by Carol Cansdale
I was raised by a single dad raising two daughters and we always had airplanes. Dad was an airline pilot and owned an aircraft salvage and parts store in the Pacific Northwest, so our lives centered around aviation. He had his CFII and anytime we went flying, he would log it for me as instruction time. At first, I couldn’t reach the pedals, so I would mainly fly straight and level between airports. Around age 14, I became more serious about flying and we would have more regular lessons. He finally cut me loose on my 16th birthday in July of 1969. I soloed in a Cessna 150 with a Lycoming O-320 engine (N3052S).
The day I soloed, I recall it was a beautiful, sunny afternoon, little or no wind, and we went up for a quick lesson. We were at Puyallup/Thun Field in Washington state. Dad asked me to demonstrate a deadstick landing from the downwind leg. There was no other traffic in the pattern and after that one landing, he told me to stop the airplane and let him out, and said, “I’m tired of riding with you – off you go!”
Dad then told me to take it around the pattern three times. I was a little shocked, but off I went. I remember thinking to myself, “You can do this, Carol!”
The takeoff roll was very short (due to decreased weight), but other than that, everything was normal.
I wasn’t nervous at all and I really enjoyed myself. The whole experience boosted my confidence. My dad watched from the ground and even filmed me with a Super 8 camera. I do remember, I was beaming when I taxied in. Three days later, I also soloed in our 1946 Piper J-3 Cub.
Yes, dad did cut my shirt tail. I would like to say I still have it, but I have looked and cannot find it anywhere. One of these days, I hope to run across it.
That summer, I built most of my hours flying in both the Cessna 150 and the Cub. My dad kept a close eye on all my flying, always checking everything that I had already checked each time I went up. One time he even flew behind me in another Cessna 150 when I took my first cross-country! To say he was “overprotective,” would be an understatement.
I took my Private Pilot checkride in December 1970 at Boeing Field in Seattle. My examiner was Ralph Carpenter, who was the head of the SEA FAA GADO in Seattle at the time. Talk about pressure! The checkride went well, but I don’t remember much more except that Ralph told me, “You now have a license to learn.” (That phrase must be in the DPE handbook, as we pilots hear this repeatedly from other examiners as well. It’s a good, important and well-received comment, and one that stays with you.)
After that I went on to get more ratings and took instruction from several different places/instructors on Boeing Field.
To keep a long story short, I do really love flying and I went on to become an airline pilot. I was first hired by Cascade Airways in 1979 and later with Republic Airlines in 1983. I retired in September 2012 after 29 years with Republic/Northwest/Delta Air Lines as a 757/767 Captain.
I still own that same yellow 1946 Piper J-3 Cub (in my family for 57 years) and I fly recreationally out of Airlake Airport in Lakeville, Minnesota. A lot of people ask me if I hand-prop the Cub myself, and yes, I do and I still log my hours and have kept a logbook since I started flying. My pilot ratings are ATP, ASMEL, CFI, CFII, FE-B727, and I am type rated in the DC9, A320/321 and B757/767.
Looking back, I owe a debt of gratitude to the people who gave me a break along the way. To my dad, who always believed in me and funded my flying. He envisioned me as an airline pilot before I did. Also, gratitude to the forward-thinking, retired airline pilots who let me fly copilot with them at Flightcraft in Seattle (and taught me lots of stuff), and the guys that hired me at Cascade Airways and Republic. They didn’t have to hire me, but they took a chance and I’ll always be grateful. It’s been a great ride!
I hope my story inspires someone else to reach for the stars!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Besides flying her Cub, Carol Cansdale is the Secretary of the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame Board of Directors and handles banquet reservations. The 36th Annual Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame will be held Saturday, April 11, 2026, at the Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake, Minnesota. For details, go to https://mahof.org/awards-banquet/ Read the article on 2026 Inductees, https://midwestflyer.com/awards-recognition-minnesota-aviation-hall-of-fame-inductees-for-2026-announced/
Share your story about your “First Solo” by emailing midwestflyer.com@gmail.com. This series was started January 1, 2026, you can view more articles like this by clicking here.