Just Extremely Grateful..

MuseChaser

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MuseChaser
I've been trying to figure out what I want to say, and just how to say it, but can't really come up with the words so I'm just going to type and hope something worthwhile leaks out of my fingers...

To say that my life as a pilot and as an airplane co- and now sole-owner has has been a long, slow, and occasionally frustrating (more the partnership/ownership part than the training/flying part) triptus interruptus would be an understatement. I won't bore anyone with the details.

For the second time in one week, my wife and I flew a short XC together, this time to an airport I'd never been to before. It was an absolutely PERFECT CAVU day, flying over hills, small lakes and ponds, negotiating updrafts and down drafts but nothing even remotely resembling turbulence. This airport was a strip running along the top of a hill/ridge.. absolutely stunning. I'll attach a pic a bit later, but for now, let me try to put into words what I'm trying to say...

Driving home from the airport, grinning from ear to ear, the whole experience just feels so surreal. I'm in a place that, for 15 years, IS finally what I thought flying really was... and so much more. Up until the past few weeks, flying has been a hassle, a fight, an endeavor, work, frustration, perserverance. Today, and for the past few weeks, it has been.. well...transcendent. When I want to leave earth, I can. When I'd like a friendly voice, or some information, I can press a button on my yoke and some great ATC dude/dudette is more than happy to help out. I can look over at the copilot's seat and see my wife, grinning stupidly and excitedly pointing out windmills, lakes, airports, highways, towers. I have two A&Ps that are absolutely the best people on earth, and a great CFI. I'm sure there may be people on earth even more blessed than I, but I can't imagine it.

I always thought I understood this poem...

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of --Wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air...
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew --
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

I understand it a LOT more now. To all you folks who do this every day for a living, I probably sound like a blithering sentimental idiot. Could be. Today was so joyful I'm having trouble seeing sometimes.
 
It is great isn’t it? I know the feeling you’re trying to describe, is really one of those feelings you only understand after you’ve experienced it. The fact that you can share it with your wife makes it all that much more fun and special.

Glad you had a nice flight, sir!
 
And you're going to meet me in a couple of months and learn you'll save tons of money on your interior....it just keeps getting better doesn't it? :)
lol...dude... you are DEFINITELY one of those blessings. Guess what I pulled out of my plane ater the flight today..and yes, making these no longer seems like rocket science...P_20190917_203528.jpg
 
I kind of had that feeling on my first cross country solo flight. I've rushed into my instruments training so I haven't had much opportunity to just enjoy my license yet... I'm looking forward to having my dad similar to the one you just described.
 
Oh give it some time and the novelty will wear off. “Your engine is making metal and it needs an overhaul” has a way of destroying those “laughter silvered wings.”
 
Oh give it some time and the novelty will wear off. “Your engine is making metal and it needs an overhaul” has a way of destroying those “laughter silvered wings.”
You don't understand. I experienced all of that FIRST.. including the overhaul after a prop strike.
 
Flight, even in a "slow" plane, is a minor miracle. I marvel at the fact I can be in , say, DC, in 2 and a half hours. Or in Maine for lobster in three. And enjoy the ride...no arriving an hour before departure, getting patted down, or losing your luggage.

I'm long past the realities of avionics upgrades, engine overhauls, and ongoing maintenance. I like to focus on the fun stuff. And need to find more time to do it!
 
Yes! A thousand times, yes!

Heck, even as a low time pilot, who's about to return to the ranks of PIC; THAT (the OP) is exactly how I remember it...

Muse chaser's muse seems to be flight.

She's mine, too.

Thanks for articulating the JOY of flight so well.
 
A couple weeks ago I was flying back from 6Y9 after a good time with good friends. I had lots of trouble, from busted fuel pumps to uncooperative weather. After spending the night in the cultural hub the Universe, Toledo Ohio, I finally got started home late the next afternoon. I kinda got that. Flying along, looking at fields and small towns from the air, I recalled how privileged I was to be seeing such sights.
 
Where is that? I'm at KRME.

That's on final to 6 at Oneonta, N66, about 60nm SSE of you. Another of my favorites, and VERY near you, is Beck's Grove, K16, if you haven't already found that one. Paved, and plenty long, but it's right in the middle of a forest and the pavement's barely wide enough for your mains. Fun!
 
Ah. Another airport I have been stranded at! (Magneto failure on takeoff.) Did a ton of practice approaches there for the IR.
Beautiful place to be stranded if ya gotta be stranded! They had a pretty active shop there yesterday.. young guy was working on a beautiful amphib Cub, I think. Hopefully it wasn't too bad a day for you. Can't believe I've been flying in this area (off and on) for over 15 years and had never been there before. Definitely going to change that!
 
Beautiful place to be stranded if ya gotta be stranded! They had a pretty active shop there yesterday.. young guy was working on a beautiful amphib Cub, I think. Hopefully it wasn't too bad a day for you. Can't believe I've been flying in this area (off and on) for over 15 years and had never been there before. Definitely going to change that!

Ive used Brad(?) off and on for annuals there. Good work.
 
