Magazine Writing Sample: Long-Form Storytelling

This magazine writing sample was published in a small aviation magazine called Sport Aerobatics as part of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). The article is an example of long-form storytelling and journalism that speaks to a niche audience of aerobatic pilots.

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Perpetual gratitude: How a modified Pitts project propelled Bret Davenport to new heights

For Sport Aerobatics Magazine, Fall 2018 (see downloadable article below)

I will never forget Bret Davenport. We met at AirVenture 2015 when my husband gave Bret prime parking at the IAC building for his recently rebuilt modified Pitts S-1SX.

It my first visit to Oshkosh. My husband, Jordan Ashley, had been volunteering for the IAC for several years when I finally decided to see what made AirVenture the “world’s greatest aviation celebration.”

Bret was a bright-eyed young man looking nearly as bewildered as me. He was standing next to a brilliant blue Pitts telling Jordan about his encounter with the Fox River the night before. I learned soon after that Bret was a first-timer to Oshkosh as well, and he was completely in awe of the magnitude of this aviation Mecca. I mean, who wouldn’t be?

This is the land of trampled grass, wing shade, and donuts from the food stand at show center. In my first week, I learned where the good bathrooms are, which exhibitors have the best merch, and that you can sit down next to literally any stranger and have a new friend ten minutes later. You can even leave your phone at the charging station and walk away. This place is not normal.

Bret knew that, too. Around his airplane was a Pitts-shaped outline of dead grass, mashed down by the feet of aviation enthusiasts and scorched by the hot July sun. At the end of AirVenture, when all of the planes have drifted home, you can still see patches of green grass all over the airport grounds like shadows of invisible machines. As a first-timer, this spectacle was both triumphant and somber. It meant you had survived AirVenture, but also that you had to say goodbye to the folks who had become your family.

Bret’s arrival at Oshkosh in 2015 was a celebration in itself. Six years earlier, he had decided to put his Embry-Riddle aerospace engineering degree to the test. After finishing test pilot school in 2009, Bret began rebuilding what he now calls his Pitts S-1SX in the 1500 square foot walkout basement of his home.

“I basically started with a plane that was derelict and threw all but the fuselage away,” he said. “And from that fuselage, I made a lot of changes.”

From welding to fabric covering and even constructing his own fully ventilated paint booth in the basement that turned one of his trees blue, Bret learned several skills in order to complete the project. But he doesn’t take full credit for its completion.

The Knee Print

The first day I met Bret, he waved me over to his plane and pointed to a section of blue paint that looked ever so slightly dull.

“That’s my wife’s smudge,” he said proudly.

On the leading edge of the left wing was a barely visible blemish in the custom paint, aptly named “Davenport Blue” by the paint company who mixed the color for him. I wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t pointed it out. When he later told me the whole story of the smudge, he had to compose himself.

“When you’re painting, you want to take the tape off while the paint is wet,” he explained. “So I’m pulling off these long, long strips of tape and I ask my wife, Eve, to help. We’re in the paint booth in gloves pulling off all this sticky tape, and I hear a thud. We stop. And then she starts tearing up.”

Eve had bumped her knee on the wet paint of the wing’s leading edge.

“At first, I was angry, and I thought for sure she just ruined my paint job,” Bret said. But he calmed down and went upstairs to wait before surveying the damage again.

When the paint dried, it didn’t look as bad as he expected. He described it as “nothing more than a handprint on glass.” But it’s now the pride of his Pitts S-1SX, a story he tells everyone about how his wife supported him on what was in total a three-and-a-half year project. Eve had been another set of hands for Bret since the project started, from bucking rivets to the final assembly.

“I got the story of ‘that’s my wife’s knee imprint.’ And she was helping me on a plane she’ll probably never get to fly in,” he said.

The Introduction

AirVenture 2015 was the IAC’s 70th anniversary of the Pitts celebration, and Bret was determined to make an appearance. His finished Pitts had its first flight in 2012, but conflicts prevented him from attending AirVenture in 2013 and 2014. When he finally arrived in 2015, he was there for one day when Jordan asked Bret to move his plane to the front of the IAC building.

That was just the beginning. Bret was at AirVenture for the 70th anniversary, but little did he know his visit would be the catalyst for a major life change only six weeks later.

At the time, Bret was working on the east coast as a civil servant flight test engineer for the Navy. He had been in conversation with Jon Karkow from ICON Aircraft, the California company that is building the amphibious, light-sport A5. Jon then passed Bret off to the VP of Engineering at ICON who walked down to the IAC building to see his plane.

