So excited to finally get to share the excitement of flying with my wife.
We don't have any family in town to watch the kids, and were pretty new to the area when I built the Zenith, so she was always the one to sit on the ground babysitting whichever kid wasn't going up for a ride. I'd sneak away some mornings with one of the older kids and we'd go find breakfast somewhere, but she'd always be left out. She got exactly two rides in that plane over the course of the year or so that I had it. A neighbor at the airpark volunteered to keep an eye on the kids in her back yard while we went up for a couple minutes each time.
Ah, but things are changing. One difference is that we know people! I hired one of the girls in our youth group to come watch the kids for the day, and finally got to share with my wife why these things are often referred to as "time machines." Crusing at 150 kts and 7gph, we zipped on up to Lancaster, PA (KLNS) and had lunch at a really great Italian restaurant right on the field. This would normally be a 3 hour drive each way - we made it in 40 minutes. Visibility wasn't great because of haze at lower altitudes, so we climbed up into the smooth, cool air above the clouds and felt like the only two people on earth! (If you have small children, and a bathroom door that doesn't lock, you'll be able to appreciate the idea of such solitude
If you're still building, and still married, let me encourage you to make the latter your priority. Building is challenging, but sharing the ultimate experience with your closest friend makes it all worth while.
We don't have any family in town to watch the kids, and were pretty new to the area when I built the Zenith, so she was always the one to sit on the ground babysitting whichever kid wasn't going up for a ride. I'd sneak away some mornings with one of the older kids and we'd go find breakfast somewhere, but she'd always be left out. She got exactly two rides in that plane over the course of the year or so that I had it. A neighbor at the airpark volunteered to keep an eye on the kids in her back yard while we went up for a couple minutes each time.
Ah, but things are changing. One difference is that we know people! I hired one of the girls in our youth group to come watch the kids for the day, and finally got to share with my wife why these things are often referred to as "time machines." Crusing at 150 kts and 7gph, we zipped on up to Lancaster, PA (KLNS) and had lunch at a really great Italian restaurant right on the field. This would normally be a 3 hour drive each way - we made it in 40 minutes. Visibility wasn't great because of haze at lower altitudes, so we climbed up into the smooth, cool air above the clouds and felt like the only two people on earth! (If you have small children, and a bathroom door that doesn't lock, you'll be able to appreciate the idea of such solitude
If you're still building, and still married, let me encourage you to make the latter your priority. Building is challenging, but sharing the ultimate experience with your closest friend makes it all worth while.