Time flies by

MOSES LAKE — Lew Mason is teaching a student to fly in crosswinds.

What better day than a Wednesday afternoon, with strong wind challenging the plane as it lands outside the Big Bend Community College Aviation Center?

The student takes the small airplane in for a landing without a hitch as Mason instructs from the passenger seat. Afterwards, the Big Bend Community College teacher and former Navy commander fills the details of the flight into a log book with the student.

Mason, 57, said he feels lucky to have experienced so much in his life. The 1967 Moses Lake High School graduate was a state wrestling champion with Moses Lake Councilman Jon Lane in 1965. Mason weighed just 106 pounds and fell into the lowest weight class. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., conducted graduate work at the University of West Florida and earned his Master of Science Degree in Computer Science from Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.

Now, he teaches flight at Big Bend and serves as a board member for the Moses Lake School District.

"I've done a lot of neat stuff I think," he said.

Mason got his first taste of flying through the U.S. Naval Academy, which he joined in 1967. The first flight was in 1971 through a flight introduction program. He and the instructor flew around the Baltimore area.

"We flew to some place. He had a cup of coffee, I had a Coke and then we jumped back in the airplane and flew back to Baltimore," Mason said.

His serious flights came in the spring of 1972, when he began flight training. He had an obligation for five years of military service after completing his training at the naval academy.

"I had a choice of either driving a ship, playing in the mud with the Marines, being in a submarine, or flying — and I said, 'I think I'd like to fly,'" Mason said.

Although he didn't see flying airplanes as his lifelong career choice, it turned out he really enjoyed flying planes and had a talent for it. From 1977 to 1979 he was an advanced jet instructor for the Navy. While in the Navy, he accrued more than 4,000 hours of flight time. Others he served in the Navy with became astronauts, including Frank Culbertson, who was on a NASA spaceship during the first night landing.

When Mason retired from the Navy in 1986, he moved from California to Moses Lake. He started working as a part-time math teacher at Big Bend. In 1991, he started as a part-time aviation instructor. He has taught full time since 1972.

Up in the air, teaching isn't too difficult.

"There's very little they could do to the airplane that would scare you too badly, particularly if you like to be upside down in your plane anyway," Mason said. "Landing's, however, another story. Teaching somebody how to land an airplane for the first time, there there's less room for error. So that can be interesting."

Mason experienced two close calls in the air. One close call came during his time as an instructor, when a student turned off the engine mid-flight. The second close call he experienced was in 1975, during a night landing with the Navy. Mason forgot to release the wheels before landing a jet. At first he felt frustrated, but his frustration quickly transformed to fear. The plane landed and he came out unharmed.

"When the back of your airplane's on fire and you're sliding down the runway, it's just kind of an interesting psychological shift from disappointment and frustration to a survival mode," he said.

His negative experiences don't deter him from continuing to fly. Mason has what he calls the "Avian Virus."

The best part about his job is working with others who are also infected.

"It does get in your blood and it's kind of a fun thing to do," Mason said. "And working with young kids that have got that bug and are excited about flying, it's kind of neat to help them along with their journey."

He owns a Citabria aircraft, which can go about 90 miles per hour, and co-owns a four-seat plane that can go 180 miles per hour. The Citabria has the ability to go upside down, which Mason enjoys doing.

He and his wife Kathy Mason traveled to Florida and back in the four-seat plane. Three years ago they took the Citabria on a two-week journey following the pathway of Lewis And Clark, flying about six hours each day.

"That trip was really interesting, the different terrain that we covered. (We) really got an appreciation for what Lewis and Clark did," he said.

Mason said he enjoys the Pacific Northwest, particularly the eastern side of Washington. Working on the school board is a way to give back to the Moses Lake School District, where he received his education.

"Both my parents were educators," he said. "My dad (Bob Mason) was dean of students here at Big Bend Community College for 29 years, and my mom (Peg Mason) taught junior high and high school a little bit and was the high school librarian here at Moses Lake for 20 years."

He said he, his two brothers and sister received a quality education in Moses Lake.

"I was interested in trying to give some of that back," he said. "I appreciate what they've done for me, and I was hoping maybe I could do something for somebody else. It was kind of a way of saying thank you."