WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- For one young man, the sky has never just been something to look at. It’s been a dream just out of reach. Until now.
If you spend enough time around airplanes, you notice the little things.
“Warm chocolate chip cookies and like, the leather seats, 2 x 2 configuration, not like airplanes you see nowadays when they have three across,” said Mason Masino.
Twenty-three-year-old Masino notices all of it.
“I wore this jacket, specifically, to show that this is what an actual pilot would -- used to wear when they'd go up on a plane,” said Masino.
“He’s come in -- I think that’s his second or third aviation jacket he's come in with,” said Kurt Stanich, Waukesha County Airport manager.
Masino is an intern at the Waukesha County Airport with Journey21, a program where the sky is the limit.
“We are a nonprofit organization, also like a college for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Masino.
On May 6, Masino got to trade the ground for the clouds, spending about 20 minutes in the air during a flight experience arranged through his internship.
“I don’t know how to explain it, but like, I am so excited that I’m just so grateful and blessed,” said Masino.
Up in the air, the world looks different.
“It offers them a different view of the world that they may not have had the opportunity to experience otherwise,” said Stanich.
For Masino, this seat in the cockpit is a dream that’s no longer just on the horizon.
“Travel the skies and explore this amazing special day here today,” said Masino.