Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Local youth, 9-year-old Finn Jacob Bowling took his first steps toward realizing his dream of flying on July 10. Bowling had the chance to soar through the skies with his grandfather, Wayne Nearing and family friend Harry Stinson in Stinson’s privately owned plane. Stinson even allowed Bowling to take a turn at the controls.

“It was really cool to fly over the city,” Bowling said. “I could see my house and my school, the new stadium and the old stadium, my grandparents’ house, and the church.”

Nearing, who had a similar experience as a child, was thrilled to share this special moment with his grandson.

“I enjoyed taking my grandson up for a flight like the one that inspired me to become a pilot,” Nearing said.