February 11, 1973

If you blow the dust off my first logbook, that’s the date of the first entry. Thirty-six years ago my life took a turn, but it really started before that. Hold that thought, I’ll get back to it later.

Cheryl and I took a quick, impromptu trip to Branson this weekend. We both needed to decompress a little, and Silver Dollar City tends to be our “Spa” of choice. We just love getting into the Ozarks, taking our watches off, and leaving the cell phones behind. I usually like to share our trips, offer suggestions to others, or promote local businesses that impress me, but to tell you the truth; it was just the relaxing, kind of boring trip that we needed. On the way home however, we pass the Creve Coeur airport (1H0), and out on the ramp I saw at least six Cessna 195s. Of course, the coming storm notwithstanding, we had to go. The 195 is an aircraft from a bygone era. Introduced in 1947, with a big 300 horsepower Jacobs radial engine, and a 48” cabin width. (Just 1 inch wider than the Remos by the way) Radial engines sound different, smell different, and leak oil about as fast as you can pour it in, but man, are they cool. I snapped some pictures, and took in all of the sounds and smells, just getting lost in the nostalgia.

Here’s where this detour from the highway gets a little bizarre. Out in the back, way in the back, obviously away from the more restored classics and war birds, sits another classic in its own right, N5643A. 1956 was the year Cessna introduced the 172, and one of those first production models was N5643A. The first entry in my logbook, February 11, 1973, was in N5643A. I trained, and got my private pilot rating in 43A, and have flown ever since. I lost track of N43A years ago, but it started my lifelong love of aviation.Every day of my 26 year career in the FAA I talked to airplanes. My brother Dave, logged his first hour, and received his private pilot rating in 43A. Dave went on to the Air Force, flew A-10s and F-5s, and is now piloting B-767 and B-757s for Delta Airlines. I did say my life took a turn prior to 1973 however, and here's where I get back to where I started. My Dad bought N5643A in 1965 to earn his Private Pilot rating, and I’m sure he never imagined that this decision would impact his kids, and grand kids so much. My son began his flight training in 2002, and is currently an Air Traffic Controller in the Missouri Air National Guard. Dave’s kids are too young to have started training yet, but I bet they will. (They can already identify more airplanes than most pilots)

My point to all this rambling you ask? Take advantage of opportunities as they come. I took the opportunity today to admire some classic aircraft and found more than I bargained for. My Dad took the opportunity to learn to fly years ago, and affected at least two subsequent generations. I can’t imagine what I would have done if I didn’t take the opportunity to climb into 43A some 36 years ago, but I know it wouldn’t have been near as satisfying. Life is short, fly hard.

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