For the record, I am not broken. Far from it.
I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in for decades.
But that line, “So, how do we fix you?” came from fellow Washingtonian and long-time General Aviation News subscriber Tom Jensen.
He was alluding to a line in a past Touch & Go column, Mind the learning line: “While I am proud to be a certificated pilot, the entire year of 2022 passed without my operating any aircraft as pilot in command. Sigh. Such is life.”
That’s what he wanted to fix. Getting me airborne.
In all fairness, I did fly, once, in 2022. Just not as pilot in command.
Anyway, after reading about not flying PIC in 2022, Tom’s first thought was: “We need to fix that!”
Agreed. I do need to fix that. And Tom and his wife, Marilyn, were offering to help.
My lack of flying wasn’t for a lack of interest. It is merely a matter of priorities. Most of the past three years have been focused on my Mom, who passed away in May 2022.
Being alongside on her slow descent into dementia and death was priority one. Followed by family and business.
Now that I have a tad more time, I suspect I’ll find my way to the airport a bit more often to fly the wonderful J-3 I have access to. Thank you Jeff.
But on a beautiful February afternoon, I found my way to Evergreen Sky Ranch Airport (51WA) in Black Diamond, Washington, for an afternoon treat.
Evergreen Sky Ranch is a delightful residential airpark in southwest King County southeast of Seattle. As populous as King County is, once outside the greater Seattle metro area, it gets pretty rural quickly.
Tom and I chatted at the dining room table for a few minutes after I arrived and then headed to the hangar.
N53988 is a sprightly little blue and white Citabria.
“It is Marilyn’s Citabria,” Tom made a point of stating.
Thank you Marilyn for allowing Tom to take me flying in her.
After takeoff, as we exited the pattern Tom said, “Your plane.”
Sitting in the back seat felt familiar. I’m used to that position in the Cub.
We didn’t have any place in mind to go. Just flightseeing.
“Head over there,” said Tom, pointing. So I headed over there.
We’d look at a dam, then houses, the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, and more.
White puffy clouds with lots of blue above us and smooth air around made for a fun afternoon aloft.
As we headed back to Evergreen, Tom talked me through power settings and speeds in the pattern.
Tom’s coaching (I’d never flown a Citabria before) led to a wonderfully stable approach and smooth three-point landing. No bounce, just solid, straight ahead ground contact. Plop.
The funny part about that landing is I have a horrible time with three-point landings in the Cub. So this will present a new challenge for me once I get PIC current in the Cub.
Tom and I didn’t do anything dramatic. Just a .9 hour flight over the western Washington countryside.
Ahhh.
Do you know someone who hasn’t flown in a while? Perhaps you could be their Tom or Marilyn.
In the meantime, allow me to officially thank Tom and Marilyn for their initiative and generosity.
Using Tom’s nomenclature, I’m fixed. 🙂
For some years I was planning to buy a Citabria. The biggest challenge used to be finding hangar space. It still is. Not only are there few available hangars on public airfields, but the cost for them is now at the ridiculous level. When I bought my first airplane in 1998, a nice ’66 Cessna 150F, I paid $17000 for the airplane and an entire year of hangar rent was $900. Today there are airports charging that much per month for a T-hangar, which is ridiculous. For many years the cost of a used Citabria hovered around $35k-$40k, which frankly seemed on the high side to me given their age. Then came the CCP flu and the whole world lost its mind. For reasons no one can explain, the cost of those same run-out Citabrias is now around $60,000, way beyond what I believe they are worth. Ultralights are still an option, especially those one builds from a kit like the CGS Hawk. But the Aviation Alphabets managed to kill off two-place ULs when the LSA rules were passed, a big mistake in my opinion as this cut off the one remaining low-cost point of entry for new pilots. Interestingly, a friend of mine who built a CGS Hawk before building a slick and fast Velocity, recently told me he is thinking of selling the Velocity and building another Hawk. He said it was more fun to fly and cost a fraction of the Velocity. He has plenty of money, but still expects a good value in his flying. I have been flying since 1973 and the simplicity of a UL sure looks appealing, especially as it allows one to avoid most government meddling and the need for government-owned airports, controllers, etc.
Congratulations, Ben, on you return to flight. Sounds like a magic day, and a true blessing to have generous and encouraging folks like Tom and Marilyn in your corner.
Now that you’re “fixed,” get back in that Cub, brush off the rust, and get a good flight review. The skies beckon!