Although his children partly kept him from fulfilling his dream of being a professional pilot, it was they who were responsible for 92-year-old Darden Newman's recent return to the skies.
Ever since he was child in North Chattanooga playing with model airplanes, Newman dreamed of becoming a pilot. He was crushed at age 12 to learn that he was nearsighted, which would prevent him from achieving his goal. At the time, 20-20 vision was a requirement for airline pilots, he said.
While his professional dream was shattered, that didn't stop Newman from learning to fly. After returning in 1945 from overseas, where he was stationed during and following World War II, a good friend who was in the Air Force taught him to fly a BT-13 war surplus plane Newman had purchased. Newman continued to fly, keeping his plane at Lovell Field, but was still determined to get a pilot's license. Under the GI Bill, he was able to get his University of Chattanooga tuition paid for, and worked to cover his own tuition at Buck's Flying School in Chattanooga, where he finally earned his license.
But Newman's dreams of flying were all but grounded in 1950, when he met his wife and got married.
Darden Newman stands in front of the plane he flew at Wilson Air Center as a gift from his children for his 92nd birthday.
Darden Newman sits in the cockpit of the plane he flew at Wilson Air Center as a gift from his children for his 92nd birthday."And along came a little red-headed boy," said Newman, who had taken a job as a salesman for Burkhart-Schier Chemical Company. "I had to really start working to make ends meet."
His family grew further to include a daughter. A few years later, he came across an old acquaintance who was flying commercially for a local woolen mill who taught Newman to fly a twin engine.
Though he couldn't be an airline pilot due to his eyesight, Newman could be a commercial pilot. But his friend offered the advice, "Your life is not your own," and the thought of leaving his wife and children so often caused Newman to abandon that dream. Though it couldn't keep him from the skies.
Newman hadn't flown a place since around 2000 until his recent 92nd birthday. As a gift, his daughter and son-in-law, John and Gail Cooke, of Hixson; and son Steve Newman, owner of Choo Choo Diving and Aquatic Center in Chattanooga; took him on a surprise drive that brought them to Wilson Air Center in East Brainerd. There, he was able to once again fly the friendly skies of the Scenic City in a Cessna 172, one of five planes he'd flown in the past.