Short Final: A Beech By Any Other Name

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A family flew to Fort Myers, Florida, for a beach trip, with young daughters eagerly anticipating "the beach."
  • Upon landing, a four-year-old girl confused an ATC instruction to hold short for a "Beech" (aircraft) with "the beach" they were visiting.
  • She vocally expressed her disappointment, believing the aircraft was their destination, but the family ultimately enjoyed their weekend at the actual beach.
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[Submitted by AVweb reader Bill Rackley]

When my girls were young, we planned a trip to visit an old high school friend of my wife’s who lived near the beach in Fort Myers, Florida. We had been promoting the trip all week, telling the girls we were going to spend the weekend at the beach with Bonnie. After a nice flight from Avon Park, Florida, taxiing to the FBO, we heard this on the radio:

“Zero five papa, hold short for the Beech to pass in front of you.”

In a nanosecond, my four-year-old, who had already unbuckled her seat belt, popped up between the front seats with her finger pointing out the window at the Beech and with a scowl in her voice exclaimed – “IS THAT THE BEACH WE CAME DOWN HERE TO SEE?”

Nevertheless, we did have an enjoyable weekend … at the beach.

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