twdeckard
Pre-takeoff checklist
Musing about the pressures on recreational flying and the folly of 100K+ LSA's. What are the sentiments that will keep flying going?
Went out out to the airport early Saturday to pick up a co-worker, his daughter, and perhaps his future son-in-law for a scenic/birthday flight.
With a roof full of snow, hanger door was bowed out and taught as a mousetrap, and I called to indicate the mission was at risk. But it was beautiful so I started pounding around the base of the door with the ice-spud. After some determined swearing I actually managed to spring the door free.
The prudent thing to do would have been to apply my energies to the icy hanger apron but instead I pulled the car around and rigged up my come-a-long to the bumper frame to the cart winch to the tow bar. The geometry of this lame rube goldberg thing meant cranking it forward 6ft, undoing the winch and moving the car, rinse, repeat. A club member I had never met came up and offered to replace machinery and stupidity with more muscle.
I agreed, and went to pull the car to the end of the alleyway and when I looked back there were now three enthusiastic fellows wrangling the airplane over the slick ramp -- it looked like ants trying to drag a grasshopper -- and every little ridge in the ice was a backbreaker. By the time I had waddled back to the hanger they had it neatly lined up on the ramp.
When I came back, my Samaritans were off flying but by strategically parking in front of one of my hanger neighbors just as he was about to take the Cirrus out I inadvertently enjoined another volunteer who was now committed to helping or watching me spud away a cessna wide lionel train track back back into the hanger for an hour. Together with the line fellow we had it backed into the dock in no time.
The reason for this essay. It seemed like everyone was "rooting" for me to go flying. I would have thrown in the towel pretty easily but there was so much enthusiasm to get the thing tugged out and and tucked back in that I couldn't resist.
As it was I didn't realize that my mission was a Suprise and I would have stood up some wonderful passengers.
Just a short note and a reminder to myself to "pay it forward"
Went out out to the airport early Saturday to pick up a co-worker, his daughter, and perhaps his future son-in-law for a scenic/birthday flight.
With a roof full of snow, hanger door was bowed out and taught as a mousetrap, and I called to indicate the mission was at risk. But it was beautiful so I started pounding around the base of the door with the ice-spud. After some determined swearing I actually managed to spring the door free.
The prudent thing to do would have been to apply my energies to the icy hanger apron but instead I pulled the car around and rigged up my come-a-long to the bumper frame to the cart winch to the tow bar. The geometry of this lame rube goldberg thing meant cranking it forward 6ft, undoing the winch and moving the car, rinse, repeat. A club member I had never met came up and offered to replace machinery and stupidity with more muscle.
I agreed, and went to pull the car to the end of the alleyway and when I looked back there were now three enthusiastic fellows wrangling the airplane over the slick ramp -- it looked like ants trying to drag a grasshopper -- and every little ridge in the ice was a backbreaker. By the time I had waddled back to the hanger they had it neatly lined up on the ramp.
When I came back, my Samaritans were off flying but by strategically parking in front of one of my hanger neighbors just as he was about to take the Cirrus out I inadvertently enjoined another volunteer who was now committed to helping or watching me spud away a cessna wide lionel train track back back into the hanger for an hour. Together with the line fellow we had it backed into the dock in no time.
The reason for this essay. It seemed like everyone was "rooting" for me to go flying. I would have thrown in the towel pretty easily but there was so much enthusiasm to get the thing tugged out and and tucked back in that I couldn't resist.
As it was I didn't realize that my mission was a Suprise and I would have stood up some wonderful passengers.
Just a short note and a reminder to myself to "pay it forward"