That's on final to 6 at Oneonta, N66, about 60nm SSE of you. Another of my favorites, and VERY near you, is Beck's Grove, K16, if you haven't already found that one. Paved, and plenty long, but it's right in the middle of a forest and the pavement's barely wide enough for your mains. Fun!
I grew up in Oneonta, and there are several guys I fly with regularly who are either based at or fly into Beck's Grove all the time. Heck I think some are part-owners. Russ, Chuck, Rich Hanna, the guys in 200MD. You might even have come across the emeritus professor, Luigi.
 
Another unbelievable gorgeous day in central NY today, and another new airport.. Cherry Ridge, N30, in PA, with a GOOD diner/restaurant on the airport. Ahhhhh... life is SOooooooo good.
 
I've been trying to figure out what I want to say, and just how to say it, but can't really come up with the words so I'm just going to type and hope something worthwhile leaks out of my fingers...

To say that my life as a pilot and as an airplane co- and now sole-owner has has been a long, slow, and occasionally frustrating (more the partnership/ownership part than the training/flying part) triptus interruptus would be an understatement. I won't bore anyone with the details.

For the second time in one week, my wife and I flew a short XC together, this time to an airport I'd never been to before. It was an absolutely PERFECT CAVU day, flying over hills, small lakes and ponds, negotiating updrafts and down drafts but nothing even remotely resembling turbulence. This airport was a strip running along the top of a hill/ridge.. absolutely stunning. I'll attach a pic a bit later, but for now, let me try to put into words what I'm trying to say...

Driving home from the airport, grinning from ear to ear, the whole experience just feels so surreal. I'm in a place that, for 15 years, IS finally what I thought flying really was... and so much more. Up until the past few weeks, flying has been a hassle, a fight, an endeavor, work, frustration, perserverance. Today, and for the past few weeks, it has been.. well...transcendent. When I want to leave earth, I can. When I'd like a friendly voice, or some information, I can press a button on my yoke and some great ATC dude/dudette is more than happy to help out. I can look over at the copilot's seat and see my wife, grinning stupidly and excitedly pointing out windmills, lakes, airports, highways, towers. I have two A&Ps that are absolutely the best people on earth, and a great CFI. I'm sure there may be people on earth even more blessed than I, but I can't imagine it.

I always thought I understood this poem...

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of --Wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air...
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew --
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

I understand it a LOT more now. To all you folks who do this every day for a living, I probably sound like a blithering sentimental idiot. Could be. Today was so joyful I'm having trouble seeing sometimes.

If there was a love button I’d smash that for this post! Thanks for making it.

There are not many people on this earth that can relate to your post but those of us that can know the deep bond we feel with each other and are happy to share the sky with each other. We are so incredibly lucky to be able to participate in aviation’s splendor and I never take that for granted.

When I need a pick me up, flying is where I turn. Something about flying, by myself, looking at the scenery from above just alawys seems to do the trick!
 
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@MuseChaser do you chronicle the challenges of partnership here anywhere?

Sounds like an awesome several weeks for you! congrats.
Thanks, Terry.. maybe part of the elation stems from this journey starting back in 2003 and taking so long to get to this point. Got my PPSEL in 2004, but all kinds of things got in the way of actually using it. During that time, also started training towards my IR, twice, and got about half way through the second time, but had to abort those too.

I don't know that I've written a ton of specifics anywhere, but may have touched on some of the issues sporadically. I probably won't; my tale probably differs from the usual problems folks warn about only in the scale and longevity of those problems. I had two partners..I was the third to buy in. One, the original sole owner, was and still is a good friend of mine. We are much better friends not "married by airplane." I'm fortunate enough to have found pretty much the perfect wife back in 1978 and we've been married for 37 years so I can't speak from experience, but it's kind of like finding a girlfriend who's a blast to hang out with but, after marrying her and discovering that there are things you have to agree on but can't, never do, and drive each other crazy because you see things too differently. Now that we don't HAVE to agree, my ex-airplane-partner and I are back to having fun and laughing together again, and I'm actually keeping the plane up, the paperwork up, fixing the squawks, INSURING it (that was one of the big issues). Much, much better. The other partner had a lot of back problems, followed by surgery and opiate prescription pain pills. He smoked cigarettes a lot, and was never able to quit those. Guess what else he couldn't quit when his prescription ran out? He ruined his life. VERY sad. We all tried to help him, but he stole from and lied to his closest friends, family, and parents, and lost his family. Such a shame... in many ways he was a very kind, helpful person.

So, yeah, the usual stuff. Unworkable partnerships, my own special issuance hurdles (all good there, no major difficulties, just some hoops to jump through here and there), balancing work, family, kids, etc. Plane is now mine solely, kids are all grown and married off, wife and I have a lot more time (and a bit more money, but not the Pilatus or even Cirrus kind... more like the "owning, fixing, maintaining, and improving a Cherokee without worry" kind), and both retired from our day gigs. In hindsight, the plane IS sort of a metaphor for my day gig. For the 31 years I did it, I mostly hated it but found some joys in it along the way. I kept at it because I knew it would allow me to meet my retirement age and financial goals...which it did meet (age 55) and more than exceed (financial). I'm still performing regularly, but I love doing that and I'm not getting up every day at 5am to go punch someone else's clock and take directives from administrators who have no clue about my job. That's all over now, and all that's left is enjoying the fruits of my labor..and still occasionally contributing more work as desired. The plane, turns out, was sort of a "day gig" fraught with frustration for 15 years, but I stuck it out, never gave up, and now, well... here be the fruits affer all this time. Makes it that much sweeter...but still, no matter how long or short the journey, the joy is still in just being up there. Inexplicable.
 
