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Deaf Old Fort teen takes first solo flight | The News-Messenger | thenews-messenger.com
An Old Fort High School sophomore who has grappled with hearing impairment has accomplished something many people merely dream of.
Tyler Bowes took a Cessna 172 up for his first solo flight on his 16th birthday Monday.
Bowes was born five months premature and doctors told his parents that he had lost 70 percent of his hearing capacity, father Dan Bowes said. Then, when Tyler was 10, his mother, Deb, died.
None of that has stopped him from excelling at school and elsewhere -- Tyler has a 4.0 grade-point average, plays the saxophone in the band, works as the student athletic director at his school and is working towards his private pilot's license.
"I am very proud of him, because he has been through a lot," Tyler's father said. "He could have given up, but he didn't. That is what I want kids with any sort of handicap to know; that you should always climb for your dreams and don't let a handicap hold you back."
Tyler said his interest in flying was sparked when he was 10 and flew on a jet to visit friends in California.
"I just really liked it," he said. "Once we did that, I think it has been one of the main things I wanted to do."
The flying bug bit him, and his dad said he logged many hours on a computer flight simulator in their home before asking to start flight lessons at the age of 14.
"I guess I like the thrill and excitement of it, being able to do something different, something that not everybody does," Tyler said of flying.
Dan said he went to Fremont Airport and asked Rex Damschroder if his son could begin lessons with him. They realized Tyler's hearing -- though he has hearing aids in both ears -- might be an issue, so Damschroder took him on his first flight at Toledo Express Airport, which has more radio traffic.
Tyler said he is able to operate the radio, thanks in part to a noise-reduction headset that does not interfere with his hearing aides.
"It can still be hard sometimes," he said.
After Damschroder suffered a heart attack in March, instructor Tim Williams continued to train Tyler in Cessna 172's, 182's and 206's.
"Rex and Tim have given him a dream-come-true opportunity," Dan said.
Damschroder said he has enjoyed the time he has spent with Tyler and is very impressed by his work ethic, dedication and ability to overcome the obstacles in his life.
"He's just an excellent pilot," he said.
Tyler said he has known flying was what he wanted to do with his life ever since that first plane trip to California, though becoming an athletic director has always been another passion of his.
"He is a very hard worker and is very responsible," his father said.
Tyler has more than 200 ties in his bedroom, he said. He mows several lawns around Old Fort with a very straight eye and he saves up the money he earns, either for a car or a plane.
"Right now, I'm leaning toward the plane," he said.
Like any young pilot, there are those discouraging moments that make him question what he is doing, but has been able to overcome them with the encouragement of his father, teachers, his friends at the airport, his church and the community.
"A couple of weeks ago, he was doing his cross-wind landings," Dan said. "When we drove down the road from the airport, he said, 'I quit.' "
Other pilots talked with the teen and encouraged him to come back and try again the next Saturday. When he did, he nailed all 12 landings. Now, Tyler has volunteered to help teach other aspiring pilots at Fremont Airport's ground school.
After a successful flight Monday, Tyler landed the plane and taxied toward the hangar to find about three dozen friends and family members waiting to wish him a happy birthday and congratulate him.
"That was actually a really big surprise," he said.
Dan said neighbor Bob Gillmor, who reproduces historic cannons, fired off a cannon at the airport to congratulate Tyler on his flight and presented him with a small one of his own as a birthday present.
Tyler hopes, after graduating from high school, to go to college and pursue a degree as a professional pilot. Right now, he is considering Ohio State University.
An Old Fort High School sophomore who has grappled with hearing impairment has accomplished something many people merely dream of.
Tyler Bowes took a Cessna 172 up for his first solo flight on his 16th birthday Monday.
Bowes was born five months premature and doctors told his parents that he had lost 70 percent of his hearing capacity, father Dan Bowes said. Then, when Tyler was 10, his mother, Deb, died.
None of that has stopped him from excelling at school and elsewhere -- Tyler has a 4.0 grade-point average, plays the saxophone in the band, works as the student athletic director at his school and is working towards his private pilot's license.
"I am very proud of him, because he has been through a lot," Tyler's father said. "He could have given up, but he didn't. That is what I want kids with any sort of handicap to know; that you should always climb for your dreams and don't let a handicap hold you back."
Tyler said his interest in flying was sparked when he was 10 and flew on a jet to visit friends in California.
"I just really liked it," he said. "Once we did that, I think it has been one of the main things I wanted to do."
The flying bug bit him, and his dad said he logged many hours on a computer flight simulator in their home before asking to start flight lessons at the age of 14.
"I guess I like the thrill and excitement of it, being able to do something different, something that not everybody does," Tyler said of flying.
Dan said he went to Fremont Airport and asked Rex Damschroder if his son could begin lessons with him. They realized Tyler's hearing -- though he has hearing aids in both ears -- might be an issue, so Damschroder took him on his first flight at Toledo Express Airport, which has more radio traffic.
Tyler said he is able to operate the radio, thanks in part to a noise-reduction headset that does not interfere with his hearing aides.
"It can still be hard sometimes," he said.
After Damschroder suffered a heart attack in March, instructor Tim Williams continued to train Tyler in Cessna 172's, 182's and 206's.
"Rex and Tim have given him a dream-come-true opportunity," Dan said.
Damschroder said he has enjoyed the time he has spent with Tyler and is very impressed by his work ethic, dedication and ability to overcome the obstacles in his life.
"He's just an excellent pilot," he said.
Tyler said he has known flying was what he wanted to do with his life ever since that first plane trip to California, though becoming an athletic director has always been another passion of his.
"He is a very hard worker and is very responsible," his father said.
Tyler has more than 200 ties in his bedroom, he said. He mows several lawns around Old Fort with a very straight eye and he saves up the money he earns, either for a car or a plane.
"Right now, I'm leaning toward the plane," he said.
Like any young pilot, there are those discouraging moments that make him question what he is doing, but has been able to overcome them with the encouragement of his father, teachers, his friends at the airport, his church and the community.
"A couple of weeks ago, he was doing his cross-wind landings," Dan said. "When we drove down the road from the airport, he said, 'I quit.' "
Other pilots talked with the teen and encouraged him to come back and try again the next Saturday. When he did, he nailed all 12 landings. Now, Tyler has volunteered to help teach other aspiring pilots at Fremont Airport's ground school.
After a successful flight Monday, Tyler landed the plane and taxied toward the hangar to find about three dozen friends and family members waiting to wish him a happy birthday and congratulate him.
"That was actually a really big surprise," he said.
Dan said neighbor Bob Gillmor, who reproduces historic cannons, fired off a cannon at the airport to congratulate Tyler on his flight and presented him with a small one of his own as a birthday present.
Tyler hopes, after graduating from high school, to go to college and pursue a degree as a professional pilot. Right now, he is considering Ohio State University.