We could all die in bed, having never done anything. Or we
could die at birth. Or in car accidents, bath tubs,
swimming pools, icy sidewalks. We might even live over 100
years and die wishing we had swum in the ocean [sharks,
barracuda and jelly fish].

Yes we are crazy and stupid.



"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
|I just returned from one of the hardest evenings of my
life. Mary, my
| kids, and I just attended the visitation for Blane
Anderson, our
| friend and fellow pilot who lost his life in the crash of
a Spencer
| Air Car (and amphibious homebuilt craft) last Friday, just
west of
| Iowa City. He was less than 20 minutes from home when his
plane went
| down, hard.
|
| No cause has yet been determined, and the local aviation
community is
| freaking out about this seemingly inexplicable accident,
and the death
| of arguably our finest local pilot. Chief pilot of the
FBO, CFII,
| home-builder, tail-dragger, multi-engine, turbine -- you
name it,
| Blane flew it. Everyone who flew with him said he was a
great stick.
| And he had learned to fly in a Pietenpol, which is to say
that he
| *really* knew how to fly.
|
| At age 34, Blane left so much on the table. A beautiful,
young wife;
| twin 5-years olds; a 2-year old. There were his parents,
and grand-
| parents, standing before his open casket, numbly greeting
grieving
| friends and relatives for well over five hours. The line
stretched
| out the door for hours on end, in sub-zero temperatures.
No one
| complained, and no one left.
|
| Every pilot I know was there. We all feel and fear the
same thing,
| without saying a word. The thought on everyone's mind is
simple: "If
| this could happen to Blane, it could happen to any one of
us." We
| look at the grieving widow, and the crying children, and
the body in
| the casket, and realize that what we are doing for fun is
terribly,
| inescapably dangerous, and can claim any of us at any
time.
|
| We all are left to silently wonder -- are we crazy, or are
we just
| stupid? Is this irresistable call to the sky that we
answer going to
| be our swan song? Are we just being selfish, putting our
kids at
| terrible risk every time we strap them into the back seat?
|
| Are the naysayers about general aviation *right*? Do we
have any
| right to risk ourselves and others for what amounts to a
hobby?
|
| I don't know. I've followed the call of aviation as far
as I can, and
| reaped benefits from it that few have enjoyed. I've
slipped the surly
| bonds of earth a thousand times, and have never felt
closer to God or
| more free then when I am flying.
|
| But when I introduced my family to Blane's mom, all she
could say,
| with an intensity that can be brought about only through
death, was
| "Hold on to your children...as tightly as you can." And
then she
| wouldn't let my hands go, as her tear-filled eyes met
mine...
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|