The end of an era.

John Baker

John Baker

Final Approach
Joined
Oct 4, 2008
Messages
7,471
Location
San Diego, California
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Display name:
John Baker
Today, I sold my airplane. I am one of those lucky guys that had Eddy Lane do my check ride.

I will not bother renewing my medical, I also will not bother with taking another check ride. After eight years of beating my head against one bureaucratic hurdle after another, I am done. The bureaucrats won.

No more flying, no more nonsense, I get to keep my money.

I don't know if I'm happy or sad about the whole thing. All I can say is that for around one hundred thousand dollars, including buying my Warrior, six years of one frustration after another, I got to fly an airplane by myself.

I feel really stupid for putting myself through all of that. Anyway, it is finally over, for good. To top it off, I can't even find my pilots certificate to stick on my den wall someplace. I guess I will have to fill out a bunch of forms with the FAA saying I lost it.

-John
 
Your one step ahead of me.
 
John;
If you come east and want a ride, look me up. Any time! I'll give you a tour of the Boston area not many get to see.
 
silver-eagle said:
John;
If you come east and want a ride, look me up. Any time! I'll give you a tour of the Boston area not many get to see.
Click to expand...

John, thank you, that means a whole lot to me. I doubt if I will get that far east, so your chances of being stuck with a cranky old man for a few hours are mighty slim, but thank you.

-John
 
Ah you can't get out of aviation. If the bureaucracy has got you down, buy an ultralight. Gotta stay flying.:)
 
General aviation exists outside of the continental US. Just sayin. If the MAN ever yanks my ticket I'm packing my bags and moving to Thailand.
 
John,

I fly out of KMYF every week. Let me know when you would like to go up and you are welcome to come with me anytime.
 
Sorry you had a rough go of it. If you want to fly cheap and easy head up to torrey pines and go paragliding. Zoom around in ridge lift for short money with little bureaucracy. If not enjoy whatever is next.
 
Sorry to hear that John. At least you were finally able to sell your Warrior.

I understand your frustration.
 
Sorry, John. Come down to the island. You can be my co-pilot, anytime.

Sent from my Nexus 7
 
Thank you for the generous offers to fly. It looks like I'm going to have to take a road trip, but first, some time to decompress for a while. Actually, a road trip sounds like fun. No planning, just go. Not even a flight plan or flight following.

-John
 
Don't let the Bastards get you down! :mad3: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, GIVE UP!:mad2::no: NEVER!
 
John Baker said:
Thank you for the generous offers to fly. It looks like I'm going to have to take a road trip, but first, some time to decompress for a while. Actually, a road trip sounds like fun. No planning, just go. Not even a flight plan or flight following.

-John
Click to expand...

What would be fun, is something like pilots for paws, but instead of for a dog, do it for you.

Get a dozen or so pilots together, and ferry you from Cali to Boston, and put you up for a few nights at each stop.

That would be kind of cool :)
 
Mafoo said:
What would be fun, is something like pilots for paws, but instead of for a dog, do it for you.

Get a dozen or so pilots together, and ferry you from Cali to Boston, and put you up for a few nights at each stop.

That would be kind of cool :)
Click to expand...

I'll bet John doesn't shed or bite, either! :D
 
John Baker said:
Today, I sold my airplane. I am one of those lucky guys that had Eddy Lane do my check ride.

I will not bother renewing my medical, I also will not bother with taking another check ride. After eight years of beating my head against one bureaucratic hurdle after another, I am done. The bureaucrats won.

No more flying, no more nonsense, I get to keep my money.

I don't know if I'm happy or sad about the whole thing. All I can say is that for around one hundred thousand dollars, including buying my Warrior, six years of one frustration after another, I got to fly an airplane by myself.

I feel really stupid for putting myself through all of that. Anyway, it is finally over, for good. To top it off, I can't even find my pilots certificate to stick on my den wall someplace. I guess I will have to fill out a bunch of forms with the FAA saying I lost it.

-John
Click to expand...

John looking back at the whole journey was it worth it? Besides being a bucket list accomplishment was flying actually worth the issues you went through? I ask because it seems like you're the type of guy who will give a no B.S. assessment of flying.
 
LJS1993 said:
John looking back at the whole journey was it worth it? Besides being a bucket list accomplishment was flying actually worth the issues you went through? I ask because it seems like you're the type of guy who will give a no B.S. assessment of flying.
Click to expand...

