I was a bit down and de-motivated. It was humid and over 90 degrees in my hangar workshop, and I didn?t feel like crawling deep inside the fuselage to run the static line through those rubber grommets in the aft bulkheads. But it wasn?t just the heat and humidity. For some reason I just didn?t feel like doing
anything on the airplane. I walked out into the slightly cooler air outside my shop and looked at the sky. I wished I could be up there. (I?m ?between airplanes,? as they say, and for the first time since I was 19, I have no airplane to fly whenever I feel like it.) A high scattered layer shielded the direct sunlight, but a nice ?heaven shaft? of sunlight was poking down though the clouds in the distance. Everything was calm and still, but it felt like something was going to happen. And it did.
Just a minute later, a yellow and white RV-8 came streaking across the field and turned downwind. I knew who it was right away, and hopped on my scooter (a masculine black one, BTW
) to meet him at the FBO.
I waited by the pumps as he taxied up. The pilot saw me standing there and, after filling the tanks, paying the bill, and chatting for a bit, he offered me a quick ride around the patch. Who could say no to that? We rolled and wingover?ed our way across the sky for twenty minutes or so, then headed home. It was exactly what I needed, just when I needed it.
Mark is an engineer by trade, and has assembled what is certainly one of finest RV-8s I have ever seen. You can tell a lot about a person by the state of their workshop. Mark?s is one of those shops where there would be no ?five second rule? if you dropped food -- you could merely get down and eat the rest of your meal off the floor with no worries. You get the idea. This gentleman lives at an airport across town, and I visited him several times during the construction of his airplane, just for motivation. Maybe ?for a good humbling? is a better phrase.
Anyway, his fastidiousness has resulted in a lovely piece of aeronautical art. He?s also a nice guy and, as I said, quite humble, so if you see a lovely yellow and white RV-8 with some black and white checkerboards parked at Oshkosh, take a minute out of your day and have a look. You might get inspired, too. He has incorporated some unique things into the airplane. Look close.
Thanks to Mark for helping me through a slow building period. I hope all of you have a friend who provides you with similar motivation from time to time. And when you?re done with your project and you?re out flying your plane, don?t forget to pay it forward. There may be another builder who needs a motivational flight every once in a while. Find them and make their day!
RV Friends are the Best Friends
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