My son (A-10 and now Delta) and I sold our much loved RV-8 last month to a couple of young Delta pilots. Vic did the pre-buy for them and I've got to say, the three of them made what could have been a very, very sad day somehow better.
At 73 going on 74 years old, I just knew it was time. Instead of looking both ways once at a stop sign and then deciding and acting, I caught myself looking several times and the decision to go just seemed to take more time to calculate. Arthritis is also making just getting the airplane out of the hangar painful. Climbing in to it is yet another hurdle. Some days, I would drive 70 miles roundtrip to the hangar, fully expecting to fly, to just sit and look at that beautiful RV-8. It just hurt too much to move it. Several years back, I quit flying the P-51 because I recognized that the airplane deserved, no REQUIRED, a pilot that didn't suffer from the "stop sign" syndrome. Recently I realized the same applies to the RV. Age was not improving my decision making and flying skills no matter how much I wanted to believe the decline wasn't happening. Make no mistake, I was still flying the RV ok, the "sharpness" just wasn't as sharp.
I have enjoyed over 60 years and 15,000 hours of flying. It's been my life and passion. I've flown some fabulous airplanes including Stearman, P-51, T-38, Lears, etc. but the RV-8 ranks as one of my all-time favorites. Making the decision that it was time to quit was both easy and tough......easy in that I realized I wasn't that young, second lieutenant any more but tough from the mental aspect of asking myself, "What in the hell am I going to do now?"
Well, I'm happy to say there is upside to this decision. First, the airplane will be well taken care of by the new owners and Vic will be handling major maintenance and inspections on it. Next, after just spending nearly $30k on an unexpected engine IRAN, it feels good to be out from under any looming, unexpected financial liability. My wife and I never had a honeymoon as I started USAF pilot training the Monday after we were married on Saturday. We're going to have that honeymoon now. Next, I'm spending more time with my bride, kids and grandkids. Lastly, I have that "by the fireplace, good drink in hand, snowing outside", peace knowing that I lived my dream, finished it without scratching a plane and enjoyed every minute of it. My son and I shared our love of flight through the three RVs we owned and that, in itself, is priceless.
Lastly, I have enjoyed this group tremendously and have learned so much from your combined experience. I will continue but now, I will relegate myself to lurker status.
Thanks Doug and all that have helped through the years. There is life after flying and I think I'm going to be just fine.
At 73 going on 74 years old, I just knew it was time. Instead of looking both ways once at a stop sign and then deciding and acting, I caught myself looking several times and the decision to go just seemed to take more time to calculate. Arthritis is also making just getting the airplane out of the hangar painful. Climbing in to it is yet another hurdle. Some days, I would drive 70 miles roundtrip to the hangar, fully expecting to fly, to just sit and look at that beautiful RV-8. It just hurt too much to move it. Several years back, I quit flying the P-51 because I recognized that the airplane deserved, no REQUIRED, a pilot that didn't suffer from the "stop sign" syndrome. Recently I realized the same applies to the RV. Age was not improving my decision making and flying skills no matter how much I wanted to believe the decline wasn't happening. Make no mistake, I was still flying the RV ok, the "sharpness" just wasn't as sharp.
I have enjoyed over 60 years and 15,000 hours of flying. It's been my life and passion. I've flown some fabulous airplanes including Stearman, P-51, T-38, Lears, etc. but the RV-8 ranks as one of my all-time favorites. Making the decision that it was time to quit was both easy and tough......easy in that I realized I wasn't that young, second lieutenant any more but tough from the mental aspect of asking myself, "What in the hell am I going to do now?"
Well, I'm happy to say there is upside to this decision. First, the airplane will be well taken care of by the new owners and Vic will be handling major maintenance and inspections on it. Next, after just spending nearly $30k on an unexpected engine IRAN, it feels good to be out from under any looming, unexpected financial liability. My wife and I never had a honeymoon as I started USAF pilot training the Monday after we were married on Saturday. We're going to have that honeymoon now. Next, I'm spending more time with my bride, kids and grandkids. Lastly, I have that "by the fireplace, good drink in hand, snowing outside", peace knowing that I lived my dream, finished it without scratching a plane and enjoyed every minute of it. My son and I shared our love of flight through the three RVs we owned and that, in itself, is priceless.
Lastly, I have enjoyed this group tremendously and have learned so much from your combined experience. I will continue but now, I will relegate myself to lurker status.
Thanks Doug and all that have helped through the years. There is life after flying and I think I'm going to be just fine.