For right now the answer is no and yes.

I do know that had I known anything about the journey I was about to embark on when I started, I would not have done it, no way in hell.

On the other hand, I did do it. I've flown solo on an over four hundred mile round trip cross country, my navigation was spot on. I've flown for close to twenty minutes in full IFR conditions, by myself. I've flown over a hundred miles at night, solo, with no problems whatsoever on any of those adventures. I've passed every single test they threw at me, and then some. I risked becoming completely blind so I could do all those things.

I feel like I've run a gauntlet, and came out the other end alive and a whole lot better for it.

It has been a gauntlet, a very expensive gauntlet. It was not all that much fun looking back on it. It became more of a vendetta for me to get that piece of plastic. I got it, used it for two years, now they want it back, like I did nothing.

Perhaps they are right in their own little bureaucratic minds, but not in mine. I think I accomplished a whole lot. As far as I'm concerned, the whole thing has been nothing but busy work for a few faceless employees who spend their days in gray cubicles in an FAA office.

-John
 
With the Feds closing in and gas surely to climb up to $10 a gallon soon, we're all just one step behind you. If you ever miss owning and flying your own plane, buy a new Hyundai once a year and set fire to it in your front yard. That will remind you.:mad2:
 
LJS1993 said:
John looking back at the whole journey was it worth it? Besides being a bucket list accomplishment was flying actually worth the issues you went through? I ask because it seems like you're the type of guy who will give a no B.S. assessment of flying.
Click to expand...

Only you can answer that for yourself. ;)
 
John Baker said:
For right now the answer is no and yes.

I do know that had I known anything about the journey I was about to embark on when I started, I would not have done it, no way in hell.

On the other hand, I did do it. I've flown solo on an over four hundred mile round trip cross country, my navigation was spot on. I've flown for close to twenty minutes in full IFR conditions, by myself. I've flown over a hundred miles at night, solo, with no problems whatsoever on any of those adventures. I've passed every single test they threw at me, and then some. I risked becoming completely blind so I could do all those things.

I feel like I've run a gauntlet, and came out the other end alive and a whole lot better for it.

It has been a gauntlet, a very expensive gauntlet. It was not all that much fun looking back on it. It became more of a vendetta for me to get that piece of plastic. I got it, used it for two years, now they want it back, like I did nothing.

Perhaps they are right in their own little bureaucratic minds, but not in mine. I think I accomplished a whole lot. As far as I'm concerned, the whole thing has been nothing but busy work for a few faceless employees who spend their days in gray cubicles in an FAA office.

-John
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Thanks for the input.
 
John's got memories. They can't be taken away by any bureaucrat anywhere. He has accomplishment.

When compared to yearning, desire, and the disappointment at the lack of accomplishment, I'd say he did just fine. If I'm ever again in the SD area, I'll rent a damn airplane just to get him aloft.
 
I don't think you can script John's experience. It appeared to be a one-of-a-kind deal that might be best-described by the country song "Life's a game you learn as you go." Fact is, the whole deal was so bizarre that I stopped reading it for a while on the assumption that it couldn't possibly be true. ````

I've been hanging out at the airport for longer than most and have never heard a story quite like his--or maybe saga is a better descriptive term.
LJS1993 said:
Perhaps but it's always good to learn from the experiences of others before heading into a very expensive endeavor.
Click to expand...
 
Mafoo said:
What would be fun, is something like pilots for paws, but instead of for a dog, do it for you.

Get a dozen or so pilots together, and ferry you from Cali to Boston, and put you up for a few nights at each stop.

That would be kind of cool :)
Click to expand...

POA did that once... Took Henning from LA to Florida. It was on that journey that I met the MAN here in Atlanta.

There have been a lot of times when I wanted to sell out and move on to... What???
until that "What" is answered, I'll sit a while. I'd trade my 172 on a Kitfox or Rans today, if somebody was interested. I have not had a passenger in 2 years, and don't think I will in another two years. I just poke a hole in the sky at $60/hour in gas. I'd have a whole lot more fun at 70KTS and 1,000 feet and spend less too. :dunno:
 
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The stories of my flying experiences that I have posted on this site were all factual, however, some were posted under duress, others were posted after a success, so how I presented those experiences, may have been embellished with assorted colorful adjectives, and perhaps some undue bitterness, I can not recall.

