SEATTLE -- Maury Marler is 91-years-old is getting his wings as a student pilot.
And yes, he did pass his flight physical. If you were to meet him, you would think he was much younger. He has all his original knee and hip joints and he is as sharp as a razor.
"I don't feel like I'm 91, either," said Marler.
Marler was born in 1918 while World War I was still raging in Europe. That was the war that saw the first real use of airplanes in combat. But by World War II, young Marler was in flight school after signing up with the Utah National Guard's ROTC program to help pay for college.
Military flight school didn't go so well. He washed out, but he did get a civilian private pilot's license in 1941, but it long since expired. The log book he started using back then has a 66-year gap until 2008 when he went to Galvin Flight Service at Seattle's Boeing Field to take up flying again.
Marler says the flying bug took a long hiatus.
"I didn't think it would, but it did," said Marler.
He was inspired to take up flying again after moving into a retirement community near Renton Airport.
The reality was that Marler's life was all about flying, but not just as a pilot. As an officer in the U.S. Air Force, he was a navagator and logged more than 3,000 hours helping pilots get to their destinations. After rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel, he retired in 1967. Then he had a second career working at Boeing.
Marler says he will only fly if he can do it safely.
“I'll fly maybe another year, maybe two. Maybe longer than that if my health holds up like it is right now,” said Marler.
As reported by MSNBC
And yes, he did pass his flight physical. If you were to meet him, you would think he was much younger. He has all his original knee and hip joints and he is as sharp as a razor.
"I don't feel like I'm 91, either," said Marler.
Marler was born in 1918 while World War I was still raging in Europe. That was the war that saw the first real use of airplanes in combat. But by World War II, young Marler was in flight school after signing up with the Utah National Guard's ROTC program to help pay for college.
Military flight school didn't go so well. He washed out, but he did get a civilian private pilot's license in 1941, but it long since expired. The log book he started using back then has a 66-year gap until 2008 when he went to Galvin Flight Service at Seattle's Boeing Field to take up flying again.
Marler says the flying bug took a long hiatus.
"I didn't think it would, but it did," said Marler.
He was inspired to take up flying again after moving into a retirement community near Renton Airport.
The reality was that Marler's life was all about flying, but not just as a pilot. As an officer in the U.S. Air Force, he was a navagator and logged more than 3,000 hours helping pilots get to their destinations. After rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel, he retired in 1967. Then he had a second career working at Boeing.
Marler says he will only fly if he can do it safely.
“I'll fly maybe another year, maybe two. Maybe longer than that if my health holds up like it is right now,” said Marler.
As reported by MSNBC
