92-year-old pilot gets ready to fly again

3:00 PM, Jul 19, 2012   |    comments
  • Share
  • Email
  • Print
  • - A A A +
Lynnus Gill of Powell

For those who enjoy the thrill of flying, it's a feeling they never outgrow.

That's true for a pilot from Powell who happens to be 92 years old.

Lynnus Gill said, "I don't particularly care about going from here to California or somewhere like that. It's not a problem but I'd rather just fly around here."

He likes to fly.

"I learned to fly in 1946. I couldn't fly in the Air Force because I was color blind," he explained.

He bought a Stearman airplane but sold it in the late 1950s.

The last time he flew was 40 years ago.

"But that don't make any difference. That's like swimming. You just jump in and go," he said.

His wife of 61 years, Ruth, passed away a few years ago.

Lynnus Gill decided he needed a hobby so he bought an experimental aircraft last fall.

"I haven't been up in it yet. It's only flown one point eight tenths hours and that was in Connecticut," he said.

He said he's taken the wingless plane for a spin on the streets of his neighborhood in Powell. He stores the wings in his garage.

"All it takes is four bolts right there on each side," he explained.

He has another airplane in his house or at least part of one.

With the help of his cousin's son David, he started building a metal plane two and a half years ago. He working on a wing at his house while David works on the fuselage.

"I kept reading in there where people building it were taking five or six or seven years to build it. Well I can see now why," he said.

That means he has four years to go.

"I'm going to be 96 in four years," he said.

The experimental aircraft in his garage can be air worthy much sooner than that.

"It's just getting the wings on it and going," he said.

So when will he fly it?

"When my feet get better," he said.

He'll keep his feet on the ground for now but don't be surprised to see a pilot soaring over Powell someday soon.