FOREST PARK “I imagine being in the clouds,” Alice Daniel said as she was in the cockpit of a small airplane at the U.S. Aviation Academy in Forest Park.
Thanks to a collaboration between Second Wind Dreams, Brightmoor Hospice, Governor’s Glen Assisted Living and the U.S. Aviation Academy in Forest Park, Governor’s Glen patient Alice Daniel — “Miss Alice” — on Tuesday was given a tour of the Academy’s hangar, got into the cockpits of several small planes, and was given a flight simulator demonstration.
“I love it,” she said of being able to get an up-close look at the academy’s planes. “Sometimes I’ll just watch them go by in the sky but I enjoy it — just watching the planes move.” Her favorite part of the tour? “Just all of it,” she said.
“I enjoyed all of it. I saw things I hadn’t seen before — the land, the landscaping (on the simulator) was pretty beautiful. I just enjoyed it.
” The 78-year-old Madison native had never been on a plane before, but when asked what she wanted to do as part of Second Wind Dreams, she wanted to fly an airplane. While she boarded several planes Tuesday and operated the flight simulator, she said she’s not quite ready to be a pilot yet. “No, no, no — I’ll be the stewardess but not be that pilot!” she said.
Second Wind Dreams is a nonprofit organization that fulfills elders’ dreams and offers educational programs for caregivers. For more information about Second Wind Dreams, visit https://secondwind.org/ .
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