It's official: 388 is totaled. Husband just got off the phone with the adjustor.
You know, we had prepared ourselves for this, and in many ways it's kinda the best thing for the situation because of certain life changes going on for us (some of which you know, some that are still private); it eliminates the hassle of trying to sell off a quarter share of an old (but fantastically reliable) plane.
But I still have tears in my eyes as I write this. The first plane we could call our own. The plane I trained in. The ONLY plane I've ever flown. The plane that overlapped with our pregnancy with our first child. I will miss its loyalty, its beautiful outdatedness. Most of all, I will miss its smell. It smelled mechanic, old, grimy and musty. But that smell is tied to so many strong and mostly good memories, most of which are documented here and here. Maybe they'll let me keep a floormat or something, and in 60 years when I'm completely off my rocker, I'll pull it out of its space-baggie, take an enriching deep breath, absorb the smell, and recall through the haze of a failing brain in intricate detail to the (great-?) grandchildren about learning to fly, about traveling with Husband (who will also be there, equally nuts), about the opportunities and geographies that open up to a pilot.
Several of you have noted that this doesn't have to be the end of the line for 388, and you're right. We'll see how things unfold. It does have a feeling of finality to it, though.
I'm so sorry to hear about your plane. Don't give up on flying. You've done a lot so far. Maybe like you say, you can find a way to resurrect your plane, or perhaps another opportunity will come and you'll be an aircraft owner again. I wish you lots of luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks, "ex gravel cruncher" :) And good luck to you in your training adventures!
ReplyDeleteI expect it will be a number of months before I fly again, and that will need to start with a refresher flight -- 6.5 weeks until the baby is due (estimated), then a few months of ongoing fatigue and disorientation! I'll have to fly vicariously through Husband , if he gets the opportunity to rent, and all of you blogging pilots out there... :)
I'm also sorry to hear about your plane - I sort of know how you feel, our aero club recently sold two C152's, both of which were purchased new in 1978 and gave faultless service till late last year, both of which I did my training in, one of which I went solo in. Within 2 months the flying school that bought them from us had crashed and written both aircraft off!
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