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@MuseChaser did you buy the other two partners out or go your own way with a whole new bird?

I’ve considered a partnership but think I’m going to rent in the near-term. Maybe a club. I’m only 10 years younger than you at 45 but my kids seem much young with one having just started kindergarten!!!! One in 7th and the other in 5th grade.

Hoping to meet basic Med requirements in October and get my BFR.

I’m happy for you! Sounds like everything I thought flying would be when I got into it. I have hope it might work out!!!
 
@MuseChaser did you buy the other two partners out or go your own way with a whole new bird?

I’ve considered a partnership but think I’m going to rent in the near-term. Maybe a club. I’m only 10 years younger than you at 45 but my kids seem much young with one having just started kindergarten!!!! One in 7th and the other in 5th grade.

Hoping to meet basic Med requirements in October and get my BFR.

I’m happy for you! Sounds like everything I thought flying would be when I got into it. I have hope it might work out!!!

I bought my partners out on our '65 PA288-140... I became 2/3 owner a few years ago, then full owner about six months ago. Glad to hear you're getting back into it... good for you! We got a pretty early start with our family.. we had three boys before I was 30. Lots to be said for waiting... As a younger lad, I didn't have the patience to enjoy my kids as much as I could have because I was too busy trying to light the world on fire (in a good way). I guess I'd just say enjoy your kids' childhoods as much as you possibly can.. you don't get a second chance, and airplanes are always here for you. Thanks for the words.. keep me (us) posted!
 
Awesome post, @MuseChaser! I'm always saddened by the people who expend a lot of time, effort, and money on aviation and just give up before they get to that point that you're now enjoying, so I'm extra-happy when I hear of another aviator who gets across that line where flying becomes so easy and enjoyable that you can really reap the rewards after everything you've put into it.

I've had an easier time of it than you and got there quite a while ago even though it sounds like we started around the same time (intro flight 2002, private 2003, instrument 2006, commercial & multi 2008) and I can tell you that, now that you've got this bull by the balls, it'll do nothing but get better. And if it stops getting better, that just means you need to try something new. I went through my one cycle of aviation burnout around 2005-2006, but then I had a number of new experiences in 2006 (tailwheel, skiplane, seaplane, aerobatics, etc) and I've found that peppering new airplanes and experiences in between my normal travel and fun flying really helps to keep it all fun and to keep me humble (and safe). One of the most wonderful things about aviation is that there is ALWAYS something new to do. Aside from the stuff I've already listed, I've flown several warbirds, taken a mountain flying course, flown internationally, and a bunch of other things and I've barely scratched the surface. I hope you continue to experience all the joy and growth that aviation has to offer.

Flight, even in a "slow" plane, is a minor miracle. I marvel at the fact I can be in , say, DC, in 2 and a half hours. Or in Maine for lobster in three. And enjoy the ride...no arriving an hour before departure, getting patted down, or losing your luggage.

This reminds me of an old Barry Schiff article in AOPA Pilot, from probably 15 years ago, where a friend of his mentioned that he was thinking of taking a "quick flight to Vegas" on the airlines for the weekend and Schiff said, "A quick flight? On the airlines? I bet I could beat you there in my Citabria!" And he did! The rules were merely that they both left their respective homes at the same time, and whoever made it to the hotel bar in Vegas first won.

Pretty much any GA airplane will beat the airlines at ranges up to 250nm, even a Cub. (Of course, driving is usually fastest at <100nm.) The faster the plane, the better off GA is. I figure that I can usually beat the airlines anywhere east of the Rockies from Wisconsin in the Mooney (175 KTAS), with a few exceptions: Destination smack next to the big airline airport and/or a direct flight, major weather systems, or the outer reaches of Florida (ie Miami) or Texas (Brownsville) where it's a >1,000nm trip. The Mooney can put me in Dallas, New Orleans, Pensacola, Jacksonville, Savannah, the Outer Banks, DC, New York, Boston, or Bangor in 3.5-5 hours. I've returned to Wisconsin from Santa Fe, NM in 4:37. And this is in a normally-aspirated piston single with operating costs of well under $1/mile. I just took a trip to Seattle where it cost me half to fly the Mooney what the airline tickets would have been.

GA, even normally-aspirated piston single GA, is extraordinarily useful *and* fun once you're instrument rated and comfortable in the system and working around weather (both geographically and temporally). If you're not there yet, don't give up! There really is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is made of pure awesomeness. GA really does become everything that we dream it will if we give it enough of the aforementioned time, money and effort - And it's worth every second, every penny, and every ounce.
 
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