What led You to This?

Interesting point of view :!:

My brother got his ticket due to his achievement oriented nature...then again, he quit pretty much after he got the ticket. Thus I believe motives both egotistical and spiritual are necessary - not to get the ticket, but to become a lasting member of the General Aviation community.

Now that I think about it, there are folks who fly for reasons that nothing to do with either one of those listed motives above. I met this one new Mooney M20C owner who learned to fly because he was a traveling salesman and found flying more practical on good days. He got his instrument ticket because it was more practical on not so good days. He was smart enough to go back to driving on terrible days :)

Others, still, fly because it is a visible measure of achievement as well, especially those who are high achievers in businesses that generate major dollars. It's not how hard you work as much as the dollar value your work brings in.

Others enjoy flying but stick with and buy airplanes to be heroes to their families, or just to make family trips quite a bit more interesting.

You're right - perhaps we triple tail folks don't simply represent a small portion of the general population, but a filtered part of general aviation.

You hit on another key point: most flight schools, in my experience, are not warm, welcoming places. I just wrapped up an article for a different publication on this subject: people who first arrive at the FBO from the parking lot versus those who enter via the ramp. It's not that pilots have any antipathy toward non-pilots...they simply have no interest in them.

Already anxious when they show up, prospective pilots are easily scared away when they are not greeted quickly and cheerfully - and I've seen this at places with signs along the main road soliciting new students, not just the small green Learn to Fly Here signs.

At plenty of flight schools you can stand around for a long time before anyone comes forth to greet you. And EAA Chapters...oy...don't get me started on them. These are often TIGHT groups that, despite others being present, can only "see" people they've known for decades. Now, before you say, "Not at my chapter!" I have tried to join plenty of them, all over the country. My experience may be skewed to some extent by the fact that lots of people don't think "ah, a pilot!" when I show up....plus I don't show up in an RV :) One guy - a complete stranger - walked up to me and asked, "Who gave YOU a medical?"

In short, your operation is as needed as it is exceptional. Pilots may know we need more pilots; they just don't want to chat with non-pilots in pilot settings. In fairness, demonstrating warmth toward strangers is not a common skill. Does the Welcome Wagon exist anymore?

Thanks goodness you were part of the opposite. There's a flight school near Tulsa that's like that, and certainly there are others.

Jonathan
 
I concur with you Jonathon about making people feel welcome at an FBO/Flight school. My first priority and hire as GM was an experienced customer service manager to lead our group of Dispatchers. Not only was she friendly and outgoing with our customers but a simply stunningly beautiful woman... every little bit helps when 90% of our customers were men....

Tim
 
Ok. On this subject I totally agree. Most FBO's are definitely not user friendly. Thats why mine isnt like the others at all in that respect ( mine as in the one I own). We believe in that old silly saw " the customer is why we are here".
 
The problem of ignoring people who are interested in flying is not new.

I am currently re-reading "More Bax Seat", a compilation of the monthly stories in Flying magazine written by Gordon Baxter, and #16 in the book details an experiment that Flying magazine ran back in 1980. (If I ever start writing about flying, I want to write just like Bax.)

Flying sent Baxter out to scope out flying schools to see how they treated a potential customer that walked in the door looking to learn to fly. The approach was basically "Er, ah, who do I see around here to learn how to fly?" Bax posed as a middle aged business man with money in hand and an interest in learning to fly.

The results were published in the magazine. ( I remember reading the article and resulting mail that was published over the next few months.)

As a pilot who loves to share flight with other people, the article made me cringe. The results were dismal. No matter whether the facility was at a small grass field, a middle size field with paved runways, or a large municipal facility, he was essentially ignored in 95% of the cases.

Like Jonathan, I have been to several EAA groups around the country. Usually, there is one, maybe two, people who come up and introduce themselves out of a group of 30.

If we want to keep aviation alive, we have to do better. We must encourage, rather than discourage, people who want to fly.


Dave
 
I read that too, Dave! I too have both editions of Gordon Baxter's compilations and I vividly recall that story, though I found it amusing at the time.

I recall his last column in Flying, though I had no idea it would be his last at the time. Still, you could tell from his tone it was all coming to an end.

Never had much use for the magazine after that but they made a mistake when I wrote to cancel my subscription and extended it for five years. By then I called it Buying Magazine. Before too long, Len Morgan quit because he said he'd run out of things to say. I admired that. Pretty soon I'd had ENOUGH of Richard Collins telling us all what dumbasses the rest of us were. And who the heck calls their column On Top, unless they're conceding a chronic lack of imagination :wink:

Jonathan
 
Forum Boys, check the 01/08 issue of Plane&Pilot. This is a major thing that we are talking about here. Is it dieing or is it hyped like the 6 o'clock news. It's in the press and it's a big issue. Here in western PA we feel that it is going to a slow death. This is not a boom area and the jobs are not out there. Not according to our politicians but they are corrupt and have been known to lie there ass off. Lynn N9818B :evil:
 
I too, Dan, am happier when this joint is jumping, new topics are popping, and folks are posting. Plenty of people head here every day hoping to see further discussion of this, their beloved air steed. But, like the ocean, it's subject to tides, yet the quality of the posts I read here exceed those I find on most of the more chatty forums or - damn them all - email lists.

