Celebrate Our Freedom of Flight
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New Haven Register – August 2000
Branford pilot to represent state in NYC flying parade

A Branford pilot will represent Connecticut in a flying tribute to Sept. 11 victims featuring airplanes from the 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
Stephen Solenzio will join the other pilots in the Sept. 8 parade that will fly above the Hudson River in New York, around the Statue of Liberty and over the site of the World Trade Center twin towers. The pilots will then meet aboard the USS Intrepid for a ceremony to present their state flags to New York City officials.
"The goal is to celebrate aviation as a symbol of freedom, as opposed to a missile of death as it was on Sept. 11," Solenzio told the Hour newspaper of Norwalk.
"Flight Across America" was organized by Molly Peebles, a private pilot and single mother from Everett, Wash., who wanted to use aviation to help bring people together to remember those affected by Sept. 11.
Peebles was afraid Americans were frightened by airplanes, used as weapons in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Solenzio, a flight instructor who owns a single engine Piper Archer, read about Peebles’ plan in a newsletter of the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association. He said he immediately wanted to be part of it.
"I think aviation is a symbol of what America is," said Solenzio, who was notified last month that he would bear Connecticut’s flag. "It’s a symbol of freedom."
Solenzio also will be joining several pilots in Somerset, Pa., to honor those killed on United Airlines flight 93, which crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pa. The pilots will be meeting there Sept. 6 to place a wreath on the site where the plane crashed.
Then the groups will proceed to New Jersey, where they will stay until the parade over New York.
Solenzio a former Norwalk resident who graduated from Brien McMahon High School in 1965, is president of quick Link Information Services. He said he is honored to carry the flag for Connecticut, since he has been a resident of the state for 45 years.
"I really wanted to do this," he said. "This is very important to me."

Journal Inquirer Monday, August 19, 2002
Branford pilot to fly in 9/11 tribute

A Branford pilot will represent Connecticut in a flying tribute to Sept. 11 victims that will feature airplanes from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
Stephen Solenzio will join the other pilots in the Sept. 8 parade that will fly above the Hudson River in New York, around the Statue of Liberty, and over the site of the former World Trade Center twin towers. The pilots will then meet aboard the USS. Intrepid for a ceremony to present their state flags to New York City officials.
"The goal is to celebrate aviation as a symbol of freedom, as opposed to a missile of death as it was on Sept. 11," Solenzio told The Hour of Norwalk.
"Flight Across America" was organized by Molly Peebles, a private pilot and single mother from Everett, Wash., who wanted to use aviation to help bring people together to remember those affected by the events of Sept. 11 of last year.
Peebles was afraid that the American people were frightened by airplanes, which were used as deadly weapons in last year’s terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Solenzio, a flight instructor who owns a single-engine Piper Archer airplane, read about Peebles’ plan in a newsletter by the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association.
"I think aviation is a symbol of what America is," said Solenzio, who was notified last month that he would bear Connecticut’s flag. "It’s a symbol of freedom."
Solenzio will not only be traveling to New York, but he will also be joining several other pilots in Somerset, Pa. To honor those killed on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pa.
The pilots will meet there Sept. 6 to place a wreath on the site where the plane crashed. Then the groups will proceed to New Jersey, where they will stay until the parade over New York.
Solenzio, a former Norwalk resident who graduated from Brien McMahon High School in 1965, is president of Quick Link Information Services. He said he is honored to carry the flag for Connecticut, since he has been a resident of the state for 45 years.
"I really wanted to do this," he said. "This is very important to me."

Associated Press – August 20, 2002
Former Norwalk Man to Join Flight Effort

(Branford-AP) – A Branford pilot will represent Connecticut in a flying tribute to the victims of the September Eleventh terrorist attacks.
Stephen Solenzio will fly in the air parade on September Eight that will feature airplanes representing all 50 states, Washington, D-C, and Puerto Rico.
The parade route will be above the Hudson River in New York, around the Statue of Liberty and over the site of the former World Trade Center twin towers. The pilots will then meet aboard the U-S-S Intrepid for a ceremony to present their state flags to New York City officials.
Solenzio is a flight instructor who owns a single-engine Piper Archer airplane. He read about the air parade in a pilots newsletter and immediately signed up.
The parade was organized by Washington resident Molly Peebles, a single mother who wanted to use aviation to honor September Eleventh victims. She also wanted Americans not to fear flying.
Solenzio says the parade will be a symbol of freedom.

Branford Review – September 4, 2002
Local pilot flying high, flying proud


Stephen Solenzio is flying high. Literally, on September 8, Solenzio will join 49 other pilots from the United States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia in commemorating September 11 through aviation.
"The freedom of aviation is what we as United States citizens are all about," said Solenzio.
Solenzio resides in Branford and is the president of his own company, Quick-Link. The Branford based company employs 23 people who work with the broadcasting of faxes and emails.
Solenzio will fly a single engine Piper Archer airplane. His flight will consist of leaving from Essex County airport in New Jersey, flying along the Hudson River, around the Statue of Liberty and back to New Jersey. Each plane will carry that representative’s state flag. The airtime is approximately one hour.
Solenzio will later meet with all the other pilots on the USS Intrepid. While on the Intrepid, which is anchored in the Hudson River, Solenzio and the other pilots will meet with former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani, Mayor Mike Bloomberg and New York Governor George Pataki in a somber ceremony. The pilots have also been asked to stay in NYC for other ceremonies commemorating September 11.
This is a way to encourage people to get involved with flying, " Solenzio explained. "It (flying) really is a symbol of freedom. You can fly anywhere in this country without restrictions."
Solenzio was actually in the air when the tragic events of September 11 occurred. He was the last plane to land at the Montouk Airport after all planes were ordered to immediately land.
"I had no idea what was going on until I got down to the ground," he said. "I couldn’t believe it."
It was in March that Solenzio was chosen from a host of other pilots in an essay contest open to AOPA members. He responded to an email from Molly Peebles, an avid aviator, who sent out a newsletter via email stating she wanted to make a "positive out of a negative" through uniting people in aviation. With a passion for flying, it seemed only natural for Solenzio to enter the contest.
Solenzio flies every day. He is certified to teach flying lessons and has students who range in ages from 15 to adulthood.
He believes that his September 8 flight is a way "to celebrate and commemorate those who have fallen."
The Sound – October 3, 2002

