Ten Years of Flying

Today I was able to celebrate my 10-Year anniversary of getting my wings by
flying Mary and friends to a wonderful lunch in Kewanee, IL (at an amazing
furniture store called "Goods"), followed by a full day of camaraderie and
fun.

Best of all, my landing in Kewanee was an absolute greaser, despite high,
gusty winds! (Funny how that never ceases to be a real ego builder...) In
ten years and over 900 hours, I've surprisingly managed to complete an equal
number of take-offs and landings, while simultaneously avoiding any bent
metal or mishaps. Meanwhile, my kids have grown up in the back seat of an
airplane, seeing so many things that they could never have seen from the
ground, and I've had the privilege of owning aircraft since '98.

It's truly been a wondrous decade.

Nothing in my life has been more rewarding than flying. In fact, it's hard
to believe how much aviation has changed my life in this very short decade.
Ten years ago I was a life-time wanna-be pilot, trying to figure out how to
get into the left seat and see what flying was really like. If anyone had
told me that ten years later I would have abandoned my newspaper career and
other businesses -- and could have convinced Mary to do the same with her
medical career -- in order to reap the risky and always doubtful financial
benefits of aviation (by creating an aviation-theme-suite hotel, of all
things!), I surely would have thought they were daft.

Yet, here I am. Only in America.

I always tell anyone who will listen that my first 35 years on this planet
were utterly wasted, spent on the ground, looking up. Flying truly is life,
ladies and gents, and I'm here to tell you that it's time to get out and
enjoy every minute of it! I'm looking forward to another ten (or thirty)
years of flying, and I'm incredibly honored to have been able to share the
sky with y'all over these last ten years.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Today I was able to celebrate my 10-Year anniversary of getting my wings by
flying Mary and friends to a wonderful lunch in Kewanee, IL (at an amazing
furniture store called "Goods"), followed by a full day of camaraderie and
fun.
snip

Congratulations, Jay. Reading your posts over these last few years, I have
enjoyed reliving many of your experiences.

--
Peter













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Congratulations, Jay. Reading your posts over these last few years, I
have
enjoyed reliving many of your experiences.

Thanks, Peter. It's been in an incredible journey.

To have the ability to simply hop in a plane, and *go* -- literally anywhere
in the Western Hemisphere -- at a moment's notice, is truly amazing.
Sometimes I think we pilots get jaded to that fact, but it's something that
bears repeating.

Because of G.A., Mary and I have been everywhere, from Wisconsin to Florida,
from Nevada to New York. When I first got my ticket, I was able to fly my
Mom back to her little home town, where she arrived like a queen in her own
personal son-flown airplane, to the amazement of friends and relatives
alike. We were both proud as peacocks, and I truly believe that was the
best day of her retirement years.

A few years later, when she lay dying, aviation was the gift that allowed me
to fly home to be with her every few days. Without G.A. I would not have
been able to say goodbye...

My kids have seen Cape Canaveral, Lakeland, Oshkosh, the Grand Canyon, the
Great Lakes, Mackinac Island, Devil's Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Carlsbad Caverns,
the Gulf of Mexico, the Ozarks, and a hundred other places that they could
NEVER have seen if we were flightless birds. Even before the hotel, our
small business life meant that days off were few and far between, so the
speed and spontaneity of flying has allowed us to provide our children with
a nearly normal life, in a very strange sense of the word.

Finally, and most importantly, flying has made me a better person. Because
of aviation, I'm more highly motivated, more organized, and mentally sharper
than I would be otherwise. Best of all, by surrounding myself with
pilots -- both here in cyberspace, and in "real life" at the hotel -- I have
learned so many things from some of the best and smartest people on the
planet.

