Back In The Saddle

Today I finally made it back, yep, got on the horse and sat square in the saddle. Horses? No, back to flying! Mary and I made the trip to KILG, Wilmington Airport in order for me to once again attempt climbing on the wing of 679er. We headed out for breakfast at Angels, our favorite place, then headed to the Action Hardware store just across the street. I kept the motor running while Mary jumped out and headed in to search for the perfect step stool. A few minutes later she peeks out the door and holds up a plastic looking stool with two steps and no handle to get in the way, I give her a thumbs up and start to laugh. My lovely Bride walks back into the store and pays for the item then emerges with step stool in hand, all smiles.

The stool fit perfectly! It tucked right under the wing and with the help of my one crutch I slowly stepped up one at a time with my third step on to the wing of 679er. I felt like a little kid and I'm sure I had a smile from ear to ear. I reached in my pocket and took out the keys to unlock the cabin door. We had already pulled back the cover so I could grab hold of the handle to help climb aboard and now I pushed the cover clear of the top door release. 679er's door was open and it just fell out of my mouth....."I sure did miss you", Mary laughed. I climbed in with a revised Piper roll, almost in reverse. There I sat, just like old home, touching everything I could letting 679er know I was back, I was in love all over again.

I was trying to keep my drool to a minimum so I decided it was time to see if I could get out of the plane. It wasn't real pretty the first time around but I'm sure it will start to flow a bit smoother each time. We buttoned up our girl and headed home, I couldn't loose that perma-grin to save my life. Mary said it was even better then the doctors visit when he told me I could drive again, she said she got most of her husband back then, now he's all back.

I checked my log and my currency expired on June 29th since I made two of my last three landings on March 31st, 90 days had passed. I immediately sent out emails to a CFI that flys in our club and to my friend MikeB if he had any CFI's available for a few landings. I need three TO/LD full stop to once again be current to carry passengers. I'm sitting here typing this as I wait for the phone to ring like a teenager waiting on his first girlfriend to callback.......Yes, my flying addiction is pretty bad and I need to get back in the air. I want to get Mary out of here for a few days of Beach time, maybe a quick weekend trip to Nags Head this month, she needs it more than I do. Hey, she had to put up with me being home 24/7 since April 8th.