(Atlantic)
Gene Larsen of Walnut was one of the many pilots that flew into the Atlantic Rotary Club’s Flight Breakfast on Sunday, July 4, at the Atlantic Airport. I hopped aboard this unique aircraft and got a bird’s eye view at 3,000 feet of the rolling hills of southwest Iowa.
There is a story behind this aircraft and the Pilot, Gene Larsen, who is also the Mayor of Walnut. Gene wanted to Pilot a plane since the age of 23 but didn’t think he qualified to be a pilot because of his eyesight until a former National Guard member urged him to get his license some 27-years later.
Larsen didn’t waste any time getting his pilot’s license and decided he needed his own plane.
Larsen researched and planned for nearly a year before he chose the model he wanted, and built his own aircraft in his garage – three years later, he took flight.
Gene Larsen has made up for lost time over the past 18-years. His home-built aircraft has taken Gene and his wife on many distant travels.
To date, Gene Larsen has over 2,000 hours of trouble-free flying. When we returned to the Airport following our flight, another Pilot from Omaha gave Larsen a big thumbs up on his landing.
The Atlantic Rotary Club served 857 breakfasts, including 30 planes from Iowa, Missouri, including this gracious Pilot from Omaha, Nebraska.