Flying Above Branford – Journalist Gets a Bird’s Eye View
By Elizabeth H. Pytka

The pavement rushes past my window. I feel very close to the ground, but the anticipation of rising up makes it feel very far away at the same time.
Suddenly, the single engine piper plane tilts to the left and the wheel loses connection with the ground. That is when I know we will begin our ascent.
The plane is climbing and I have no choice but to go with it. Higher and higher the plane continues to rise. My stomach jumps as we come to our final resting place, hovering about mountains, houses, and swimming pools. Hovering over the world, it feels like.
When Stephen Solenzio, a Branford pilot who recently participated in Flight Across America, asked me if I wanted to do a story on aviation I jumped at the chance for the experience. On September 24, Steve and I met at Robinson Aviation, a flight school based out of Tweed New Haven Regional Airport, for my first experience in a small Piper Warrior plane.
The first thing Steve had me do at Robinson Aviation was check the weather. Makes sense, right? If you were going to take a tiny little plane up in to the air you would want to know the type of weather to expect.
We checked the weather in two ways—using a computer system called meterologix, and by calling the weather briefer.
The meteorological report that came up on the computer screen read left to right and gave you the time in Zulu time. (Zulu time, by the way, is based on a clock in Greenwich, England that is the standard clock for international communications.)
After using the computer and calling the weather briefer, we found there were clear skies with winds that would be light and variable. What a relief to know I wouldn’t be encountering any mini-sized hurricanes or battling hail the size of golf balls on my first trip in a Piper.
After taking a tour of the facilities at the flight school, including stopping in on Stellar Avionics Services, which repairs radios and features GPS, a global positioning system, Steve and I were ready to fly—or so I thought.
I say that because before flying there is a long checklist one has to go through before starting that plane engine. I guess, in that sense, planes are a little different than cars being that they are a little bit higher off the ground and the "precision" issue comes into play.
Among several other things, Steve an I checked that the pins holding the flaps were still there, we touched the plane looking for rivets or dents that would affect the way the air molecules hit the plane, we checked for fuel, and we also checked for oil.
To check for fuel we held a clear small plastic cylinder to the bottom of a wing and pressed upward, unclenching two pins on either side that would release the fuel.
After taking a sample the liquid had to be held up against something dark in color to see if it was the proper fuel color, a very light blue. We then smelled the fuel to see if it was the real stuff and disposed of it on the pavement.
After running through the checklist on the outside of the plane, it was now time to take, not the steering wheel, but the yoke.
I had some difficulty differentiating between being able to steer, not with my hands, but with my feet while we taxied along the runway before taking off.
"It’s called interference," said Steve. "What you learned in the past is interfering with your ability to learn now."
Another thing I had to learn was that the brake pedal was only inches above the gas pedal. I was pretty happy Steve was sitting next to me as I attempted to steer my way to the runway—otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten too far toward the runway that morning.
Being up in the sky and controlling a plane’s movement was a pretty scary thing for me, but it was a spectacular feeling knowing just how much control I had.
After we got to a cruising altitude Steve let me take the controls and I made a few circles, pressing on the rudders to increase the agility of the turn.
One of the problems I had was that as I made my turn the plane would begin a pretty steep descent. For me, seeing Long Island Sound come just that much closer was all the incentive I needed to pull back on the yoke to bring the plane back up.
But, as I looked down on the Thimble Islands of Branford, I realized how lucky we are to have the ability to see the world from a different perspective.
My fear of plummeting to the ocean, imagining all of the different headlines, dissipated after taking a couple more turns with the plane.
As Steve and I made our way back to the airport we began to hit a little turbulence, enough to make me realize just how small the plane was and how far off the ground we were.
Steve took the controls to navigate our landing, which was one of the smoothest landings I have experienced on any plane. The tires hitting the runway were like the soft kiss of cashmere on skin. It really was a beautiful glide.
That landing was the end of my time in the air. All I had left to do was taxi back to park the plane, which was, as I described before, an experience in and of itself.
But, I had make it back safely to the ground, and the plane was soon tucked snugly into it’s parking spot, where it’s engines would soon wake for the next person to experience a similar flight or take it on a trip to some far away land.
Totoket Times – October 19, 2002

Students Get First Hand Knowledge

On the anniversary of September 11, Steven Solenzio came to Jerome Harrison School. He came to visit the students in Mrs. Bannon’s classroom. We were so lucky to have him. Steve was the flag bearer of the Connecticut State Flag in the Flight Across America. He presented our state flag in New York along with 50 other pilots. He showed us photographs of his trip and his airplane. He also presented each student with a gift from his trip. If you would like to know more about Flight Across Amercia, please visit their website at www.flightacrossamerica.com