Cessna planes shuttle Special Olympics athletes from across the country

The pilots that brought them there, Mark Evans and Craig Fuller, were bound for Baltimore.

"I wish I could stay with them this week," said Fuller, president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. "We're looking forward to seeing them this Friday and Saturday. We're taking them back next Saturday."

Piloting the athletes to Lincoln meant Evans had to get up at 3 a.m. to get a weather briefing on the current conditions and to get the plane ready for takeoff.

It was worth the early morning to see the athletes' reactions, said Evans, who's been flying since 1977 -- "That's why my hair's so gray," he said -- and on Saturday participated in his first fly-in.

"The athletes were very upbeat and very excited, and this was actually their first flight in a private airplane for all these kids," Evans said.

"They just seemed so excited to be here and be in this competition," Fuller said.

They took the Cessna up to 43,000 feet and covered half the country Saturday, offering danishes and croissants to the Maryland athletes during the trip.

Unlike a typical quiet charter flight, Fuller was chatty from the cockpit the entire trip, telling his passengers each time they crossed a state line, pointing out the Mississippi River as they crossed over it at dawn, "which was spectacular today."

"They were talking the entire time," Fuller said. "That was kind of fun."

Reach Cory Matteson at 402-473-7438 or cmatteson@journalstar.com.

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