Passion......and the payments

The house is almost done with a bit of painting and sanding left to do, so I've been flying quite a bit of late. Flying is not so much a hobby, like cycling, as it is a passion I've always had and can finally fulfill. On the down side are the "payments" required to keep up with the desire.

Having owned a 1938 Aeronca Chief the last few years and while working to restore it to original condition, I've discovered the best way to make a small fortune in aviation is to start out with a large one. But the end result will be the ability to go fly when the weather is good and the mood strikes me. Airplanes are also a bit of an investment in that most appreciate in value if you get the right one, and I own one of those that are becoming more rare with each passing day.

The other payment you have to make with flying is the time necessary to recover mentally. I'm not the sharpest tack in the drawer but I can handle the stresses involved of staying ahead of an airplane going nearly 140mph while navigating using pilotage, radio navigation, and oh-yes the "I want one of those for my plane" Garmin 530 GPS that'll show you exactly where you are when you get lost. Oh, and don't forget the communications for weather services for airport conditions where you're going and the PIREPS (pilot reports) you give for weather conditions you encounter en-route, listening to the location updates of other pilots and planes in your area/flight path, and paying attention to air traffic control folks while keeping time between checkpoints, calculating ground speed en-route in case you have to update your flight plan you have on file and activated, and the biggest one I almost did yesterday: DO NOT VIOLATE RESTRICTED AIRSPACE OVER A MILITARY FACILITY. They get pretty pissed when a Cessna gets close to the restricted area even though the ATC dip-shit was emphatic in telling me to turn to a specific heading and yep, I followed his "suggestion" until I came to my senses. Pilots can disregard ATC's instructions if safety is an issue, and this time it was my ass that was in jeopardy because I almost went into the airspace around Ft. Benning, GA on my cross-country flight yesterday. You can get time in jail these days and can kiss you pilot's license good-bye FOREVER.

In a few days, all this time and money invested will come full circle with a bit of history in my life. Some 32 years ago, a man named Bob Harless gave me my first airplane ride. It was a DC-3, or what is also called a C-47 in military version. That flight lit a fire that has been smoldering ever since. It was also the weekend of July 4th when my first flight took place. After that first flight, I pestered Bob to take me up every chance he got and would wash the planes and be gopher around the hangar to earn every ride I got. I think he flew me in everything on the field we lived across from to include a Stearman he used to crop dust.

Well, one week after July 4th next week I'll travel south to Douglas, GA to have Bob Harless do my pilot check-ride since he is the FAA check pilot I'll go to. He doesn't know who I am because I have only seen him once since we moved when I was 10. I plan to wait until after my check-ride to do two things: I plan to thank him for not only the check ride but for introducing me to flight, and when he looks at me funny before asking "what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I'll explain who I am and why I'm so grateful.

Mushy?

Not at all. It's not often you actually get to see someone from your past that set you future in motion, and thank them.

My "office" on today's flight to Auburn-Opelika, on to Talladega, and back home to Robins Air Park.
This was the GPS when I was nearly home and pretty bored from flying in a straight line for 134 miles.

Time in a bottle........

Making a living has pushed cycling aside the last few weeks and I haven't been on a bike for almost 3 weeks now. Fat and slow is how I roll now. Coinciding with this is four items that tend to crush my motivation to ride at all: 1) a late season, "mild" flu bug with a killer headache that took nearly 2 weeks to get over and then, 2) temps turned up 15 degrees, which is typical Georgia weather, in addition to 3) we've been putting in a lot of time after work during the week and every weekend getting the house ready to sale, and 4) I've been teaching 2 consecutive A&P short courses the last 2 weeks that has me getting home after 10pm most nights. Thankfully, the short courses are now over and I have my evenings to once again work on the last few odds and ends with the house - like changing the light switches and wall socket out for newer ones while the power is still on, which results in getting the piss knocked out of me when I slip up. Then, "stupid is as stupid does" I don't turn the power off but certainly go back for more. And hell no, alcohol was NOT involved and no I did NOT eat paint chips as a kid. I don't think, anyways.......'bout the paint chips........

To be quite honest, I've considered giving up on cycling for a while (if not permanently) since I've lost my interest due to the road rides going over the same damn roads week in and week out. B-O-R-I-N-G!!!!! I'm also pretty tired of doing maintenance on trails and have been neglecting Thomson trails both riding and maintaining wise. If anything, we've made the trail less reliant on maintenance, which takes hours to make a difference but some folks think we've "dumbed-down" the trails. Un-hook your brakes and lets see how easy it is smart asses. I may need to squat the next time I pee if I keep bitching like this...........

Whining won't get me motivated so I plan to just do my own thing as I've been wanting to do since the winter road training rides went to pot this past winter when a few riders got pissed at me at how things were going. I really hate that it happened, but I had to move on then just as I'll do now.

Right now the important thing for me to do is relax during my three weeks off from work and really re-charge my batteries. This past quarter I had some of the most involved classes I teach out of the nearly 30 classes in the curriculum: aviation regulations, mathematics, electricity and electronics, and physics. Brain strain for everyone involved when you shove a full college course of physics at the students in 7 days, and at the end of an already intense quarter! "Drinking from a fire hose" is the correct metaphor I guess. But regardless of the student's ability, each one learns in my classroom if they are willing to put forth the effort.

I've got some flying to do this week and next to finish a rating, and I'm looking forward to taking the wife up in the air and cruise the altitudes for a brief period to show her what $6,000 was spent on. It should serve as motivation for us both to pursue the repairs on my own airplane, which is sitting in a hangar begging to "slip the surly bounds" once again. Although flying is one of the most mentally challenging hobbies I've ever pursued, it is also the most exhilarating. The first time I soloed, I got out of the plane sweating with wobbly knees wanting to puke, I had a smile from ear to ear because I felt like I'd just had the best sex of my life, and I was so mentally fatigued I could barely remember my own name. And the damnedest thing is that I couldn't wait to do it again!!

In a few days, we're going to Ft. Mountain with friends to camp for a week, ride a few trails, go over to Hogpen Gap so the wife can conquer her desire to hurt like no other time she'll ever spend on a bike, take a tour of the North Georgia wine country while taking in some of the finest wine these lips have ever tasted, and pass the time as slowly as possible because we may never pass that way again.