Mooney Down, 7/11 in Indiana

[Marauder]

Thanks Bob! May try to go.

[mike_elliott]

Kecp, Panama city beach, fl. We will open registration soon and announce it here and the other Mooney specific forums. Suffice it to say, The subject matter experts will be outstanding.

[mike_elliott]

The earliest passion I can remember is flying. I was obsessed with airplanes and becoming a pilot. All the early art projects my mother saved had an airplane drawn or painted on them. So, in 1981 when my instructor let me solo after flying around the pattern for seven hours, I had achieved the first part of my dream. Only a few flight hours later I experienced an engine failure, alone, in a 152 over a lake with no altitude. Not only was I going to crash but I was going to drown. That was the first time I looked death in the face and I was only a teenager. My youthful immortality “virginity” was taken from me and I was forever molded by experience.

Thirty (plus) years later I am a Mooney owner and pilot. But I am a much different pilot than I was in my youth. Truthfully, it’s not easy for me to just hop into the Mooney and go flying without a care. I have always been an optimist. So what I’m about to say sounds out of character for those that know me. Back when my engine failed I decided to leave aviation and my dream. Two weeks later my instructor told me I had to “get back on the horse.” He said what I had experienced was rare and would probably never happen again. He also told me something that always stuck with me. “I’m going to teach you to fly the airplane like it’s going to kill you.” That was such an odd and discomforting statement at the time.

To this day, every time I sit in that left seat I think about those words. I remember that helpless feeling of going down toward that lake wishing it were different and that somehow I would reach the shore. At the time I felt that incident robbed me of the joy of flight. And, truthfully, a part of me still fights that feeling. What that experience did for me was to bring a new level of maturity to what had been my rather youthful, naive, and dreamy flight training and turned me into a real pilot. Up until that incident I had flown patterns, figure eights, buzzed pastured cows (and a few fisherman), and generally had an idealistic piloting experience.

I do not know either of these men like a few of you Mooney Space members do. We are bonded to them because we are pilots and we drive Mooneys. More than that, we are caring human beings and we long to take away this hurt from the families and friends who know them and love them dearly. Words simply fail us with a loss this deep.

We train over and over for a situation like this and hope it never happens to us. When it does, we long to understand why and fight the urge to come to quick conclusions, play out scenarios and even find blame. But at the end of the day we realize that so many things in life are out our control. Sometimes we survive due to another’s intervention, our own skill level, luck, and sometimes, ironically, our own stupidity. But sometimes we get seriously hurt and sometimes we die.

No doubt our community will learn from this tragedy and thereby help many others who may find themselves in a similar unthinkable situation. Life has taught us that even the best among us are not immune. But it doesn’t stop there. Every step you take to become a better pilot, you honor those who’ve flown West. Every time you take an online class with AOPA, EAA or the FAA’s W.I.N.G.S. program, you’ve honored not only them but yourself and your passengers. Every seminar you take, question you answer on Mooney Space, every time you put an instructor in your right seat and tell them to do their worst, you honor the institution of “pilot.”

I can relate to our friend Dave who wonders if this is really worth the risk. Since my first incident I’ve had a near miss midair (not my fault), a complete electrical failure, and a blown tire at high speed that almost sent me “into the rhubarb” as my grandfather used to say, I’ve had a dear uncle killed by his plane and I was witness to the tragedy at Reno in 2011. I don’t tell you these things to elicit pity. Fly long enough and bad things happen. You have these stories, too. Dave eludes to it and I have certainly felt it. There are a thousand reasons why you should never fly again. And, if USA Today has anything to say about it or the real estate developers in Santa Barbara have their wish, none of us Mooney pilots ever will fly again.

Sometimes I feel like I’m the most fortunate person in the world as I fly my little Mooney up and down the Northern California coast. But some days I’m fighting that fear which experience has instilled in that place where joy, amazement and wonder recently lived.