Being one of those lucky fellows that did not meet up to the ladies standards of the perfect man, I have gotten to live alone for many years. Having this board to put my thoughts out on has been a huge help to me. Pilots are a direct bunch of people, so when my thinking started to wander too far from what is normal, I was usually called on it almost immediately.

There is a lot more to this saga than I have posted here, someday I might fill in some of those gaps, I don't know. The whole adventure cost me a whole lot more than just money, so when I'm asked such a question as "was it worth it?" I honestly do not know how to respond.

Aviation has been just one part of the pile of adventures I have put myself through in my life. If I lump all of it together, and am asked "was it all worth it?" then I have to say absolutely yes.

All I can say is that my life has not been a cookie cutter type of life. It's been more like the round piece of wood that would not fit in a square hole, so a big hammer was used to make it fit. It still doesn't fit right. Even now, as I'm writing this, my evil mind is trying to come up with my next challenge. :hairraise:

-John
 
John,

I think in your heart you really know it was worth it. Flying an airplane is not something a lot of people do. It takes a lot of time, discipline, and as you know money. Nobody can take that accomplishment away from you, like Michael said.

Now that your plane is sold, you may be reacting a bit to everything you had to go through, and it is making you reflect on a wide range of life experiences, successes, failures, and everything in between. You may find a few weeks or months down the road that you may want to fly again, and just rent once in a while or join a flying club.
 
Anthony said:
John,

I think in your heart you really know it was worth it. Flying an airplane is not something a lot of people do. It takes a lot of time, discipline, and as you know money. Nobody can take that accomplishment away from you, like Michael said.

Now that your plane is sold, you may be reacting a bit to everything you had to go through, and it is making you reflect on a wide range of life experiences, successes, failures, and everything in between. You may find a few weeks or months down the road that you may want to fly again, and just rent once in a while or join a flying club.
Click to expand...

Anthony, you are probably correct. I know I need some time to think about all of this. I do love flying, always have. What got to me was the relentless bureaucratic nit picking. That part never ends. Being a pilot has little to do with actually flying a machine up in the sky, but is more about meeting the endless regulations to the tiniest detail. Forgetting to dot an "i" really can set you back.

-John
 
By the way John, have you actually received a re-examination letter? (If you mentioned this already, I missed it.)
 
Palmpilot said:
By the way John, have you actually received a re-examination letter? (If you mentioned this already, I missed it.)
Click to expand...

Lets put it this way, I received a notice to pick up a registered letter at the post office. I do not pick up registered letters at the post office. Those are never good news.

-John
 
wabower said:
I don't think you can script John's experience. It appeared to be a one-of-a-kind deal that might be best-described by the country song "Life's a game you learn as you go." Fact is, the whole deal was so bizarre that I stopped reading it for a while on the assumption that it couldn't possibly be true. ````

I've been hanging out at the airport for longer than most and have never heard a story quite like his--or maybe saga is a better descriptive term.
Click to expand...

Wow his experiences sound wild to say the least. I wasn't around then so I missed out on his saga. Is it archived or a topic long forgotten?
 
LJS1993 said:
Wow his experiences sound wild to say the least. I wasn't around then so I missed out on his saga. Is it archived or a topic long forgotten?
Click to expand...

It's all here, in multiple threads. Probably easiest to search on threads started by John...
 
John Baker said:
John, thank you, that means a whole lot to me. I doubt if I will get that far east, so your chances of being stuck with a cranky old man for a few hours are mighty slim, but thank you.

-John
Click to expand...

I second the idea, if you are ever in the SF area, which I'd bet is way more likely? You can fly with me anytime.
 
John, please know that if you EVER happen to end up near us in Illinois, it would be an honor to have you show us how to REALLY fly 7SG!
 
John, I don't know whether to extend congratulations or condolences, or maybe both, but best wishes to you either way. I still remember your generous offer when I was in San Diego, for which I remain grateful.

For my part, I'm seriously considering buying an ultralight that I've been helping a guy fix up. It's safe to fly and flies well, but we're replacing the fabric, control cables, rigging, fuel lines, and so forth -- basically just spiffing it up. (It's nice to be able to buy 90 percent of the parts at Tractor Supply or Ace Hardware.)

-Rich
 
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