Wayne Marshall, retired military and airline pilot, was the speaker at the Sun Lakes Aero Club’s gathering on Feb. 17. He is shown here with Aero Club President Cannon Hill.
Gary Vacin
“Drinking fine wine through your eyes.” That’s how a retired military and airline pilot described the scenery he observed during his series of flights around the perimeter of the country in a light-sport aircraft. He spoke at the Sun Lakes Aero Club gathering on Feb. 17.
After spending a career flying fighter jets and airliners at high altitudes and up-to-supersonic speeds, Wayne Marshall always wanted a lower and slower view of the countryside. So, he embarked on a 43-day sojourn around the perimeter of the country, mostly at altitudes of 500 to 1,000 feet. “The view was breathtaking,” he said. Marshall’s venture started and ended at Casa Grande, his home airport, running from May 16 through June 27, 2024. In between, he made 36 landings in 28 states, logging 102.5 flying hours. Stops included airports in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Maine, New York, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and California and many places in between. “The experience was always on my bucket list,” he added.
His presentation included a slideshow and videos taken through the windshield of his aircraft, an Aeroprakt A32 manufactured in Kiev, Ukraine. Especially striking was his video of “The Lady” (pilot talk for the Statue of Liberty). The plane was constructed in Kiev, then disassembled and shipped to a dealer in Arkansas. Then it was rebuilt, and Marshall traveled to the dealership, got checked out in the plane, and flew it back to Casa Grande.
Marshall’s talk was the fourth in a series of aviation-related presentations given at Sun Lakes Aero Club gatherings. For additional information, contact Cannon Hill at 509-539-7857 or Gary Vacin at 480-298-7017, or go to the organization’s page on Facebook or website at sunlakesaeroclub.org.