For Caitlin Dullanty, a weekend scenic flight over her parents’ home in The Preserve was simply a chance to see her Park City hometown from a new perspective. She had no idea her partner pilot, Michael Foster, had a much bigger flight plan in mind.
Dullanty and her family moved to Utah in 2002 after the Olympics, and she and her sister both skied for Park City ski teams. Foster grew up in a very small town in Colorado.
“Crook, Colorado, has a population of 120 people. Well, 119 now that I am not there,” he joked.
The couple moved to San Francisco in 2024. Dullanty works in venture capital and Foster in software engineering.
Foster had spent months coordinating the surprise. Being a self-proclaimed old-fashioned guy, he proposed with a 1920s antique diamond ring that the couple had picked out at an antique dealer. Foster said he always knew an airplane would be involved in his proposal.
As the 1961 Cessna 172 soared over the picturesque landscape on July 3, Foster guided the plane over Dullanty’s parents’ driveway, which read, “Will U Marry Me” out of 8-foot-tall letters that Dullanty’s dad put out.
“I was surprised, not about the day, because we had had the ring since April, and I had a feeling that every week that passes, the likelihood that it is going to be that weekend increases,” Dullanty said. “When we were home for the Fourth of July with my parents and family, I figured he would do then. I was surprised, however, when we went to the airport. I didn’t think he would propose in the air.”
They met at the Grizzly Rose, a country bar in Denver, while Dullanty was visiting her sister in 2021. Although it was still COVID time, there was no facial mask policy in the bar, so as luck or destiny would have it, the couple was able to interact like everyday folks.
“We went to Ladies Nights at the Grizzly Rose, Thursday nights, ladies drink for free,” Dullanty said. “And that is when I met Michael.”
The couple had a few more dates before Dullanty left for New York City. They talked about going skydiving, though Dullanty had already experienced that adventure. He had earned his pilot’s license a few years prior, so on that date he surprised Dullanty with a trip to the airport from which he flew out.
“Looking back, it was definitely a bold move,” Foster said with a laugh. “I took her flying, and we ended up flying from Sterling, Colorado, back into Denver and getting dinner.”
Dullanty was fortunate to have some knowledge of planes from previous jobs and experiences, so hopping in an old plane with Foster was fairly comfortable for her.
“Michael is a very calm pilot. He narrates the entire experience so you know exactly what he is doing and when he is doing it,” Dullanty said. “I knew enough about flying to know what the terms meant, so I was very comfortable.”
Although a wedding date or venue has not yet been determined, something suggests an airplane hangar may be involved.