Friday, October 15, 2010

Tick tock, tick tock

Time flies when you're having fun ... when you're not having fun, time goes by in ticks and tocks, and especially when you are waiting for the FAA medico to review your special issuance medical status. This is the fourth time I've had to rally forth with wings in hand to seek a release to take an FAA medical exam and it's not fun.

This week I had had enough.

Much as I hate to do it, the Bonanza is up for sale.



I moved the airplane to Ft Myers for my son to fly until it's either gone or he buys it.

The Clearwater hanger will be vacated at the end of the month (after all that waiting to finally get a good hangar!)

From now on, I'm flying as a Sport Pilot. No more of these unnecessary hassles with the FAA. I am the first to ground myself if the least little thing comes up - a cold, even - but the bureaucracy grinds on and must be fed.

The day will come - and quickly - when Mom and Dad want to fly to Grandma's for Christmas and there will be no pilots to fly them. The government has seen to that with their manipulation of circumstances that have jacked up the cost of flying to a point where civilian student starts are in the dumper and established pilots are hanging up their wings - and dreams. The military will fill pilot seats for awhile, but then what? These cycles have come and gone over the years, I know, but I really don't want it to come down to a robot flying an airplane with me in it ... even if they do say that nothing can possibly go wrong ... go wrong ... go wro

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Full Monty - Pilots bare all for the love of their airplanes

It started as simple fun. The Antique Airplane Club of Greater New York and their fair ladies get together on Wednesday evenings for wine and cheese and somebody said something about "Let's take our clothes off and sell calendars" and that got the ball rolling. Sort of. I actually made that up but it's not outside the realm of possibility.


And for the video of "The Making of..." go to: