LAKE STEVENS — The plane banked left, turning on its side, and the world below opened up in a stunning expanse of blue sky, glittering water and the Seattle skyline.
That was Kelly Howell’s favorite part of the flight.
She also liked doing flips and loops in the red two-seater stunt plane, sitting in front of a renowned pilot.
The 16-year-old Lake Stevens High School student spent about half an hour Aug. 4 flying with pilot Sean D. Tucker. Tucker has flown in more than 1,200 performances, been inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame and was named a Living Legend of Flight by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. He’s a staple at Seafair each year, looping through the sky in his red biplane. Kelly describes him as energetic, charismatic and passionate about aviation.
The same could be said of her.
Kelly was selected this year through the Young Eagles, which provides free flights for 8- to 17-year-olds, to fly with Tucker. The teen wants to become a Navy fighter pilot and it was her first non-commercial flight, giving her a taste of what her dream job might entail.
A rush of a fear struck just before the flight. “They were putting the parachute on me and that’s when I started feeling nervous. I was like, ‘I know what this is for.’”
That fear dissipated when they took off. They flew over Puget Sound. Her mom, Janelle Howell, rode in a chase plane with a photographer. Kelly smiled and waved for the camera.
When photos were done, Tucker told Kelly to wave once more before they really flew.
Janelle Howell’s heart stopped for a second as she watched her daughter’s plane turn sideways and take off into the blue for a series of stunts. Kelly’s heart pounded with excitement.
“I didn’t want it to end,” she said. “That sensation of free falling, or free flying, was so amazing.”
Tucker checked in with her often, making sure she didn’t need to use the Ziploc bag she’d been given in case she got sick. Luckily, Kelly has a strong stomach.
Her ponytail flipped up when the plane went upside down, hanging against the glass through which she could see the sky, water and city.
“I may never be in a stunt plane doing all of this crazy stuff again,” Kelly said. “I just let the fear go and enjoyed it.”
Kelly’s dream of being a Navy fighter pilot would honor her grandfather, Victor Jones, who flew reconnaissance in Vietnam and later became a commercial pilot.
“He would have loved to be there,” Janelle Howell said. “He would have been up in the chase plane.”
Both of Kelly’s grandfathers were in the Navy and her dad served in the Army. When she realized she could combine her love for flight and her love for her country, Kelly decided that becoming a military pilot was her path.
“I want to make a career that I don’t need a break from, that I don’t need a vacation,” she said. “I just want to enjoy every day, and I want to serve my country. I love America.”
She plans to attend a flight academy next summer. She’s taking advanced classes and keeping almost all A’s in hopes of going to the U.S. Naval Academy. She’s also in the Civil Air Patrol, an Air Force auxiliary focused on education, training and emergency services. She’s toured Boeing’s Everett plant and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island with the patrol.
Such programs are vital for making sure future pilots, mechanics, machinists and engineers are dedicated and educated, said Karen Coulombe, a member of the Seafair Board of Directors. She taught Kelly at Cavelero Mid High School in Lake Stevens.
Coulombe remembers when Kelly first told her she wanted to be a fighter pilot. The slim brunette was maybe 5 feet tall. They looked up height requirements and found that she was at least two inches too short. Coulombe gently suggested that she have a back-up plan.
Kelly’s now just half an inch shy of 5-foot-2. She met a pilot on Whidbey who is 5-foot-1, which was encouraging.
“She’s just this little spitfire,” Coulombe said. “Sometimes you see someone that small and you forget that they can be just as strong and determined as someone who is 6-foot-5.”
Kelly keeps one of her favorite quotes in mind when she thinks about the work ahead of her. It’s from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare: “Though she be but little, she is fierce.”
Tucker urged Kelly not to let fear or doubt hold her back. They are illusions that stop people from doing all they are capable of, he told her.
“It’s a big door he opened to you,” Janelle Howell said to her daughter. “It’s a door to opportunity, a door to overcoming your fears. Thank goodness you didn’t let your fear make you say no.”
Every moment of the flight was special, but one stands out to Kelly. Tucker asked her what she thought of the adventure. She told him it was remarkable and she loved it.
“I remember what he said next. He said, ‘This is where the freedom’s at. It’s in the sky.’”
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
