BFR after building for four years - I wax poetic and fail mi

[Sonex1517]

Many of you will relate to this, some more than others. A few may snicker. Oh well.

After just over four years of build time, Sonex 1517 nears completion. I am working on the (evil) cowling, and after this exercise in frustration the rest is downhill.

So today I went and did my BFR in a Remos at a flight school one of our friends, Tony Sabos, works at. Tony is pure energy and aviation needs a million of him.

It had been 5 years since I logged any PIC time. I have been building 4 of those years.

I have no words to describe the fun, the satisfaction, and the energy today brought. I was signed off on my BFR, and remember now why I am building. I am building so I can fly.

What a treasure flight is. What magical, incredible, sultry sensation of pure love it is.

It's easy to forget what a beautiful and mystical thing this is - for those of us building, we get caught up in the moment and what task to complete. How far we have to go.

Today was a glimpse into why....what brought me to do this in the first place. Keep pushing friends. Keep going. We get to share the magic in the end.


You may snicker and guffaw now. I am good with that. I flew today. And it was good.

Robbie Culver
Sonex 1517
Chicagoland
Tails and Wings complete - finishing fuselage.
N1517S reserved

[nwawingman]

I could not agree with you more! What a gift this aviation thing is. :D

[mike20sm]

It does my heart good to hear stories like this. I was on track to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a pilot and building my own airplane, but on June 2 I got very depressed when that dream was put in jeapordy. Thinking long and hard about Jeremy, Mike and Tom Huebbe I had to take a step back and reevaluate my plans and do some soul searching . Weeks later now I'm out of my funk and I resumed my glider lessons after a month of rust. Happy to report everything went well, my instructor took no mercy on me and jumped right into it with a simulated rope break a little over 200'.

[wlarson861]

Robbie,
I lost my last plane in a tornado in 1990. I was out of aviation but always wanted back in. Once you have the freedom to fly when you want by owning your own airplane, renting isn't even an option. I went to Oshkosh every year and I always wanted back in the club but did nothing till 2005 when I bought a set of plans for a Sonex. By the next year I lied to everyone and said I could do this and attended a builders workshop where I ordered the kit. It took almost 5 years but the damn thing flew in 2011. Now it has 300 hours on it and is turbocharged . When I decided to get back into aviation I had been out more than 20 years. Took almost 12 hours to get re-acclimated to flying (read BFR) but did my own first flight on N861SX. Things are doable.

[avee8r]

Never snicker at a good Flight!
Too few get to experience it.
Happy Landings
John
N50NX

[Bryan Cotton]

Excellent Robbie! My FR expired last September, my medical last October. Haven't flown in 1.5 years. Maybe this summer. Adam is bugging me to do it, other family members not so much.

[aferddaberts]

Robbie Culver,

Your story regarding your trials and tribulations getting to the point where you are now, and your encouragement for others to "keep Pushing" made me think of a poem I happen to keep in one of my desk drawers. I hope I don't bore anyone by transcribing it here.

I FLEW

When the last Check List is done, and the flight is finally over
I will reminisce of days that I once knew
I will not remember the 3 AM alerts, but only that I flew
I will not remember, sweating Mission Briefings
And losing friends, that I just barely knew
I will not remember the anxieties that I felt
But the pride in knowing that I flew
I will remember sights my mortal eyes have seen
Colored by a multitude of hue
Those beautiful sights, on cold winter nights
Seen only by those of us that flew
God was extremely good to me, and let me touch his face
He saw me and my crew, through War and Peace
And blessed us with his Grace
So when I stand at St. Peter's gate, and tell him that I'm new
I know he'll smile, and welcome me
Because, he knows, I flew


Author unknown


Al Roberts

[vwglenn]

Robbie,

At one point I took a 10 year break from flying so I can certainly identify with your story. When I jumped back in and bought a plane with a friend, I told myself I would never go that long again. There's certainly a magic to flight. As soon as the wheels leave the runway I can feel the entire world melt away. It happens every single time. The Sonex is a special kind of fun. I've only flown #600 four times at this point but it feels like....me. It's the plane I should be flying and I didn't even build it. It must be amazing to lift off in a creature born from your own hands.

Keep plugging away.