Remember When Talking About Aviation Was Just Plane Fun?
By Robert Mark on April 30th, 2007Since it’s a beautiful spring afternoon in Chicago – sunny, temperatures in the high 70s (around 25 for you Celsius folks) it seemed like the right time to blog a bit about a piece of aviation that’s not quite as serious as the FAA, user fees or bad airline service.
One of these days when I head off to that great hangar in the sky – at least I hope it’s in the sky – I will have at least had the fun and excitement of owning an airplane of my own … no partners, no scheduling conflicts, just plain fun.
Have you?
Even if you haven’t, what would you buy if you could, no matter where you live in the world? Send us a few photos and we’ll post them at Jetwhine.
My first machine was a 1968 Champion Citabria (Airbatic spelled backwards)7ECA powered by a reliable O-235 Lycoming that never failed to start when I pushed the button to crank it up for some 650 hours worth of aviating over three years. One hundred and fifteen horses pulled me around the sky at a blazing 100 knots or so burning about five U.S. gallons per hour. Parking tie downs set me back another $35 a month and insurance at the time was about another $300 a year.
At the time, this money was a stretch for a single guy, but I was more interested in flying airplanes than driving a fine car. Don’t ask me what I drove.
OK, so on to the fun part. This airplane had a stick instead of a control wheel and a throttle attached to the left wall of the cockpit. I learned how to kick the rudders too. I’m convinced that no one can make a crosswind landing like someone who can fly a taildragger.
Took the bird from Chicago to Denver a couple of times with my 12-year old nephew in the back. Once we made the entire trip and only landed on grass runways. Try that today.
Positive Proof that I Don’t Hold an A & P Certificate
OK, Ok … here comes a really dumb pilot-induced maintenance problem that only a guy who has 350 hours of flying experience could pull off.
The Champs were all fabric covered airplanes … a bag of rags as an American Airlines pilot friend of mine used to call it. When I bought it, the airplane had just been recovered and repainted, apparently I’d find out later by someone who was practically clueless about what paint to use on fabric.
Within a few months of buying the airplane, the paint began peeling on the top of the wings right at the high point of the ribs. Little by little, it got worse and worse until I thought for sure the exposed fabric was going to start to rot.
Enter America’s favorite product that holds everything to everything else … Silver Duct Tape. I thought if I taped over the fabric at the wing ribs, that everything would be perfect … a little ugly maybe, but better than rotting fabric.
So here’s my precious little airplane with what looked like stripes of Duct Tape on the top of the wings, ready for a four-hour cross country. What I didn’t know was that even the mighty Duct Tape won’t stand up to 115 mph wind. After just a few hours, the silver coating began to peel.
By the time I got back to KPWK, the tower asked me I was in trouble because of the things flying along behind. I had no idea what they were talking about until after taxiing in, I watched a bunch of folks on the ramp walk up to me like I had lost my mind.
There, hanging from the back of the wings were at least six or eight large silver streamers of Duct Tape following behind like I’d just left a birthday party.
People still laugh at that one.
Boy I miss that little airplane. It was more fun than getting paid to fly.
And one of the dumbest decisions I will ever have made was to sell N9MK.
I thought at the time it was a pretty good deal. I bought it in 1974 for $2500. I sold it three years later for $3500 after having logged over 600 hours. Today, my friend Brian Jacobson at the National Aircraft Appraisers Association says my bird would be worth about $26,000.
Go figure.
You Can Go Home Again … Maybe
The good news is that my old airplane is alive and well living around the Minneapolis area. I’ve got to stop in and have that owner take me for a ride.
For those of you with a license, think back. What airplane stands out most in your memory?
If you’re still learning to fly or hope to, tell us what gets your blood pumping?
Fly safe!
Technorati tags: Learning+to+fly, favorite+airplanes, Citabria, Lycoming, pilots, airport, FAA
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April 30th, 2007 at 11:04 am
If it helps, $3,500 invested in stocks earning 11%, compounded annually, since 1977 would be about $28,000 today. Not quite as much fun, no doubt.
April 30th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Mike you’re killing me. 11%!!!
Nahhh! I’d still rather have the airplane. Now why wasn’t I this smart 30 years ago?
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:46 am
Rob,
I have a small pot of company shares and am so disgusted in that company that I am going to buy one of these with it. Putting the fun right back where it belongs.
http://www.parajet.com/