Onwards and Upwards

When I get interested in something, other things tend to fall by the wayside. Such is the fate of this blog. Let's do a recent quick review.

Having purchased the Kitfox, having planned poorly for a retirement income, I found myself with aircraft bills and not quite enough cash. My friend Mark Reed, my aviation mentor, once remarked "Jeremy, you're never going to get any sympathy if your problems revolve around how you're going to pay for repairs to your airplane......" and he was of course right.

My lovely bride Terry Donison retired, so her income wasn't going to pay for the airplane, and I didn't want to get back to full time work, so I wandered into the local Home Depot and Bob's your Uncle I was an associate. Not an employee mind, an associate. I thought I'd trade off low wages for low stress. Another poor judgement on my part. However, on balance, it's been OK. The aircraft repairs happened, the VISA bills mounted and then declined somewhat, and in the meantime I've gotten to fly this wonderful bird.

But the best news is that Terry's now a pilot-in-training, having recently soloed in a Cessna 162 Skycatcher, which is a technologically advanced trainer in the light sport category.

She's amazingly obstinate. She had a terrible initial training experience but she's overcome that through persistence and writing large checks all summer. Winter having set in, her training is probably in stasis until spring, but I'm convinced she'll see it through. And once you've soloed you can consider yourself to be a pilot and the rest is just government paperwork and paying attention.

And we've done a bit of travelling, primarily to the National Air Races at Reno/Stead Airport in September. SO COOL! It's like aviation heaven, not to be missed, and we'll be going back.

 Lt. Colonel Robert Friend, one of the last of the Tuskegee Airmen. Flirting madly with Terry, who was doing the same. A real privilege to meet him and spend a few moments.

Sixty Six? How Can That Be?

Yeah, I'm a bit surprised myself. 66 years old. Dang!

An interesting year was last year, my full 65th on the planet.

A quick summary includes a wonderful springtime trip to Italy, with highlights being Venice, Roma again, Naples and Vesuvius, and a stay and wonderful drive down the Amalfi Coast from Positano. A magic place on the planet that is, and it's easy to see why people have treasured it for thousands of years.

Later, mid-summer, I flew down to Florence Colorado and bought a Kitfox IV Speedster which had been sitting in the hangar for a few years since the owner had died. It was a wonderful adventure, meeting all sorts of interesting aviation people, getting it into flying condition, then getting me into flying shape, then flying over the Rockies, the Utah desert, then Idaho, Oregon and Washington, to arrive at the new home at Apex Airpark near our house. Fantastic little airplane. More later.










Then of course was our wedding in mid-August. Family from Canada and Oregon were there, and we had a wonderful day, which had threatened rain but turned out to be great. A quick honeymoon trip to Rockaway Beach in Oregon (since we'd already been to Italy) and we were back at home, with Terry heading off to work a few days later.

Last major item on the agenda for the year was major surgery, where a defective heart valve was replaced. Lots of down time, lots of pain, some repercussions, but overall a worthy effort, especially considering the alternative.

So, I welcome my 66th year. Quite a few things planned, but one in particular excites me.

We're going to fly the Kitfox to Oshkosh for the EAA AirVenture which is very exciting. Lots of planning going into it, including aircraft maintenance and refitting. Working on short field landing procedures as best I can. The Speedster is a shorter wing version of the Kitfox, so lands longer, but this one has a high-output engine so can get off the ground in a hurry. If I can get the slow-flight work done properly then we may be able to visit the odd back-country strip on our way across America. We aren't particularly camping types of people, especially at our age, but we're going to give it a try. If it doesn't feel right, hell, we'll ship the tents and bags home and stay in motels. Whatever works.

Again, it would seem that I've been busy.....

Well, I guess that I should just make up some story about why this blog has been neglected.

Could it be that I've recently gotten married? Or, perhaps it's about having sold our share in the Cessna 172 and having purchased a Kitfox IV Speedster, then having flown it home from Colorado to Washington state.

None of those would explain a three year absence, so I guess I'll just leave it as I've been busy.

However, the world of aviation has been bubbling along, with newly introduced aircraft, and, vital to old guys like myself, initiatives covering third class medicals.

I decided not to wait on any action from anybody representing the governments and instead chose to fly under light sport privileges; ergo, the Kitfox and the sell-the-Cessna-share scenarios.

Having purchased the Kitfox, I've spent the whole summer learning to fly it. Getting better and better each time, with some intermittent spooky lapses, and feeling much more comfortable with it.

Video to follow.

Fair winds.
JW

Attitude Adjustment Happy New Year

Two Years Later

Hmmm, it would seem that I've been busy for two years or so.

Not really, it just seems that way.

New girlfriend, some job losses, some world travelling, lots of guitar, and a ton of other interesting things. Lost a great friend a few weeks ago, to a terrible disease. Went to his funeral, instead of staying in touch while he was still here. Need to change that behavior, among many others.

I think that the world of blogging has been passed by by Twitter, Facebook, and whatever else is coming along the pike, so that's my excuse for non-participation. However, being windy and wordy, I still like this.

Going to work out the real post in a few hours, and will let you all in on it.

Love.

JW

Five Minutes To Live - I'm With The Band - A Little More You

So much more to say. So much more than I can easily write in the few minutes I've got for this.

But, some friends and I have been gathering at my house on Sundays, and we've been working out some songs. Mostly we're in dire need of improvement, but every once in a while we get something sounding not too bad.

James Novellino, Brandy McCaslin, Aaron Day and myself, Jeremy Wilson, are the basic members, with Ted Potts sitting in on bass, Bill Wright from time to time on guitar, Sara Reynolds as a vocalist. It's a bit eclectic, and things are kind of moiling around as we work out the music, relationships, etc.

But, it's a blast, and I wouldn't trade it for a moment. So, here's a link to the most recent videos, and I hope you enjoy them.

Easter Monday

Well, it's been an interesting spring.

Wait, there hasn't BEEN a spring yet. It's still fricking winter!

OK, OK, there's daffodils and tulips in my garden. I've had a bit of time on my hands to garden, mind, since there's been very little activity on the job front. Had a prospect, but upon reflection discovered it didn't suit me, or my temperament. So, I'm working to change me, and my temperament. Enough said about that.

Back to the weather. It stinks. There were exactly four days a week ago where the weather was awesome. Two of those days straddled a weekend, and I can confirm that I spent one of those days sitting on my deck or out on the point with three buddies playing raucous guitar. It helps if you have a Fender Stratocaster should you wish to play raucous guitar.

Said Stratocaster made it's way into my life a bit earlier this spring. Have spent an inordinate amount of time on YouTube learning how to play from the get-go, at a website called www.justinguitar.com which I found after some searching. There's nothing like back to the basics to learn something, and I told myself that I was going to do that, as opposed to trying to use my musical ear to figure things out.

The pleasant result is that my playing is a lot better than ever. And, right until I invited the three guys over I thought I was making great progress. Then, one of them, James, picked up his guitar and I realized just exactly how far it is that I still have to go. The guy's a guitar god, and it was a real pleasure watching his fingers fly. I'll never be a thrasher, but there's much to learn from that style. Most importantly, his fingering exercises.

Anyway, I feel badly about not maintaining this blog. There's so much to say. More later.

Best to all.

Four Good Years

Not surprisingly, given my relationship with my new boss, the state of the economy, and the salary and commissions I was being paid, I find myself today out of work.

Four years to the day since I started at Galvin Flying Services.

I have been well rewarded. I have some issues with this, but that's for another post some few weeks in the future.

To my friends who read this, know that I will be baffled, confused, and then come out the other end just fine, or better than ever.

Love to all.
Jeremy