Fret not; the party will begin afresh, as it always has :D

Jonathan
 
I'm three years old and my Dad thinks I can build a Lindberg Piper Cub model. You know- the one molded in bright yellow plastic. I believe it came out more glue than airplane, but I did manage it. At age five, my Dad took a picture of me building an Aurora Beech Super 18. I managed to get green paint all over my shirt, hands, and my sister, Maria.
About two years later, my Dad got into U-control model planes. I learned to fly a scratch-built profile model Spitfire powered by an .020 Cox Pee-Wee engine. .049 power on a Li'l Wizard was next (oh did that airplane suffer!) and finally advanced to .35 powered models.
Suddenly I was fifteen and cared for little except girls. What a mystery they were and wow did they look good! Regrets of abandoning my childhood best friend Russ Carlin in favor of the fairer sex. A sin for which I can never atone. I still wonder how he's doing...
All through High School I kept glancing up whenever a plane flew over, but with my family's hopeless finances (my Dad was caught up in the massive NASA layoff after Skylab flew), I never seriously considered flying until eighteen. A certain girlfriend expressed interest in getting a demo ride at a Cessna Pilot Center (remember the red bag of books?). That did it. I got a job as a line man and spent all I could earn learning to fly. By the time I earned my Private SEL, I had time in Cessnas 150, 152, 172, 182, 182RG, 210, Mooney M20, Aeronca Chief, Piper Navajo, and a Twin Beech (an H model). Since then I've had the opportunity to fly a Cessna 180, a Grumman Cheetah, J3 Cub, Aeronca 7EC, an Ercoupe, and a North American SNJ-4 and a -5. I even got a little stick time (1 hr) in a Hiller chopper of some sort.
Along comes Margaret- wife, mate, my other half, SWMBO*. She's not really into flying, but she's a trooper and fully supports my obsession (I can admit that). After our wedding, I found little time to fly, so I turned to Radio Control models to sort of keep my hand in. It just wasn't the same. I swear at times I felt (as I do now) like my heart would burst for longing to be airborne.
A few years pass and I find myself in a better job with some security. One goal I'd set early in life was to be an aircraft owner before I turned forty. We looked a long time at various aircraft. We knew we wanted it to be reasonably fast, carry a good useful load, and have an outstanding safety record. I wanted something with pinache, so the possibilities included a GC1B Swift, Howard DGA15P, Grumman Cheetah or Tiger, Navion, and the Cruisair. I can blame Joseph P. Juptner for the ultimate selection of the Cruisair. As soon as Margaret read his description and the various articles I bought from EAA, she was convinced as was I.
Forward to June 26, 1999, four months before my fortieth birthday. We located a Cruisair project in Somerville, TN for $6,000.00. We weren't expecting much, so we combined a trip over to Memphis with a cursory exam of N74392. What we found was a complete aircraft- spinner to rudder trim tab that had a bad motor (intake valve stuck- bent pushrod). We scrambled into the cockpit and shut the door to see how we fit (nether of us are "small people"). It was tight, but fortunately we still like each other and it didn't seem to be any worse than a Cessna 172, so a down payment was made on the spot.
The rest of the story is well-documented in the BCC newsletter. What isn't documented is the joy I feel every time I go into the garage for something.
She's waiting there- patiently- for the day she can taste the sunburnt sky and the delicious air of a starry night again.


*She Who Must Be Obeyed
 
I think we all have our share of abandoned childhood friends - our BFFs with the last F dropped due to an unexpected surge of hormones, Dave.

You made a good choice, given your skills and preferences, IMO. The Howard would certainly be roomy, but there is the little matter of GIANT GAS BILLS, and the fact that the DGAs have - suddenly it seems - gone from flying restorations for regular folk to very high dollar prestige machines. A viable project airplane probably would have cost you plenty.

