Looking up, looking down, looking everywhere: Evan H. Stein talks pilot life
'Life's short, man. If you don't get out there and do it, and learn it, this knowledge isn't going to come to you. You got to go out and grab life'
Reciting daily prayers is an opportunity to acknowledge the heavens and earth. Evan H. Stein appreciates the realms better than most. For years, the Friendship resident and Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle board chair has flown a Cessna 182 Skylane, a Grumman Tiger and a Cessna 177 Cardinal with fellow members of the ABC Flying Club.
Headquartered at Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin, the 30-member ABC Flying Club provides access to the three aforementioned aircraft, numerous flight opportunities and a “community of aviation enthusiasts,” Stein, 44, said.
The aerophile’s involvement with the club dates to 2018, though his lofty interests began earlier. In 2012 — given his penchant for curiosity — Stein registered for a flight lesson. Over the next six years, he completed additional lessons when he could.
“I was on the slow and steady track,” he told the Chronicle.
In 2018, after recording more than 60 hours of flight time and receiving his private pilot license, Stein joined the club.
Membership in ABC has various perks, but one of the biggest benefits, he said, is the ability to take friends and family in the air. On Sept. 19, Stein will do so with his two sons: Sam, 8, and Ronen, 6. After departing from Allegheny County Airport, the three-party crew will travel 16 nautical miles to Pittsburgh International Airport — a trip Stein estimates should last about 8 minutes in the air. After touching down, the Steins will run in the FlyBy 5K and 2-Mile Fun Run/Walk.
The race, according to host P3R, enables participants to run through the airport’s taxiways and gain a “true behind-the-scenes look” at portions of the airport largely unseen.
Though Stein has previously flown with his children, he’s excited to do so again.
As a family, “our time is programmed,” he said. “We go to school, then we go to after-school activities, and baseball, and soccer, and Sunday school.”
The difference of being in a space at 5,000 feet is “there’s no distractions,” he continued. “I look out the window and I point to something, and [my children] are seeing what I’m seeing. There’s no text messages, right? There’s no emails. There’s no notifications.”
In the air and on the ground quality time is a commodity.
Making use of moments is critical, he explained.
Whether with his pilot’s license or past involvements, Stein has long sought to follow his interests and keep learning.
After pondering the specificities of buoyancy and pressure, he got “scuba diving certified,” he said. “I got a ham radio license because I was interested in how radio repeaters work, and walkie-talkies.”
But aviation felt different, he said. “It was just this thing that’s untouchable.”
Stein realized, however, he should follow his interests, learn and see where he lands. It’s a recipe he hopes his children and others employ.
“Life’s short, man. If you don’t get out there and do it, and learn it, this knowledge isn’t going to come to you. You got to go out and grab life,” he said.
Pursuing knowledge and chasing wonder is more than an intellectual charge. For Stein, doing both has engendered a self-transformation and yielded a sense of the divine.
“We experience the earth every day,” he said. How many of us have experienced the heavens — like immersed themselves in heaven? That’s spiritual.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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