Why can't we "let go?"

[CarlOrton]

I was going to post this under the thread, "The more things change...", but figured it would be too much of a hijack.

Anyway, when the topic turned to the thought of most county airports being closed in the next 20 years, I got to thinking about all of the aircraft that are still parked, waiting for the time when the owner will "get around to it."

As an example, in 2006, I was looking for a project. Something I could play with in my spare time, and perhaps end up with a viable airplane. If not, I was going to part it out.

I found a 172M at my airport, parked in a carport-style hangar, that hadn't moved in the 5 years I'd been passing it. I checked tne N-number, and contacted the owner. Nice gent, but it was obvious by his speech pattern that he was elderly. When I finally gently asked if he would consider selling it, he told me that, no, he was going to get it back in the air Real Soon Now. That was 2006; it's now 2013, and the airplane still sits there, at $150/month rent.

So, the gent has spent (at least) $12,600 paying rent for something that hasn't even been dusted off, yet he can't quite let go.

I can understand that; it's easy to equate that to someone who's had to give up driving, but keeps their car parked in their garage. At least they're not paying insurance or rent to keep it there.

The power of flight is just too powerful to sever the connection. Even if it costs us substantial money. Giving up that last connection is surrendering to the inevitable, I guess. Just strikes me as sad. I wonder what *I'll* do when that time comes...

[Bill]

Carl:

I'm probably closer to that point than you so I know what I'll do. Since I built the airplane, I want it to keep on flying. Hangar queens are so sad. So I'll sell the airplane to someone who'll fly it, and keep my pilot logbooks, photos and memories of all the good and bad times.

[Floatsflyer]

Same reason why it's difficult to disconnect from your long ago first real love relationship: The memory is too sweet, the connection is too deep and the realistic possibility(especially with the internet) that the hope of meeting could occur once again.

[Frank Giger]

Imagine a string of swear words woven together so they make a beautiful tapestry of profanity as only a senior non-commissioned officer can weave, and one will get a large portion of my opinion on the matter.

At least the guy in the first post was somewhat honest about not wanting to let go with the idea of flying. I can't stand the whole "I can't get what I want for it" line of crap - when it's true that it's costing the ex-pilot thousands of dollars not to sell it....in one case, I figured out that one guy had spent twice his inflated asking price in hangar fees and taxes while griping that everyone was trying to rip him off!

I've had to put more than one pursuit aside due to age and injury...just let it go, already! When it comes my time to stop being PIC, I'll hang out at the airport and bum rides for whomever is just goofing off locally. Hell, I wish some of these guys would do just that - I'd love to have the insight of someone with long hours and the wisdom gained by close shaves. But most are just too proud for that.

But part of it is the whole Baby Boomer inability to grasp the reality of getting older. And in the interst of not offending those of that generation, I'll stop right there.

[Floatsflyer]

But part of it is the whole Baby Boomer inability to grasp the reality of getting older. And in the interst of not offending those of that generation, I'll stop right there.

We aren't getting older, we're getting better!:D

[pointwithinacircle]

Ideas are always more powerful than reality. Failure to realize this fact causes more misunderstandings than almost anything else.

[Kevin O'Halloran]

The man doesn't just own the airplane---he is in love with it !! The memories it brings back to him are priceless--he just doesn't want to let go.
I just sold my first car . My dad bought it off the showroom floor on my 16th birthday---1966 GTO, 389, tripower, 4 speed ( still don't know WTF he was thinking)
People have been trying to buy it from me for years--was going to give it to my daughter and her husband--but they told me they would just sell it. Then this year a young man wanted to look at it--he showed me pictures of his gradfather holding his father as a child next to his 1966 GTO--sold it to him for 1/2 of what other people had offered . But I knew he would love and care for it.
Yea--I understand that old man not selling his 172
Kevin

[martymayes]

Once ya make that emotional bond......stonger than any amount of money.

[Joe LaMantia]

Nice topic!,

I think holding on to the past is part of the aging process, and certainly aviation people have a real special relationship with what they fly or have flown. As previously mentioned, our emotional attachments grow stronger with age. I am looking at 70 for a next birthday cake bonfire, and I get a lot of e-mail from friends and family with photo's from the 1950's and 60's. While technically, I'm not a baby boomer a lot of my contemporaries are getting all nostalgic over that time period. We tend to remember all the good stuff and make-up some fantasies that reinforce our feelings for the past. This process tends to make people a bit negative regarding the future, in part because we won't be here to take part.

Joe
:cool:

[CarlOrton]

Originally, I just tossed out the idea of not being able to let go. Some interesting comments were generated as a result. As I've read them and thought about each of them, it's been somewhat cathartic.

The last line of my original post was "dunno what I'll do when the time comes." I still don't know. The gent to whom I referred was very polite. He wasn't wanting top dollar. We never even *discussed* a price. I only asked him if he *would* sell.

I was merely trying to convey that certain things just are too strong of an emotional bond. I gave up flying for a number of years simply because I was raising a family. We preferred that my wife stay home with the boys, so we made it on a single income. No time or money to fly until 11 years ago. But - during my hiatus, I never stopped thinking about "some day."

