A Flight Through Time: Grandson Finds His Way Back to His First Cockpit

It was a flight that felt more like time travel as Cessna 5762C, affectionately known as “Six Two Charlie” by the family, made its journey from Atlanta to Winchester. Now settled in its new home at the local airport hangar, the aircraft has brought joy and nostalgia to a former Franklin County family whose connection to it spans generations.

              Former Winchester Airport Manager Zach Colescott took his first flight as a young boy, seated beside his grandfather in a small Cessna airplane. With a passion for aviation running deep in the family’s veins, that early flight became the spark that shaped a future pilot, a devoted grandson, and a lifelong love of the skies. Years later, the very same aircraft, Six Two Charlie, would find its way back to the Colescott family, marking a full-circle moment rich with emotion. The reunion not only honored cherished memories but also forged new friendships, reminding all who witnessed it that some journeys stretch far beyond the runway.

              Colescott’s grandfather, Pete Baruzelli, was a mechanic by trade.  A local farmer in Clinton, Indiana had offered him an opportunity to barter, telling Baruzelli that if he would work on the mechanics and maintenance of the plane, he could be half-owner of the aircraft.  The mechanic then took flying lessons, earning him his pilot’s license after multiple attempts at taking the exam. 

              “My dad only made it to the seventh grade, as far as his education goes.”, stated Vickie Jones, mother to Zach Colescott and Pete Baruzelli’s daughter.  “But there wasn’t anything mechanical that he couldn’t do, build, or create.  He was just that kind of guy.” 

            Zachary Colescott was born in 1977 in Clinton, Indiana. From the beginning, his grandfather, Baruzelli, felt a strong desire to share the skies with him. He quickly recognized that young Zachary carried the same deep-rooted passion for planes and flight, and he hoped to share a bond that would shape their relationship and inspire a lifelong love of aviation.

              “Daddy wanted to do that with Zach.  And Zach, from the time he could walk or be aware of things, he was an airplane fanatic.  We knew he was going to do something airplane-wise.”, stated Colescott’s mother.

              By the time Colescott had reached age four and really began to love being in the air, Baruzelli used his mechanical skills to put blocks on the co-pilot pedals so the young boy could reach the pedals and begin learning how to pilot a plane, only reinforcing the passion and shaping the future.

              “He and I would go flying just about every weekend.”, stated Colescott.  “We would sometimes go to airshows and camp out in a tent underneath the wing.  My earliest memories go back to that airplane.”

              Colescott continued to fly with his grandpa throughout his childhood and eventually earned his own pilot’s license at the age of 17.  At the age of 70, Baruzelli unfortunately had a heart attack and was unable to maintain the medical certificate that is required to keep his pilot’s license, causing him to retire.  As much as the pilot had wanted to pass Six Two Charlie down to his grandson, financial troubles made it necessary to sell the plane. 

              “If daddy would have been able to hang on to that plane, he would have.”, said Jones.  “He would have passed it on.  He would have given it to Zach.  It would have stayed in the family.”

A young Zach Colescott, pictured with his grandfather, on the day of his first solo flight.

              Colescott went on to earn his degree in aviation aeronautics and aviation administration, later serving as the Winchester Airport’s manager from 2010 to 2023. Throughout the years, he kept tabs on Six Two Charlie, using its call letters to loosely track its journey from one owner to the next. The aircraft changed hands three or four times before eventually landing with a man named Brian Olsen of Atlanta, Georgia.

              “I kept track of it for several years.”, said Colescott.  “They say six degrees of separation.  In aviation, it’s a lot less because it’s such a smaller community.”

              By sheer chance, when Colescott was in college, he overhead one of his professors speaking to his brother about an airplane and Colescott, who recognized the plane just from their conversation, asked to see the plane they were referencing.  They took him to the hangar and, confirming what Colescott already knew, there sat his grandfather’s plane. 

              “My professor’s brother owned the airplane.”, said Colescott.  “We talked for a little while on that day.  I graduated, moved away, and didn’t really think much about it.  But I would still casually keep track of where it was at.”

              Colescott, who had his own “aviation bucket list” that he had blogged about, had said in his blog that one of the items on his bucket list was to find and purchase his grandfather’s airplane. 

Six Two Charlie (Picture Provided)

              “It was just a story.  That’s all it was.”, said the pilot.  “But my wife, at the time, was a recruiter for banks.  Her job was, not necessarily tracking people down, but tracking down the right people to fill positions.  And she, for whatever reason, decided she was going to find who owned the airplane.”

              Colescott explained that aviation records remain somewhat open, especially if an aircraft is registered in someone’s name.  After his wife had done some research, she found the name and location of the owner of Six Two Charlie.  Taking just the information she had and using social media platforms, she was able to find a review he had left for a maintenance shop that had worked on the airplane.  She contacted the maintenance shop and, after explaining to them the history and what the plane meant to her family, the maintenance shop agreed to give her the contact information for the owner. 

              Colescott’s wife, Wendy, was able to get in touch with Brian Olsen and, in 2018, convinced him to surprise her husband by flying the airplane from Atlanta, Georgia to the Winchester Airport, where Colescott was working at the time. 

              “He showed up one day out of thin air.  Literally.”, said Colescott.  “He stopped in, dropped the plane in here.  I was beside myself.  My wife had this all arranged.  She had someone out here taking pictures and videos.  I didn’t even know.”

              Colescott said he got to spend a lot of time with the plane and the owner that day.  They went flying together, had lunch, and ended up spending the entire day together.  While Olsen had no intentions of selling the airplane at the time, he did tell Colescott that if he ever did, he would call him first. 

Brian Olsen (left) pictured with Zach Colescott (right). Picture Provided.

              Shortly after that encounter, Olsen and his wife Sarah had found an air kit of a plane they wanted to buy and build when they attended a popular air show.  The Olsen’s and Colescott’s had remained friends since initially meeting and had met for dinner approximately a year and a half ago.  At that dinner, the Olsen’s told the Colescott’s their plan to sell Six Two Charley after their new plane was built.  After several months, the new plane was finished with construction and in September of this year, Zachary and Wendi Colescott were able to purchase his grandfather’s plane. 

              “It’s come home.  And it was very emotional.”, said Colescott.  “The first flight that I went out and did in it; I told everyone I had to do it by myself.  I had a lot of anxiety.  I knew I was fully capable of flying the airplane, but with the history that it has and what it means, I had to fly for a while first.”

              “There is no rational reason for me to own this airplane.  It is completely emotional.  This airplane has been such a big part of my life.  Outside of owning it today, I’m not sure I would be the person I am today or I would have made the same choices in life that bring me to where I am today if it hadn’t been for that airplane.  It’s just a wonder to have it back and be the one taking care of it.”   

              Today, Colescott still crosses the skies in Six Two Charlie, the same plane that first lifted his childhood dreams off the ground. Now, with his young son seated beside him, the legacy continues as one generation teaches the next, just as his grandfather once did. Each flight is more than a journey through the clouds; it’s a quiet tribute to family, memory and the enduring bond between those who dare to look up and dream. In the hum of the engine and the stretch of the horizon, Colescott carries not only his passengers, but the stories, lessons and love that have always guided his path.