Wing walker in the Flying Circus airshow, pilot, instructor, and energetic friend of everyone, Chuck is a mainstay of sport aviation here in Northern Virginia. He was also the key to our adventure. He's flown a Flying Circus biplane into Become A Pilot Day for years.

This year, he volunteered to escort Tom Simmons and me into Dulles. His biplane has the all-important radar transponder, the expensive little radio that reports who you are to the traffic controllers. Tom and I have no transponder, so we're barred from this airspace - except that Chuck escorted us as a flight of three, and the Smithsonian's wonderful Margy Natalie greased the way with the FAA powers that be. As a result, the stars aligned and Tom and I got in. More importantly, we got out, too, and have lived to tell you this tale.