had the chance to take one of these bad boys for a spin and experience the rush of flying a modern jetliner without ever leaving the ground.?
As I was reflecting on that experience today – Father’s Day – it reminded me of the inspiration to travel the world and the preparation for life’s headwinds & crosswinds that my dad instilled in me growing up.
In many ways, my dad was the ultimate flight simulator – or should I say, “life simulator.”?
Like the real-world flying experience that flight simulators replicate, my dad – George Olson – taught me how to pushback, taxi and take off in life. He modeled for me how to climb, descend, throttle up and decelerate. He demonstrated for me how to keep my eye on the horizon and land on the stripes – and reassured me that when I experienced a hard landing, everything would still be ok.
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Similar to the high-tech simulators where pilots learn, my high-touch “life simulator” was a safe environment where wrong turns and crashing weren’t the end of the world – but rather important learning moments for the real world.?
In our increasingly complex and uncertain world, we need more “life simulators” like my dad who gave me the courage to take life head on, seek fresh adventures at every turn and navigate life’s turbulence and downdrafts with confidence.?Most importantly, he impressed upon me that at the end of our journeys, our success won't be measured in the miles we've flown or the treasures we've accumulated along the way - but rather in the connections we've made, the stories we've logged and the impact we've left in our wake.
In a year, my daughter will be 18 and flying solo – I can only hope I’ve equipped Kaitlyn with the same wings of inspiration, courage and judgement to fly high, fly far and fly right as my dad did for me.?
Thank you, dad!
Event Planner at PHA
2 周Just had the opportunity to read this and found this highly insightful since I also got to sit in the US Airways flight simulator in PIT. I was a US Airways sales rep who was permitted to work with Corporate Communications and Government Affairs as a local liaison in PHL. The reason I was able to do so was due to my mom teaching me those lessons and being a role model. She was a member of the first women's IBM training class in 1943. Due to her pioneering example I survived being told I would not be able to graduate due my college closing A year before my scheduled year, but found a way to make it happen. Left a job as an Assistant Director of a university's MBA program to become a gate agent to take care of my my mom when she was diagnosed with melanoma. Able to work my way up to sales rep in PHL and became the local liaison to the Mayor's office and other civic offices. Those connections wrote letters of recommendation to 25 area CEO's to assist me in my job search after I was laid off. I worked for another government authority until my retirement. I am sorry I didn't have the opportunity to work with you during my aviation . I think I could have learned more. I wrote the comment this way based on how to write your 2025 story.