Back in the Saddle

After I crashed my airplane I decided to take some time off flying. Many of my fellow aviators encouraged me to get back up in the air soon, but I was a little spooked and didn't want to make any rash decisions. I even considered never flying again. After about a week, though, I knew that wasn't the right thing to do.

I received a lot of support from pretty much everyone I talked to: the cops who arrived at the scene of the accident (several of whom were pilots, oddly enough); the FAA and insurance representatives assigned to my case; everyone on BeechTalk and Beech Aero Club; and friends and family members. Almost everyone encouraged me to continue my flying adventures and not to let the accident deter me.

I want to include a couple of Beech Aero Club forum posts from Jim Thurman, because what he wrote meant a lot to me. Jim was a previous owner of my airplane, N5779V.

Dear David,

First I'd like to say how deeply grateful I am that you and your instructor are fine. I also want you to know that you and I share a particular bond of sadness with what happened to 5779V. I had just finished reading your good news about purchasing the plane and had written a long post welcoming you to the line of happy owners of 79V. I hadn't seen the more recent posts until just this minute and deleted my message. I'll save it for you when you're ready. I owned the plane from 1996-97 when I bought her from the original owner since 1966. These are stories for another day. For now, it's wonderful that you are safe and can build on the lessons gained in finding the right plane, going through the purchasing process, and experiencing first-hand how well-built the Super IIIs are when they most need to be. Above all, keep the joy of flying in your heart. You are one member of a legacy of the few who loved N5779V as a cherished family member ... but most importantly, of a legacy of those who love to fly.

Clear skies,

Jim Thurman
St. Petersburg, FL (KSPG)

My response:

Thank you so much for your kind words, James. I have to admit I'm still very much struggling with this whole situation. I was so happy to own N5779V, my first airplane. It was so beautiful and I had so many plans to fly places in it with my family. I'm still in denial that it's not sitting at KPAO waiting for me right now. It's just hard to accept. I also feel bad that I've wrecked one of relatively few Super IIIs out there. I'm not sure what is the best way to move past this.

And his:

Hi David,

I can certainly understand how you may be feeling. I'm sure everyone would deal with a situation like this differently. And I'm sure everyone has some words of advice. I've never quite bought the idea that "time heals all wounds." Mainly because I see lots of folks who seem to stay stuck in the "time" without the healing. For what it's worth, if it were me, later this week I'd find the most experienced instructor (who really loves flying) at West Valley Flying Club there at KPAO, book him/her in one of the Archers, and fly over to KHAF in that gorgeous late afternoon light and shoot some touch and gos, then head down the coast. I'd let him do some of the flying so I could just savor the view, and then I'd head home to KPAO. And I'd keep doing it until I got my license...

Glad you're safe, grateful that you have a lovely family, happy that you loved the plane, too.

Clear skies,

Jim

I decided to do exactly that. My dad came down a couple weeks ago for a football game. I booked an Archer and some time with Dave Fry, the General Manager of West Valley Flying Club. We flew down the coast to Año Nuevo and did some ground reference manuevers around the huge flock of elephant seals. I shot a few touch and goes down at KWVI (KHAF was fogged in). My dad and I switched seats so he could fly home (his first flight!) and I just stared out the window at the gorgeous views. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful flight. I felt at ease and comfortable in the pilot's seat. It was good to be back in the saddle.

I also contacted Scott Stauter at WVFC and I've done a few lessons with him. Scott gave me my very first demo flight back in June; he's a great instructor. It feels great to be back on the path to earning my private pilot's license. Solo flight #2 is right around the corner!