“We started talking about the aerodynamic stuff I had done to it and the problems I’d had and then...” I leaned forward in anticipation. “...he invited me and my wife out to California to interview.”

Two weeks after Oshkosh, Eve, an aerospace engineer, and Bret were in California interviewing for jobs at ICON together. Six weeks after Oshkosh, they both started new jobs at ICON. Bret credits it all to his Pitts S-1SX project, as well as his prior experiences and training. He says ICON values the skills gained from homebuilding, and now he can see why.

“What I learned from homebuilding helps me every single day,” he said. “Landing that job was obviously my flight test background plus my aerobatics background and my homebuilding background. That all culminated in this trip to Oshkosh.”

His pride in his Pitts was much like his pride in the A5. Three years after he walked me around the S-1SX, he took me on a similar tour of the A5 at AirVenture 2018. He pointed out the nuances and details no one else would notice, beaming at the opportunity to talk about how the 70th anniversary of the Pitts changed his life forever.

At the end of his trip to Oshkosh in 2015, Bret was presented with the award for Outstanding Modified Pitts Special. He was completely overwhelmed. On his first trip to AirVenture, his Pitts was chosen as a display plane and noticed by a prospective employer. He also had a photo flight, scored an interview with an innovative new company, and won an award for his outstanding work.

The IAC Family

Bret loves to talk about how he became a member of the IAC almost as much as he loves talking about his Pitts. He joined the IAC’s Collegiate Program in February 2002, when he began learning aerobatics in a club as a student at Embry-Riddle. Bret competed in 13 contests in three years thanks to a local pilot who generously donated a Super Decathlon to their club. The donor also instructed the students at no cost and often sat in as a safety pilot for all of the students at contest.

“Nobody would insure us so we could fly alone, so we had to have a safety pilot. That’s the godsend thing. Our safety pilot would sit in for us and literally not get out for eight people. We had like a NASCAR pit crew to do this. Everybody helped out. It was crazy,” Bret said.

You can search Bret’s name on the IAC website and find him high in the standings over and over again.

First place in sportsman at the 2003 Los Angeles Gold Cup

First place in sportsman at the 2002 SAAC Tequila Cup

Second place overall at the 2003 Eagle Collegiate National Championship

The list really does goes on. He didn’t tell me about these contests except to say how grateful he was to have mentors and instructors who invested so many hours in his club.

I found myself curious about Bret’s enduring optimism and perpetual state of gratitude. He must have sensed my unspoken question, because he began to explain why he and the Pitts have missed the last few contests.

Last year, Jon Karkow, Bret’s boss and friend who helped connect him to ICON Aircraft, lost his life in an accident involving ICON’s A5. Not only did Bret lose a critical figure in his life, he now had to decide how to move forward in the company. More importantly, he found himself in a place where many pilots go when they lose someone in the aviation family.

“I stopped flying while I was collecting my thoughts about whether or not I wanted to continue flying,” Bret said. “I was soul searching for about three months. But I got back on the saddle.”

He paused, and I gave him a moment. Are there even words for that? I told him I was glad he decided to keep flying. I love his story. I want to see the next chapter.

As we wrapped up our conversation, I reflected on our first visit to AirVenture.

“You know,” I said, “you are still on our fridge, even three years later.” He looked a little puzzled.

I reminded Bret of the handwritten thank you letter he mailed us three years ago–an unforgettable note, perhaps our favorite piece of mail ever. Like a perfect attendance award, I had grabbed a magnet and stuck it to the front of our refrigerator.

Jordan,

I just wanted to thank you for all that you did to make my 6 days at AirVenture one of the most special times in my aviation career. I’m not completely sure exactly what you were doing behind the scenes but being asked to park up close, then going on a photo flight I didn’t think life could get any better. Then when I was leaving being presented with the outstanding customized Pitts was over the top. I’ve been telling everyone the crazy cool opportunities I got while there but to be honest, I don’t think I would have had those opportunities without you pulling the strings. It meant the world to me as you probably gathered with my loss of composure. Having people like you respond so well to my hard work meant so much. I rarely write hand written thank you’s but this seemed to be a more than appropriate time. I’m sorry you had to suffer through my terrible penmanship but that’s what you get for being a great dude. I never dreamed my experience would be that great and I thank you for everything you did to make it that way. See you next year!

Thank you,

Bret Davenport

I told Jordan that I kept the letter as a memento for him, but it’s more than that. Moments like these are rare, people like Bret are uncommon, and families like ours can’t be found anywhere else.

Sport Aerobatics Bret Davenport Article 10-2018-1.pdf

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