Thought for the Day: Aviation as an Endeavor

“At any real level, flying is not a sport, a hobby a pastime nor entertainment. It is an Endeavor, worthy of every hour of your life you invest; Those that dabble in it find only high cost, poor reward and serious risk. They are approaching it as consumers. Conversely, for those who devote their best efforts and their serious commitment, the rewards are without compare. The serious people alone will know the reward that was beyond the reach of any man who walked on this planet a mere 111 years ago. No matter how brilliant, how wealthy or how powerful, no man could fly then. Today, because of incredible luck of the circumstances of your birth, and the efforts you have made, you have a real chance of building a flying machine with your own hands and then being the master of it in the sky. It may very well be the ultimate expression of being an individual, the ultimate rejection to the tepid life to which others would consign you. In a world that is ever increasingly fake, this is an opportunity to do something very real. ” -ww.

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From Oshkosh 2009: “The above photo shows Kurt Shipman and I standing next to his Corvair powered Pietenpol at Oshkosh 2009. After the event, we found out that he won the Bronze Plans-Built Lindy Award, in recognition that his plans-built aircraft was in the Top 5 in a very competitive field at the 2009 show. It is difficult to overstate this achievement. In the past 20 years, I have seen a number of Grand Champions from the EAA’s regional shows, magnificent aircraft, have a difficult time winning one of Oshkosh’s highly coveted workmanship awards. The Corvair movement can be very proud that one of its own earned such a significant honor. It’s fitting that it goes to such a laid back, modest guy, who built his plane for his own enjoyment, not the pursuit of external recognition.”

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