Face it -- the world is full of crap, and crappy people. Pilots are far and
away the best of the lot -- and I'm honored to be one of them.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Peter R." wrote in message
...
Jay Honeck wrote:

Today I was able to celebrate my 10-Year anniversary of getting my wings
by
flying Mary and friends to a wonderful lunch in Kewanee, IL (at an
amazing
furniture store called "Goods"), followed by a full day of camaraderie
and
fun.
snip


--
Peter













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Newsgroups
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On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 13:33:16 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:



Face it -- the world is full of crap, and crappy people. Pilots are far and
away the best of the lot -- and I'm honored to be one of them.

that is it in a nutshell.

Stealth Pilot

Call me a thief, but I'm going to steal what you've written below. In fact,
I've already emailed it to my wife.

I think you have perfectly described why flying is NOT expensive. What
other recreational endeavor rewards it's participants with such freedom and
abilities? What other hobby requires it's members to obtain such extensive
knowledge of the world around them and then demands that they use that
knowledge in life-preserving manner but for their efforts rewards them with
experiences and views beyond description? (ok, maybe mountain climbing)
Where could you possibly buy anything so wonderful? What idiot would sell
it if he owned it? How could he even put a price on it? It is truly
priceless and yet pilots are more than willing to GIVE this wonderful
experience to any interested person, just for the asking.

Flying is CHEAP and pilots are RICH! Rich with experiences that can be
obtained no other way. Rich with memories that will last their lifetime.
Rich with the friendship of other pilots and families that have experienced
the joy of flying.

Thanks Jay.

It's been in an incredible journey.

To have the ability to simply hop in a plane, and *go* -- literally
anywhere
in the Western Hemisphere -- at a moment's notice, is truly amazing.
Sometimes I think we pilots get jaded to that fact, but it's something
that
bears repeating.

Because of G.A., Mary and I have been everywhere, from Wisconsin to
Florida,
from Nevada to New York. When I first got my ticket, I was able to fly
my
Mom back to her little home town, where she arrived like a queen in her
own
personal son-flown airplane, to the amazement of friends and relatives
alike. We were both proud as peacocks, and I truly believe that was the
best day of her retirement years.

A few years later, when she lay dying, aviation was the gift that allowed
me
to fly home to be with her every few days. Without G.A. I would not have
been able to say goodbye...

My kids have seen Cape Canaveral, Lakeland, Oshkosh, the Grand Canyon, the
Great Lakes, Mackinac Island, Devil's Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Carlsbad
Caverns,
the Gulf of Mexico, the Ozarks, and a hundred other places that they could
NEVER have seen if we were flightless birds. Even before the hotel, our
small business life meant that days off were few and far between, so the
speed and spontaneity of flying has allowed us to provide our children
with
a nearly normal life, in a very strange sense of the word.

Finally, and most importantly, flying has made me a better person.
Because
of aviation, I'm more highly motivated, more organized, and mentally
sharper
than I would be otherwise. Best of all, by surrounding myself with
pilots -- both here in cyberspace, and in "real life" at the hotel -- I
have
learned so many things from some of the best and smartest people on the
planet.

Face it -- the world is full of crap, and crappy people. Pilots are far
and
away the best of the lot -- and I'm honored to be one of them.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

That was great.
"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:aceRd.7229$zH6.6601@attbi_s53...
Today I was able to celebrate my 10-Year anniversary of getting my wings
by flying Mary and friends to a wonderful lunch in Kewanee, IL (at an
amazing furniture store called "Goods"), followed by a full day of
camaraderie and fun.

Best of all, my landing in Kewanee was an absolute greaser, despite high,
gusty winds! (Funny how that never ceases to be a real ego builder...)
In ten years and over 900 hours, I've surprisingly managed to complete an
equal number of take-offs and landings, while simultaneously avoiding any
bent metal or mishaps. Meanwhile, my kids have grown up in the back seat
of an airplane, seeing so many things that they could never have seen from
the ground, and I've had the privilege of owning aircraft since '98.

It's truly been a wondrous decade.

