MURFREESBORO — He
has flown a family-owned, four-seat airplane 6,600 miles. He has touched and
been touched by the past, present and future of aviation.
MTSU senior Collin McDonald flew to Kitty Hawk and Kill
Devil Hills, North Carolina, where Orville and Wilbur Wright’s plane took
flight in 1903. He toured aviation museums around the country. He spent time at
the Grand Canyon and other U.S. landmarks. He wrote a blog, conducted research
for an Honors College thesis and promoted aviation to young people and adults.
And someday when he has children and grandchildren, the
young man who admits to becoming a storyteller on this nearly monthlong voyage
will have volumes of stories to tell about how he retraced the flight path of
aviation pioneer Cal Rodgers in flying from Long Island, New York, to Long
Beach, California,
On Thursday (June 16), the Carthage, Tennessee, native
arrived back home at Murfreesboro Airport to the hugs and adoration of MTSU
students, faculty and staff from aerospace and the Honors College, and his immediate
family.
“I’m excited to be home. I’m looking forward to sleeping in
my own bed,” McDonald said. “One of the lessons I learned is that you can
always fly tomorrow if there’s an issue. … I’m looking forward to the next step
(in the thesis project), but I’m glad to complete this part.”
McDonald completed his transcontinental, Vin Fiz 2
quest June 11 in Long Beach. He called the trip Vin Fiz 2 because Rodgers’
plane was call The Vin Fiz.
For more on his trip, visit https://vinfizflight.wordpress.com,
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