In complete honesty, I went to the hangar today with the intent of flying my Mooney and thought about this tragedy and didn’t. Did I chicken out? Maybe. Will I fly again? Certainly. Maybe even tomorrow. But today was not that day. It’s cliche to say it but my head wasn’t in the game. My airport is under construction and the taxiways are all new. I’ve not flown in a couple weeks and there was a gusty but manageable crosswind. Instead, I cleaned the windows, wiped the dust off the wings, cleaned part of the belly, and talked to any pilot with a hangar door open. I loaned out a couple tools and gave away some sheet metal screws. I watched a young lady with a giant grin start her tailwheel endorsement in a beautiful Cessna 140 and listened to ATC on my handheld. Was today a loss? I’ll let you be the judge.

Dreams give life to passion. Our passion is flight. But passion comes at a cost. It places us at risk. To fly is one of humankind’s oldest dreams. We are fortunate enough to have been born in an age where flight is possible and the Earth is far below us. Though reason and even experience tells me this is something I should leave to the birds I smile. Because in December of 1981 I became a bird and I left this nest called Earth. I am among an elite group of human beings that can command an airplane. We are called Pilots. Among my fellow pilots I do my best to be my best so that, should the unthinkable happen again, I have a chance to fly again. Should my best efforts be overwhelmed by circumstances I will fly West knowing that I will be replaced by some little kid looking at an airplane and wondering what it would be like to be a pilot, a Mooney pilot

Mike, may your recovery be swift and your passion undamaged.

Bill, peace to your memory.

p.s. To astelmaszek- I've been hit by lightning 3 times and I'm still here.

[mike_elliott]

Sorry, I didn't mean to repost Svens beautiful diatribe, but meant to thank him for really capturing so much of how I feel.

[orionflt]

Sorry, I didn't mean to repost Svens beautiful diatribe, but meant to thank him for really capturing so much of how I feel.

it is worth reposting

[ryoder]

I'm thankful to God that Mike is alive and recovering.  

Get better Mike.  I look forward to seeing you in the future.

[Deb]

We spoke with Mike and Alice today. Mike is recovering well; he is out of the hospital, and will be going back to Florida on Friday.

He's working on the Mooney Summit; he'll post information about registration, etc when he's back home and his son has the registration website functional

[carusoam]

Thanks for the update.

Best regards,

-a-

[flyboy0681]

I guess it's too late for him to buy a lottery ticket.

 

Great news all around.

[Hank]

I guess it's too late for him to buy a lottery ticket.

 

Great news all around.

I think Mike already won! Great news, and looking forward to the Summit.

[Joe Zuffoletto]

I haven't been to this thread in a long time. Very glad to hear Mike is back on his feet, and Sven's post was extraordinary.

[rbridges]

Kecp, Panama city beach, fl. We will open registration soon and announce it here and the other Mooney specific forums. Suffice it to say, The subject matter experts will be outstanding.

 

 

I don't care if they talk about planting flowers, I want to be there.  I had a great time at the last summit.

[mike_elliott]

Thanks for the copilot bear, Robert

[aviatoreb]

Thanks for the copilot bear, Robert

 

:-)

[mike_elliott]

Thanks again, Erik. My youngest grand daughter has kidnapped it, saying I can visit it anytime I visit her

The bear was a hit with all the surgeons, nurses and visitors, and a nice uplift for me

[aviatoreb]

Thanks again, Erik. My youngest grand daughter has kidnapped it, saying I can visit it anytime I visit her

The bear was a hit with all the surgeons, nurses and visitors, and a nice uplift for me

 

My great pleasure.

 

And how wonderful your grand daughter kidnapped your bear with an invite to visit her (I mean copilot bear) whenever you want!!!  Perfect!

[mike_elliott]

Sorry, Erik. I was thinking you but wrote Robert. The brain is still healing I really like the little guy, the perfect gift for a hospitalized aviator. I have been so impressed with your and everyone here's kindness.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Hey Mike,

I'm still not a Mooney owner as of now, but I would be interested in contributing as a CFI for next year's Mooney Summit

[mike_elliott]

Hi Parker, thanks. I'm hoping to have the registration site functional by this time next week, where people can sign up. While we aren't going to have formalized flight activities this time like we did the first to avoid pushback, we will encourage attendees to get with one of the mooney specific instructors that will be present and complete a wings phase, IPC or bfr.

Am at the mercy of my son's work schedule to turn up the site, but think we can have something soon.