By ROBERT FRANK
Doug Stone tightened the seatbelt one last time before giving his young passenger a reassuring smile. It was a routine he had performed hundreds of times during his years as a Young Eagles pilot for his Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) chapter. But on this warm summer day at Meriden Markham Municipal Airport (KMMK) in Connecticut, the moment carried extraordinary meaning.
More than 33 years earlier, Doug had fastened that same seatbelt for another young passenger in this very airplane. Neither of them could have imagined that this passenger’s daughter would be sitting in the same seat that her father did for her first flight in a small airplane 12,134 days later.
On May 15, 1993, 12-year-old Robert Frank climbed into the back seat of Doug Stone’s beautifully restored 1948 Piper PA-11 Cub Special for his very first airplane ride. At the controls sat Doug, flying only his third Young Eagles flight. The flight departed Marlboro Airport (9B1) in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
Established in 1922, Marlboro Airport earned the distinction of being “Massachusetts’ oldest privately owned commercial airport.” For more than eight decades, it served as a center for general aviation, flight training, aircraft maintenance, and community aviation events before closing in 2008.
Robert had no way of knowing that the brief flight from one of New England’s most historic airports would become the catalyst for a lifelong career in aviation. And that 33 years later, on Aug. 5, 2026, Doug would fly Amelia Frank, Robert’s 9-year-old daughter, in the very same airplane for her own Young Eagles flight.
The statistics tell an incredible story: Same pilot. Same airplane. Father and daughter. 12,134 days apart. Yet the true significance goes far beyond the numbers. It is a story about family, mentorship, volunteerism, and the remarkable impact one Young Eagles flight can have across generations.
The Airplane That Started It All
The airplane at the center of this story has inspired aviators for more than half a century. Doug’s late father, Richard Stone, purchased the 1948 Piper PA-11 Cub Special in 1969. Unlike many Cubs, the PA-11 could be flown solo from the front seat, making it especially desirable while preserving the classic Cub flying experience.
Richard painstakingly restored the airplane to its original blue-and-yellow Piper factory colors, ensuring that a piece of aviation history would continue flying rather than becoming a museum artifact.
The Cub became a familiar sight at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, where Richard proudly flew it for years. After taking stewardship of the airplane, Richard’s son Doug continued that tradition, flying the Cub to Oshkosh six times himself.
Today, the same airplane continues fulfilling the purpose Richard valued most — sharing aviation with the next generation.
A Young Eagles Flight That Changed a Life
Robert’s Young Eagles flight wasn’t simply his first ride in a small airplane. That single experience planted a dream and was the spark that lit a career that would span 3.6 million nautical miles.
Looking out from the back seat of the little Cub, 12-year-old Robert experienced aviation in a way he never had before. The rumble of the Continental engine, the scent of avgas, and the sensation of lifting away from the runway created a memory that never faded.
Five years later, Robert returned to Marlboro Airport, where his Young Eagles journey had begun, and started taking flying lessons. On July 15, 1999, he completed his unforgettable first solo flight in Cessna 152 N714MG — a milestone every pilot remembers for a lifetime. By 2000, he had earned his private pilot certificate.
His aviation journey continued at the University of North Dakota’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Commercial Aviation. Like many professional pilots, Robert built experience through the regional airlines. He first flew the Dash 8 for Piedmont Airlines, followed by the CRJ-200 for Air Wisconsin, with both carriers operating as US Airways Express.
In 2012, he achieved another lifelong goal when he joined US Airways, flying the Embraer 190, Boeing 737-400, and Boeing 757/767. Following the merger of US Airways and American Airlines in 2013, Robert continued with the combined airline. Today, he serves as a Boeing 737-800 captain for American Airlines, based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
His career now includes 14,500 total flight hours, 13,900 hours in Part 121 airline operations, and 207 trans-Atlantic crossings. Looking back, Robert can trace that journey to a single flight in a little Piper Cub.
Doug Stone’s Dedication to Young Eagles
Doug Stone never imagined that one of the children he flew in 1993 would someday become an airline captain. He certainly never imagined that more than three decades later he would introduce that pilot’s daughter to aviation.
Doug has introduced 321 Young Eagles to the wonder of flight. His dedication was recognized during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017, where he was honored as one of just 14 pilots who had flown at least one Young Eagle every year during the program’s first 25 years.
Doug’s story perfectly illustrates the power of volunteerism. A few hours spent introducing children to aviation can create memories that last a lifetime and occasionally inspire an entire career.
Full Circle
When Amelia climbed into the back seat of the same Piper Cub her father had occupied 12,134 days earlier, the moment carried special meaning for everyone involved. Robert watched as Doug adjusted Amelia’s seatbelt, completed the passenger briefing, and prepared for another Young Eagles flight — the same routine Robert had experienced as a 12-year-old.
The airplane was the same, the pilot was the same, even the excitement on the face of the young passenger was the same. Only the generation had changed.
As the Cub climbed away from the runway, another chapter was added to a story that had begun more than three decades earlier.
The True Legacy of Young Eagles
Statistics can measure airplanes flown, volunteer hours donated, and Young Eagles introduced to aviation. They cannot measure inspiration.
When the same volunteer pilot handed a Young Eagles certificate to the airline captain’s daughter after flying her in the very same Piper PA-11 Cub Special 33 years later, it represented something far larger than one family or one airplane. It represented the true mission of Young Eagles.
Every volunteer pilot hopes the child climbing into the airplane today will leave inspired. Most will remember the experience for a lifetime, some will become pilots, and a few will make aviation their profession.
And once in a great while, a volunteer pilot has the privilege of witnessing that inspiration come full circle. It is a reminder that every Young Eagles flight has the potential to change a life. Sometimes, it changes that of two generations.
For more information: EAA.org, YoungEagles.org
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