At 83 years old, Dr. Robert Mitchell may be one of the oldest new pilots in the nation, but he’s just happy to be gliding through the sky.
Mitchell earned his FAA Private Pilot License for glider planes earlier this month at Saratoga County Airport. He trained for three years before taking the exam.
This wasn’t the first time Mitchell had stepped into the cockpit, though.
“I started flying when I was in medical school back in Scotland and I have always been quite enthusiastic about flying,” said Mitchell. “It was a childhood dream that I would be a pilot.”
Mitchell grew up in Britain the years before and during World War II. He was 12 years old during the Battle of Britain, the air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The battle also marked the first major campaign fought exclusively by air forces.
“That was a very important part of my life experience as a child,” Mitchell said of the Battle of Britain. “The adventure, excitement … probably a lot of kids my age then wanted to be fighter pilots and save the country.”
World War II concluded before he was old enough to join the air force, but he did serve as a cadet in the British Royal Air Force for five years and flew de Havilland Tiger Moth biplanes with the Aberdeen University Air Squadron.
Mitchell has lived in the United States since 1955 and currently lives in the City of Schenectady. He also graduated from medical school before moving to the states. He now works at Saratoga Hospital in the psychiatric clinic part time. He said he finds his work similar to flying, because both have elements of the unknown.
Gliders don’t have an engine, so they use updrafts called thermals to keep the plane flying through the air. Airliner pilots don’t welcome turbulence, he said, but some turbulence is a good thing for glider pilots. An ideal soaring day would be a couple of days after a cold front passed when there are “lots of floppy” cumulus clouds.
Keeping the ground in sight is also a good idea too, he said.
“There is a particular emphasis on staying within reach of fields of possible landing places since there is no engine and the plane has to come down some time,” he said. “Decisions that you make are extremely important so it is really an exercise in judgment and planning ahead and at all times being fully aware of your situation.”
Mitchell’s FAA exam was a three-part test involving a written exam, oral exam and flying demonstration, which had an in-flight emergency imposed by the examiner unknown to Mitchell.
To simulate an emergency the examiner, Saratoga Soaring Association member Jim Morzillo, jammed the air brake on, making it unusable for regulating speed during the final landing approach.
Describing his draw to flight was a little hard for Mitchell, but he said fellow fliers know the feeling.
“I just have a passion for flying, I would say it is a passion more than just a hobby,” he said. “Other people who have the flying bug know what I am talking about. It is a kind of a passion that some people have. Everybody dreams flying dreams but to actually be able to do it and be up there is a wonderful experience.”
Last Saturday, he also flew his 24-year-old grandson Shane Mitchell, which he said was his third passenger.
“There may be other experiences like flying, but for me it is the best experience,” he said.