AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014 - 73

transponder requirements, engine break-in
procedures, and ADS-B.
My single-engine flying experience as a
teen had been buried under decades of type
ratings, transport jets, and Level-D flight
simulation. GA flying would be so different,
and I had a lot of catching up to do. This was
not going to be like buying a used car. I had
to start from scratch.
At home in Parker, Colorado, I delved
into the enormous amount of information
on buying airplanes through the AOPA
member website. I also found hangar talk
with wiser GA pilots invaluable. With a
combination of both, I prepared an offer
contingent on an aircraft logbook review
and a prepurchase flight and inspection.
Two weeks after first seeing Redbird, I
traded a down payment for the keys. Much
to my relief, my employer announced a new
pilot contract on the very same day.
Greg and Gary replaced the stock generator with an alternator, upgraded the
wiring, and installed a used Garmin 496.
I felt very good about the airplane when
the two professionals handed it over. With

the promise of VFR skies and a couple of
days off, I gladly assumed the right seat for
the two-day trip home from Illinois. With
my meager tailwheel experience literally
decades old, I offered the left seat to a GA
pilot named Ted, who agreed to be pilot
in command.
On the first day, I picked the brain of my
flying companion about everything from
airspace to leaning techniques while he
questioned me about airline flying. As we
cruised at minimum safe VFR altitudes over
the Midwestern landscape, my internal E6B
woke up and started figuring wind drift, fuel
burn, and dead reckoning. A friend had graciously arranged an overnight hangar in
Larchwood, Iowa, near my brother-in-law
Mike's home, where more than 20 friends
and relatives turned out to see my new toy.
The joy of flying was coming back.
Day two brought strong headwinds, and
our groundspeed fell to just 77 knots-about
half the rotation speed of the airliner I fly. I
wasn't in a hurry, though. After a fuel stop
in Yankton, South Dakota, we continued
on. Soon we were over the Lewis and Clark

Reservoir, a familiar landmark I was accustomed to seeing from seven miles high-but
now only the clouds were high overhead.
My smile came back wider than ever.
At home in Colorado, I've flown with
each of my kids and explored the magnificent Front Range from the air. Owning and
flying this simple airplane has given us a new
perspective and fresh insights on the place
we live-and the joy that is nowhere else
to be found except in the lower altitudes.
Aviation, which for so long had been a purely
professional pursuit, is now a shared activity
that brings our whole family together. Nikki,
our youngest, seems the most enthusiastic
and adventurous, and asks to go whenever
the windsock looks tranquil.
Redbird has only been a part of our family for a few months, but I feel profoundly
different as an aviator. For the first time in a
very long time, the challenge, wonder, and
pure enjoyment are back.
AOPA
BOB MCSPADDEN flies

for a major U.S.
airline and lives on a residential airpark
near Denver.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014

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