The State - News from Nov. 11, 1987

A 10-year-old Santa Maria boy emerged from a Cessna Centurion P-210 at Miami International Airport with a wide smile and claimed cross-country speed and distance records for his age group on a transcontinental flight. Erik Fiederer said he was happiest “knowing that I can do it and that I did it. I wanted to fly ever since I was 4.” His mother, Air Force Col. Nancy Fiederer, who accompanied him on the cross-country flight that began Monday at Ft. Lewis, Wash., estimated total flying and ground time at 31 1/2 hours, including 15 hours in the air.