“It started,” said Robin Hou, whose voice was entering my head through a primitive intercom system connected to a headset. “That’s always good.”
Yes, always good, especially when you are talking about the engine of a vintage two-seat, propeller airplane and even better when you are actually inside said airplane. Hou had generously offered to take me on a practice run last Thursday evening for what was at that time still a secret mission: The first flyover of San Marino High School’s graduation ceremony that would take place on Friday evening. So here I was, strapped inside a cockpit in a seat built for someone approximately 60 percent of my size, about to get a bird’s-eye view of the San Gabriel Valley.
Hou is at the controls of his 1985 Nanchange CJ-6A, described as a “3,000 pound, fully aerobatic trainer with a distinct military heritage that is a popular choice among advanced civilian pilots.”
We take off from what used to be known as El Monte Airport (now San Gabriel Valley Airport) and after a quick, steep turn we are headed towards Santa Anita Race Track at approximately 135 miles per hour. We take a sharp left and follow Huntington Drive, heading west. My mind is calculating our travel time as though we are in a car, so before I can prepare my camera, Robin announces that we are above San Marino High School.
Having battled a fear of flying that was brought on by three difficult journeys, I am pleased his name is something air-worthy, like “Robin,” rather than, for example, “Brick.”
We make a sweeping left turn over Lacy Park, and are able to see Huntington Middle School’s graduation ceremony that is in progress, and head east over the 10 Freeway, which from the sky looks like it is standing still. Probably because, it is. We are back on the ground no more than 15 minutes after takeoff.
Later, Robin and the three other pilots from the Chinese American Pilots and Aircraft Owners Association – James Bu, Leo Lee and James Xie – will make a few practice passes over Titan Stadium.
The real thing worked to perfection. At the end of his speech in front of a jam-packed graduation audience, Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss told the Class of 2016 that “the sky’s the limit!” The quartet magically appeared out of the eastern sky, trailing long plumes of decorative blue and white smoke, bringing the crowd to its feet and hundreds of cameras towards the heavens.
The pilots made two passes over the assemblage and were last seen hovering against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains on their way back to the airstrip.
The graduation flyover was the brainchild of Ziad Abughazaleh, a fellow pilot and the father of Max, who received his diploma last Friday night. After speaking with Hou, he and the Chinese American Pilots and Aircraft Owners Association, or CAPAOA, volunteered the cost of the flyover as a gift to the high school and community.
Flying is second nature for Hou, an attorney, who began constructing model airplanes as a young boy. “I have been interested in flying for as long as I can remember,” he said.
While on assignment in Hemet during the late 1980s, Hou recalls seeing planes flying in
and out of a local airport in that region. He started flying gliders in 1991, then took lessons to operate powered aircraft when it was known as El Monte Airport. He rents a hangar space there that is cleaner and better-organized than most garages. Hou said he enjoys the sense of freedom he experiences while in the air and the technological aspects of his hobby. So much so, that he is also a member of the Tiger Squadron, a formation flying team that performs throughout the country.
Hou and his wife, Christina, live in San Marino. Their two sons, Benjamin (2006) and Scott (2007) both graduated from SMHS.
CAPAOA is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation with a mission is to educate the public on the benefits of general aviation and to promote aviation-related careers to youth of the Chinese American community. Science teachers can contact CAPAOA to arrange student viewing of members’ aircraft at San Gabriel Valley Airport. The group also works with other nonprofit organizations in fundraising events. CAPAOA accepts donations from the public, who can visit its PayPal account: caf-4@capaoa.org