I nearly chose a Navion - came within a day of doing so actually, as the one I was looking at was sold the day before I arranged to see it. It was the way I like them: nearly original, except for the usual Palo Alto tail mod, and no toe brakes...or any foot actuated brakes for that matter. The panel was original too, and I really like them that way. Plus it was not a hangar queen. Problem was that it had been kept out of doors for awhile, the Hartzell HC 12x20 AD had not been performed on it yet, and I may well have faced similar problems with the hydraulics that I have on the 'Master, as the owner told me they'd not been attended to for awhile. It was the '46 Ryan A version (good, because they were zinc chromated inside) but it had the original E185 Continental, I think, rather than the E225 which is no bargain either, though both have something the Lycoming O-435 does not...a little thing called PARTS SUPPORT. It would not have to have been modified for my use either. Heck, with its aileron/rudder interconnect you could keep your feet on the floor most of the time. And for such a huge underpowered airplane, with tricycle gear, it can handle short and miserable fields pretty well.

Navions are also quite roomy, have a nice setup for the rear seat folks (elevated seats) and have wonderful visibility. Yet, the more I know - which still isn't much - about retracts of this era, it usually comes down to Choose Your Cash Rat Hole. When you cracked that project open, heaven knows what you would have found. Plus, nothing beats the flying qualities of a Cruisair.

You chose well :)

Jonathan
 
As these aircraft age, they require more commitment.
I thought there would be a shortage of them, but it turns out WE are the ones in short supply.
Few are the people that can, and are willing to put in the man hours that are required to maintain and repair old airraft.
Bellanca tri-tails don't capture the public imagination. You have to ride in one, and know something about flying to get the picture.
I'm currrently building an RV-8, the only 'other' aircraft that holds my attention over the long term. Yet I kept an eye open for a Cruisemaster all that decade when I wasn't flying. Maybe the one I'm 'buying' will work out. It's been a long time since I had my last one, but I'm sure I'll still be captivated. I still use a 4 seater but our Cessna 172 just lacks that certain 'pazzazz'. When I had my Cruisemaster, I used to play with clouds. With the C-172, it's just not fun, and climbing thru holes just doesn't happen. :?
I was hoping to use the 2000+ hours of building the RV-8 for the 'time' to challenge the A&P test, but my IA says the work experience has to be on a certified aircraft, like rebuilding a Champ or Chief. I'd rather rebuild a Cruisair, and they are available. Time will tell.
 
My dad was a naval aviator during WWII. He had a bunch of slides I enjoyed viewing as a kid. There was always a certain gleam in his eye and a sense of accomplishment when he occasionally talked about his flying experiences. I still remember the day at age 12 when I discovered a flying magazine in the local drug store. The picture of a Mooney against the backdrop of a setting sun stirred my imagination and fascination with flying in a way that continues today. I used all the money I had to subscribe to flying magazine as a 12 year old and continue to this day putting more time, effort, and money into this adventure than any reasonable person should. My teenage enthusiasm rekindled my dad’s interest in flying. He joined a flying club and eventually purchased a Cherokee. He has owned an airplane ever since. To my amazement now in his mid 80’s, my dad decided one airplane wasn’t enough, and now owns/flies an Ercoupe and Taylorcraft.

After college I decided I could not ignore my passion, and pursued a career in aviation instructing, flying charter, and then flying/managing corporate airplanes. About 20 years ago I got to the point where I thought that with a little luck I might be able to afford some kind of four place tail dragger that my family could enjoy. My spirits were quickly dashed as the seemingly affordable Cessna, Stinson, and Pipers I looked at had major flaws, and the good ones were above my reach. Then I discovered the affordable Bellanca!

They were faster than anything I was looking at. Fuel burn per trip was no different than a 170 or Stinson. They looked cool! I could afford one!!!! Everyone I knew advised against it because the wood wings were unreliable, would rot and fall off as was proven by a recent AD. Against all advice, I bought a 14-19-2 and after almost 20 years and about 1000 hours, I think I’ll enthusiastically keep her another 20 years. In the mean time I’m making slow progress, but thoroughly enjoying building a Hatz. That’s what led me to this!
 
Damn if there isn't some common manner in which Triple Tail lovers have their brains wired. LOTS used to own and fly Luscombes, and I think most of us would adore a Hatz. Gawd I love those airplanes...those and the Skyote.

One of my uncles was a Naval aviator during WWII, and he gave me my first airplane ride when I was four, which I remember vividly...would be kinda hard to forget. Unfortunately, his story had a very different ending. Shot down and captured by the Japanese, he was among the very few pilot POWs to survive the war. As you probably know, for a variety of reasons the Japanese were especially cruel to captives and only 10% of captured aviators remained alive when the war ended, though it depends on your definition of alive. He simply drank, evermore heavily for the next (and last) 35 years of his life. When he took me up, though, I was unaware of the odor of alcohol on a person's breath. I could smell it, but it had no particular meaning to me. Nonetheless, he put me in his lap in the Cub, said "Johnny, I can't do this anymore. You've got to take over." He WAS kidding and goofing with me. Man, that was fun.

I would not understand until I was an adult why Uncle Bob behaved so strangely and was always so skinny.

Jonathan
 
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