Dreams may fade but they don't have to die!

[kpaul]

https://airfactsjournal.com/2020/04/dreams-may-fade-but-they-dont-have-to-die/

Here is a story written by a Mooney owner and more importantly, the nicest person you could ever come across. @Junkman

[gsxrpilot]

Love it!

[1964-M20E]

Good article and very true

I had a dream of being an Air Force Pilot and ended up a private pilot instead.  I had a dream to own an airplane early on when I got my private.  It would be 23 years before that dream was realized.  I too am a Mooney pilot now and have been for the past 10 years.

 

Now about that helicopter and RV-6 

[Nick Pilotte]

It took me 23 years of “career oriented” focus before I even went for my PPL.  I too had the dream of flying jets in the .mil but had corrected vision and couldn’t do that.  I now look at this like I’m chasing a dream but it’s bittersweet because I’m 40 now.  I spent many good years driving around the country instead of flying.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Nick Pilotte

[gsxrpilot]

Both my younger brother and I dreamed of flying from a very early age. We both wanted to fly Air Force jets, but growing up during Viet Nam to pacifist parents, that was out as well. I had corrected vision, so getting paid to fly was out of the question. My brother is a Southwest Captain and his journey to that left seat is quite a story as well.

I bought a Kitplane magazine in 1990 but as the cost of the magazine was a stretch for a young High School teacher, buying anything described in the magazine was out of the question. In 1991 I happened to be in the Portland area and drove out to see the Vans factory. I fell in love with the RV6 and was still dreaming of building one as recently as 2010. But I've never really wanted to build, I really just wanted a cheaper way to fly.

In 2005, having changed careers to a much more lucrative industry, and a divorce that removed the filter off the checkbook, and (most everything out of the checking account) my brother convinced me to take one flying lesson. And if I liked it, take one more.... Six lessons later I soloed and realized the dream of saying I knew how to fly. In Feb 2010, I bought an M20C and realized that dream of owning my own airplane. It's been a long road, but not sure I could have done it any quicker given the circumstances. Regardless, it's been worth every bit of it.

My brother and I with our own airplane.

[steingar]

MUST...NOT...TELL...THE...HAWAII...STORY...

[Mcstealth]

5 hours ago, steingar said:

MUST...NOT...TELL...THE...HAWAII...STORY...

YOU...MUST...  YOU...MUST...

 

(movie quote, name movie and actor for extra man points)

Edited April 20, 2020 by Mcstealth

[carusoam]

Thanks for posting the story, Kevin!

Way to go Rick! @Junkman    (hey, we’re celebrating you and Glennie!)

People I had the good fortune to meet last year...

Best regards,

-a-

[Amelia]

VERY nice!! So glad you posted it, and so happy I read it!

[Rick Junkin]

14 hours ago, carusoam said:

Thanks for posting the story, Kevin!

Way to go Rick! @Junkman    (hey, we’re celebrating you and Glennie!)

People I had the good fortune to meet last year...

Best regards,

-a-

Thanks Anthony @carusoam, and thanks to KP @kpaul for sharing our story here. Glennie and I are happy so many have enjoyed it. Y'all are the circle of friends I was talking about!

Cheers,
Rick

[StevenL757]

Loved reading this story...thanks @kpaul for pointing this out!

[mike_elliott]

Very nice article Rick! Kevin, Anthony et al cannot begin to describe how great of a person you are. The Mooney community has a true asset with you and Glennie

[skydvrboy]

Thanks for sharing this story with us and the entire aviation community.  Like so many here, my dream was deferred but not forgotten.  When I was a kid growing up in rural America, anytime I heard the crop duster flying nearby, I'd sneak off from my chores and climb up on the barn roof for a better view.  That big yellow plane was so majestic, the way it would climb, turn, and then zoom in for another pass.  Sometimes the pilot would see me on the roof and give a wing wave as he passed by, but the real treat was the time he buzzed the barn on the way back to the airport!

I forced my parents to take me to the (free) local airshow every year so I could check out all the airplanes and watch the flying.  There was always a plane giving rides and I wanted so desperately to go, but the answer was always the same, "That's just too expensive for a such a short flight."  Once I left home, no one could stop me.  The flying club was still outside my financial means, but the skydiving club was just barely within reach, so my first GA flight ended we me jumping out.  It wasn't until 20 years later when I started my PPL that I first experienced my first GA landing. 

Now that I have my license and my own plane, my favorite use for it is giving rides to people who have never flown.  I'll plagiarizer Rick and say there's nothing like the look of joy on someone's face when they experience the wonder of flight for the first time.  You guys would be amazed how many people there are (not just kids) who have never been inside an airplane and those are my second favorite passengers.  Nothing beats taking an elderly pilot for flight after they've been out of flying for many years.  You get to watch the years melt away as the flying skills return and they become a kid again!

[gsxrpilot]

2 minutes ago, skydvrboy said:

Now that I have my license and my own plane, my favorite use for it is giving rides to people who have never flown.  I'll plagiarizer Rick and say there's nothing like the look of joy on someone's face when they experience the wonder of flight for the first time.  You guys would be amazed how many people there are (not just kids) who have never been inside an airplane and those are my second favorite passengers.  Nothing beats taking an elderly pilot for flight after they've been out of flying for many years.  You get to watch the years melt away as the flying skills return and they become a kid again!

This!

[Hank]

2 hours ago, skydvrboy said:

Now that I have my license and my own plane, my favorite use for it is giving rides to people who have never flown.  I'll plagiarizer Rick and say there's nothing like the look of joy on someone's face when they experience the wonder of flight for the first time.  You guys would be amazed how many people there are (not just kids) who have never been inside an airplane and those are my second favorite passengers.  Nothing beats taking an elderly pilot for flight after they've been out of flying for many years.  You get to watch the years melt away as the flying skills return and they become a kid again!

Yes, this is a lot of fun! Even better it to take someone up who has always been afraid of flying. I took up a coworker who was so nervous she needed a bathroom break on the way to the airport! And a friend on the flight. I introduced her to the plane in the hangar, with the door closed. Let her sit in the front seat. Her eyes nearly bugged out when I pushed the door closed! She was actually shaking when we both got in the plane after pulling out of the hangar, but insisted that she wanted to try it. I reminded her several times, including when we pulled onto the runway, that I could have her back on the ground in three minutes if she didn't like it.

One last check to make sure she was ready, then we went down the runway. As we cleared the treetops beside us and I brought up the wheels, I asked how she was doing and should I land? She looked at me with wonder-filled eyes and said, "No, this is wonderful!" So we went flightseeing, found work, her home, her old high school, and had a great afternoon. Even let her fly some, although she didn't really want to. It was a blast for all three of us!

[bonal]

That was a great story it took me almost 40 years to find my dream of flight. Back in high school a close friend and I would talk about how great it would be to build an airplane well we had a Pitts or a BD5 in mind but of course we were just a couple poor well middle class kids so the closest we could get was to build a hang glider using bamboo plastic tarp and duct tape following a plan in popular science or mechanics I can't remember which. His family owned a very large parcel here in lake county with a nice hill that dropped into a flat field. Test flights ended up with lots of cuts and scrapes but the thing did glide somewhat just enough to scare the crap out of anyone with even a little common sense. He went on to get his private in our senior year and we would cut class before lunch drive down to Hayward airport and rent a 152 and fly over the school during lunchtime.  Fast forward to year 50 at my girlfriend now wife's encouragement I ended up buying a 150 and getting my private right here in Lake County.