Nothing in my life has been more rewarding than flying. In fact, it's
hard to believe how much aviation has changed my life in this very short
decade. Ten years ago I was a life-time wanna-be pilot, trying to figure
out how to get into the left seat and see what flying was really like. If
anyone had told me that ten years later I would have abandoned my
newspaper career and other businesses -- and could have convinced Mary to
do the same with her medical career -- in order to reap the risky and
always doubtful financial benefits of aviation (by creating an
aviation-theme-suite hotel, of all things!), I surely would have thought
they were daft.

Yet, here I am. Only in America.

I always tell anyone who will listen that my first 35 years on this planet
were utterly wasted, spent on the ground, looking up. Flying truly is
life, ladies and gents, and I'm here to tell you that it's time to get out
and enjoy every minute of it! I'm looking forward to another ten (or
thirty) years of flying, and I'm incredibly honored to have been able to
share the sky with y'all over these last ten years.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Congrats, and I hope you find the next 10 years even more rewarding :-)

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:aceRd.7229$zH6.6601@attbi_s53...
Today I was able to celebrate my 10-Year anniversary of getting my wings
by flying Mary and friends to a wonderful lunch in Kewanee, IL (at an
amazing furniture store called "Goods"), followed by a full day of
camaraderie and fun.

Best of all, my landing in Kewanee was an absolute greaser, despite high,
gusty winds! (Funny how that never ceases to be a real ego builder...)
In ten years and over 900 hours, I've surprisingly managed to complete an
equal number of take-offs and landings, while simultaneously avoiding any
bent metal or mishaps. Meanwhile, my kids have grown up in the back seat
of an airplane, seeing so many things that they could never have seen from
the ground, and I've had the privilege of owning aircraft since '98.

It's truly been a wondrous decade.

Nothing in my life has been more rewarding than flying. In fact, it's
hard to believe how much aviation has changed my life in this very short
decade. Ten years ago I was a life-time wanna-be pilot, trying to figure
out how to get into the left seat and see what flying was really like. If
anyone had told me that ten years later I would have abandoned my
newspaper career and other businesses -- and could have convinced Mary to
do the same with her medical career -- in order to reap the risky and
always doubtful financial benefits of aviation (by creating an
aviation-theme-suite hotel, of all things!), I surely would have thought
they were daft.

Yet, here I am. Only in America.

I always tell anyone who will listen that my first 35 years on this planet
were utterly wasted, spent on the ground, looking up. Flying truly is
life, ladies and gents, and I'm here to tell you that it's time to get out
and enjoy every minute of it! I'm looking forward to another ten (or
thirty) years of flying, and I'm incredibly honored to have been able to
share the sky with y'all over these last ten years.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
snips
Today I was able to celebrate my 10-Year anniversary of getting my wings
by flying Mary and friends to a wonderful lunch in Kewanee, IL (at an
amazing furniture store called "Goods"), followed by a full day of
camaraderie and fun.

I always tell anyone who will listen that my first 35 years on this planet
were utterly wasted, spent on the ground, looking up. Flying truly is
life, ladies and gents, and I'm here to tell you that it's time to get out
and enjoy every minute of it! I'm looking forward to another ten (or
thirty) years of flying, and I'm incredibly honored to have been able to
share the sky with y'all over these last ten years.


Ten years is Titanium isn't it? g

Nice write up.


Montblack

Montblack wrote:



Ten years is Titanium isn't it? g

No, I'm pretty sure ten years is a set of dual Garmin GNS 530s...that's
what I'm telling my wife, anyway.

Nice write up.

Agreed! Congrats Jay! Keep up the wonderful writing too...you have a
gift. Hope see see an aviation-themed offering by Jay Honeck at Borders
sometime!

Cheers,

Cap

(Captainwubba wrote)
Ten years is Titanium isn't it? g

No, I'm pretty sure ten years is a set of dual Garmin GNS 530s...that's
what I'm telling my wife, anyway.


http://www.chipublib.org/008subject/...iswedding.html
(Chicago Public Library)

Looks like ten years is actually Aluminum!!


Montblack