Barbour family flies high above typical family outings

Get everyone seated, buckled in, start the motor and... fly? It's just a typical outing for the Barbour family.

Patrick Barbour, of Dexter, started flying when he was in high school after being inspired by his older brothers.

"My dad flew. He owned a plane before he owned a car. Michael and Chris had been taking lessons, so I decided I wanted to," Patrick explained. "I've had a passion for it ever since."

Kenton helps his father, Patrick, air up tires on the family's Cessna plane. Patrick purchased the plane more than 20 years ago, but keeps it in great shape to take to the skies.

Likewise, Katey Barbour also started flying in high school after having her passion for the sky ignited after attending an air show in Poplar Bluff.

"When I was younger, we lived in Minnesota," she explained. "We would go eat at the St. Cloud Pancake Fly-In, and we saw a lot of different planes. After the air show in Poplar Bluff, though, I told my parents that I wanted to fly."

Like Patrick, Katey also had family members who flew.

"It seems like most people who are passionate about learning to fly have someone in their family that also did it," she remarked.

Katey managed to earn her pilot's license at age 17.

"For my 16th birthday, my parents bought me all the books and everything I needed to study to get my pilot's license," she explained. "I paid for everything else."

While most of her peers were busy studying the driver's manual, she was more concerned about flying.

"I got my driver's license just so I could get back and forth from the airport, so I could fly," she said. "It was all I wanted to do."

"You have to have a passion for it," Patrick interjected. "No one is going to make you do it. You have to pursue it and put your time in."

While Patrick's love for flying led to the purchase of a plane -- a Cessna 172 -- Katey's led her to eventually becoming a flight instructor.

"It's something I do part-time," Katey explained. "I do it here in Dexter, or other locations when I need to."

While both Patrick and Katey share a love for flight, aviation was not what brought the two of them together.

"We were actually set up on a semi-blind date," Patrick explained. "I was working as a police officer in Dexter, and she was working as a paramedic with the ambulance district. A couple of co-workers set us up."

While a love of flying isn't what brought the two of them together, it certainly helped them stay together.

"We definitely had some good first-date conversation," Patrick remarked. "It was something we could connect with each other on."

Patrick said their relationship isn't competitive when it comes to their mutual interest.

"There's no competition at all," Patrick admitted. "She's the better pilot."

The comment made Katey laugh.

"I'm not sure about that," she said with a smile. "We're both pretty good."

Flying also appears to be an interest the two are passing on to their children. It's a common thing for their daughter Grace, and son Kenton to buckle into their seats and enjoy a flight over southeast Missouri.

"It's not just that we feel comfortable in the air," Katey explained. "we feel safe."

Katey points to statistics that reflect the substantially lower number of aircraft incidents in comparison to those of motor vehicles.

"Everyone has moments when they might be alarmed," Katey explained. "It's not like a car where you can just pull over and ask for help."

Katey recalled an incident that happened shortly after she had received her pilot's license.

"We were doing a poker run, and I took my sisters and my future brother-in-law with me. We were sequencing our traffic, and as I lined up to land, another plane flew right in front of me. I had my flaps down, prepared to land, and it was a hot day. I had to climb, and in those conditions, it didn't want to climb. It was unsettling," Katey explained. "But you have to be prepared and know what you'll do ahead of time. No one was in any real danger, but it did startle me."

Patrick agreed, as he related a story where he had a scare during a flight to Dexter.

"It was about a three-hour trip, and I had a couple of friends with me," Patrick explained. "We were flying up high where it's cooler, and I unintentionally shut off my fuel valve. In about 10 seconds, the motor stopped and the plane turned into a glider. It felt like it took forever to figure out what happened, but it took maybe 30 seconds. You just have to keep a couple steps ahead of yourself when you're flying. The important thing you can think about is the next two things you need to do."

As a result of their experience, both Patrick and Katey say they never feel unsafe while flying.

"You have to be a certain age to get your pilot's license, but there's nothing that says our children can't learn to fly as they grow up," Katey remarked. "Kenton is four years old, and he already understands the procedures that you need to go through when you start the plane."

While both Patrick and Katey agree that learning to fly can be a costly proposition, it's an expense they feel is worth it.

"It's just fun," Patrick said. "It's not like anything else. I definitely feel like it's worth it."