Airing It Out

Akiva valedictorian takes flight as a licensed pilot.

E

ighteen-year-old Sarah
Spitzer took flight this sum-
mer — on her own.
The 2009 graduate and valedicto-
rian of Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield
earned her pilot's license on Sept. 1
after passing written, oral and flight
tests. She is one of four children of
Dr. A. Robert Spitzer, who is a pilot,
and Dr. Ann Silverman. The couple
has homes in West Bloomfield and on
Mackinac Island.
Spitzer recalled for the IN her first
flight behind the wheel: "Grinning like
a Cheshire cat, I gripped the controls
with a shaking hand as my teeth chat-
tered uncontrollably with excitement
and anticipation. I opened the throttle
full and as the momentum built and
as I sped down the runway gaining
speed, I had to wonder by what cal-
culation I was trusted in this seat of
solo command. Yet every moment in
those brief few seconds, the plane was
gaining lift — and already the only
thought echoing in my mind, `I have

Amidst the bright blue sky and blazing sun
and the expanse of clouds like white-capped
waves,
I catch my breath; my thoughts begin to run.
The beauty and serenity must mock me
as the quiet fills with my heart's drum,
for at 3,000 feet above the ground,
I can no longer hear the engine's sound;
a sound that rumbled, stuttered, then left none.
Somehow befell disaster that depraves;
the engine seized, the blades no longer spun.
Now my altimeter becomes my clock
as gravity sees victory has come
in battle but the war's not done I found
I have not yet disastrously met ground.

I clear my mind now I am in control.
Step One: wings level, best glide speed and trim;
now I am straight, no longer in a roll.
Step Two: I scan the ground – where's best to
land?
If only on the surface there was wind
I'd know which way to head for extra lift.
With lightning speed through choices I must sift –
all lakes and hills, even a grassy knoll.
To find the ideal site chances are slim
but there! The perfect field, my luck is whole.
Step Three: engine restart, but right off hand
I know to skip this step – the engine's pinned.
Quick calculations of instrument shift
define the aircraft's altitude and drift.

Sarah Spitzer on her Cessna 172

Robert Sklar
Editor

Sky High
(Sarah Spitzer's ode to flight)

to land this contraption."
Spitzer spent the summer studying
and doing air work with instruc-
tor Chuck Soya of Drake Aviation at
Oakland-Pontiac Airport in Waterford.
She also completed required solo
cross-country flights.
She now is certified to fly single-
engine land aircraft like the Cessna
172 in which she completed her train-
ing and passed her exam.
As she gained altitude on her first
solo flight, Spitzer found there wasn't
much to scare her. "Then the runway
grew bigger in the windshield and
soon came the first pull. So satisfying
was touchdown, not much can com-
pare. And in what seemed the click
of a mike, I was accelerating into the
ground roll. My heart still thrummed,
but I was not just flying; I was soaring
through the air."
An accomplished horse rider,
Spitzer spent recent summers in the
Mackinac Island 4-H program. She
has volunteered at Friendship Circle
in West Bloomfield and was on staff
of the JN's Teen2Teen publication.
Spitzer now lives in Ann Arbor

where she will study engineering
at the University of Michigan. The
freshman eventually plans to apply
to medical school to pursue a career
in pediatric neurology. She wrote the
accompanying poem as part of her
college application.
Reflecting on her first solo corn-
mand, she says: "I cannot tell you
now, nor know for certain, whether
it was then or on the day I sat before
the examiner for real that I trembled
more and shook in my own skin. And
neither can I tell you how I did feel
when, in disbelief, I turned to the
examiner and found, "I'm a pilot. I'm
in."
Spitzer plans to continue train-
ing for multi-engine and instrument
certification so she can fly her father's
larger Beechcraft Baron.
Robert Spitzer told the IN that
Sarah "may have finally landed."
"She was still elated and airborne
for many days after passing her test;'
he said. "She worked very hard all
summer. This is an intense experi-
ence. Not many can accomplish this at
any age."

I'm not alone, my worry's not for me.
Step Four: next comes the passenger briefing;
If tragedy must be our destiny,
their safety is the very first concern.
I calm and reassure – all will be well.
I tell them what they need to know, no more,
of seatbelts, cushions, opening the door.
Then next I have them help – to look and see –
To watch in case there's something obstructing
our landing like a power line or tree.
Step Five: I give the radio a turn;
communication to the ground – I tell
controllers of the situation's core.
Now all's in place and toward that field I soar.

Now power off and keep a steady hand.
I clear the trees, here comes the ground, my heart
is in my throat. But just before I land
I push the throttle up to full power
I trim and leave behind the startled cows.
Though not the epic I began to tell,
this practice engine out has taught me well.
And in my ears the sound that helps me stand,
that low key laid-back voice that hums its part.
Just like a conscience, it's what makes me grand.
To guide me by my side is my instructor,
to help and teach me all the "whens" and "hows."
But what drives me most to my full potential
is passion deep within me – it's essential.

September 24 • 2009

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