Pull the Trigger!

My wife and I are traveling this weekend, and I am actually composing this post while on I-20 between Abilene and Dallas, hurtling toward the Florida Atlantic coast! Dude, I feel totally connected!

I just got off the phone with Jeb and we agreed to purchase the plane! He will notify the owner of our decision, arrange for payment when I return from this trip, and arrange for aircraft delivery to Marana, Arizona, where we already have a hangar. I will research the required paperwork for the FAA, and insuring the aircraft. Pretty exciting stuff!

This is one of my life dreams - to own an airplane. I accomplished another of my life dreams in the 1980's - I am a motorcycle fan, and I wanted to own a Harley. While at Fort Leonard Wood I purchased a customized 1974 Harley Super Glide. Three speeds, no electric start, peanut tank. I barely weighed enough to kick the engine over. The fuel tank was so small that I had to fill it up when I rode the bike to work, and then again when I got home. It was useless as a road machine. The back tire that came on it was from a Volkswagen. The electrical system was always shorting out. Built in 1974, it was one of those piece-of-shit AMC machines. I sold it after a year.

But in 1985 I decided that you only get what you want for your birthday if you buy it yourself, so I purchased a brand-new mtallic burgundy Harley FXRS with the new blockhead engine. It was the last year that Harley used a chain final drive. I'm rambling... It was a fantastic bike, and I rode all of the long cross-country rides that I dreamed of. I kept that machine for ten years and sold it for the same amount I paid for it.

I mentioned the Harleys because in addition to owning a Harley, I dreamed of certain trips I wanted to make on one. This plane dream is the same. The dream of the plane includes dreams of long cross-country trips to favorite destinations. I won't bore you with those. You have your own dreams and your own trips. Now that the decision has been made to buy, I can start actually planning the flights!