Son solos in same Cub as dad, 34 years later

My flight instructor called me a few days ago.

“I think I have a story for you,” said Ryan Weir.

So you know, Ryan is one of the more active aviators I know. His day job is flying 737s for Southwest Airlines. He’s also one of the most active general aviation pilot and instructor as you’re likely to meet.

Ryan’s been an instructor for 30 years. That’s nearly two-thirds of his life.

And yet, he’d never signed off a student for solo on their 16th birthday.

Until now.

“I met Jon Gourley about 30 years ago,” said Ryan. “We’ve been friends ever since.”

Jon is an aviator through and through, explained Ryan. He’s raced at the Reno Air Races, flown 767s for FedEx, instructed many would-be pilots, and is a well respected A&P mechanic.

And like Ryan, Jon lives with his family on a residential airpark, Kapowsin Field (86WA) in western Washington.

Sadly, a medical condition has grounded Jon.

A favor

“About six months ago, Jon called to ask if I could do him a favor.”

Would Ryan be interested in soloing Jon’s son Otto on his 16th birthday in the very same family Piper J-3 Cub (N48696) that Jon soloed on his 16th birthday 34 years before?

How could Ryan say no?

Jon agreed to move the Cub all of 10 miles to South Prairie Airport (02WA), where Ryan lives with his family. This would make scheduling a bit easier for Ryan between trips for his day job.

“We began flying one to two times each week. Otto showed up right after school at 3 p.m.”

Jon served as Otto’s ground instructor. And to keep Otto consistently flying while Ryan was away on trips, friends and experienced tailwheel instructors Summer Martel and Glenn Smith stepped in to fly with Otto.

The day

May 28, 2025, Otto’s birthday, was a typical Pacific Northwest spring weather day.

Mother Nature’s gift to Otto was a fast moving cold front with forecast gusty southwest winds up to 20 knots.

Happy birthday Otto.

“Not ideal solo weather,” sighed Ryan.

Nevertheless, Otto, along with his friends and family, showed up at 02WA around 6 p.m.

“My idea was that Otto and I could fly for an hour,” said Ryan. “But conditions were not ideal. We stayed in the pattern. Otto did three takeoffs and landings to a full stop, in less than ideal conditions.”

That’s when they decided to take a break to have cake and ice cream.

After all, it was Otto’s birthday, whether he soloed or not.

Those few moments of celebration was all Mother Nature needed to change her mind. The sky around 02WA went calm. Perfect weather for a first solo flight.

“With about 30 minutes of daylight left, Otto and I took the Cub around the pattern once again. He rolled the Cub onto the turf runway with a 3-point full stall landing. Just what I wanted to see,” noted Ryan.

Ryan instructed Otto to taxi up near the gathered spectators so he could exit the Cub.

Before getting out Ryan offered Otto a few words of wisdom: “It’ll climb like a homesick angel.”

And then told Otto to do the exact same landing he’d just performed.

Otto’s circuit around the pattern was picture perfect.

Ryan even admitted to me that as he saw Jon’s emotions come to the surface, he couldn’t help but shed a few tears of joy at the occasion.

“It was an honor to be part of Otto’s first solo,” said Ryan. “Thank you to the Gourley family, Summer, Glenn, and everyone who made this happen for Otto.”

As we neared the end of our call, Ryan said, “You know, airplanes are just machines. It’s the people that make general aviation so great.”

So true.

Congratulations Otto!