I didn't just buy my current airplane. I made it. OK, well assembled. At this point in my life, I don't think I could sell, either. Fortunately, one of my son's is a pilot, so I have *someone* in line to continue flying it. Hopefully with me in the right seat if I am no longer able.

Folks, if you're reading or posting, you're infected as well. It *is* a love affair that nothing else approaches. It's not about not wanting to grow old (not that any of us *want* to...), but about what aviation has done to our souls, our inner beings. The original post wasn't a complaint - it was a quest for understanding.

[Sonex1517]

Great post Carl. Thanks for the insight.

[eiclan]

Gday Chaps,I think that we all have things from the past that bring back memories that are dear to us.A few years ago my brothers had a rather large hanger at Jandakot airport in Perth WA. there were aircraft parked in there that had been there for a while and some not used in a longer while.One was a rather beaten up old 185 Cessna taildragger,it looked a little forlorn and woebegone but every time I saw it the more I liked it.It had the look of a life well spent so every time I was there I would pump the tyres and blow the dust off.One day I thought to myself that it would be fun to fly so got hold of the owner and asked if they wanted to sell.The owner was an older lady who said that she and her family had used it to get around in their missionary work in New Guinea and she didn't want to sell even though she or her family would probably never fly it again.As it was a few years later the hanger was sold and the 185 was sold.These things become almost part of the family and as such they become precious. Cheers Ross

[Jim Heffelfinger]

I am a lifelong boater and have more recently ventured into thinner fluids. We boaters have a similar affliction when it comes to our water ladies. For the same reasons as the dusty hangar queens, boats sit sun rotting, covered in bird droppings, generations of barnacles while racking up amazing annual fees.

It is indeed the magic carpet on air or water that transported its passengers to far flung adventure, of intimate connections with the amazing world we live in and the hope of more to come. They sit, in our mind only , ready to take us on another adventure. We just have to arrive, willing to go.

There is a boat, right next to mine, a mid 1970s Catalina 27. It had 1988 registration stickers when I first saw it (2006) but the marina got more official and requested current registration to be displayed – It has been current since. There is also required insurance. The sail covers have turned to dust with faded strips of red holding fasteners together, underlying sails had also disintegrated into a moldy gray and black mass, the cockpit, drains plugged for years, allowing whatever crop is being planted in adjacent fields to grow, it is lush and green in spring but browns like the surrounding hillsides by early summer. The hull has inches thick green ”moss” locking it into near permanent restraint. In an attempt to clear the drains a marina staff nearly fell through the cockpit sole – wet rot had rendered the entire under glass plywood area useless. The owner has paid for slippage and insurance for nearly 30 years – he has rarely seen the boat during that time. The real value of the boat – some minor equipment salvage and the lead in her keel – nothing more. Clearly to the owner - priceless.
An update to this boat story - the boat had been for sale for $12K for the last few years. It just sold for $1 to another person who has 5 Catalina 27s all in similar condition and similar fate. Sometimes "bargains" are not a bargain at all but another anchor. Just like our planes.

[tmc31]

After seeing the seemingly abandoned airplanes sitting around with their owners unwilling to sell, I made myself a promise years ago. I promised myself that when it came time to stop flying that I would do so with as much grace as I could muster. Now I find myself at that crossroad. My beloved Pacer has sat in it's hanger for the past five years, un-flown and gathering dust. I have finally made the decision to let it go so that maybe some other intrepid aviator could find some joy from it as I have for the last 30 years. It has been a privilege and a joy to own and fly 76D.

Tim

[Frank Giger]

After seeing the seemingly abandoned airplanes sitting around with their owners unwilling to sell, I made myself a promise years ago. I promised myself that when it came time to stop flying that I would do so with as much grace as I could muster. Now I find myself at that crossroad. My beloved Pacer has sat in it's hanger for the past five years, un-flown and gathering dust. I have finally made the decision to let it go so that maybe some other intrepid aviator could find some joy from it as I have for the last 30 years. It has been a privilege and a joy to own and fly 76D.

Tim

Thank you.

It's not the airplane, it's the memories that are dear.

And now another soul will have the chance to make the same for themselves.

[Derswede]

After seeing the seemingly abandoned airplanes sitting around with their owners unwilling to sell, I made myself a promise years ago. I promised myself that when it came time to stop flying that I would do so with as much grace as I could muster. Now I find myself at that crossroad. My beloved Pacer has sat in it's hanger for the past five years, un-flown and gathering dust. I have finally made the decision to let it go so that maybe some other intrepid aviator could find some joy from it as I have for the last 30 years. It has been a privilege and a joy to own and fly 76D.

Tim

I looked at a nice little Baby Ace a few weeks ago...the owner had passed 7-8 yrs ago and his family is paying rent on the bird sitting at a private field...It is now growing moss on the wings and back deck. Assume with moss on fabric, it would require a recover. Awaiting a call back to see if they even would sell the plane. According to the airport owner, they had an offer years ago on the plane, but the son did not want to sell it. Doubt it would pass inspection now....

I'm interested as I have friends who had Baby Aces and spoke highly of the flying characteristics of the airplane.....but I'm afraid of a moss-covered bird esp. one sitting in a t-hanger and the engine not even having been turned thru for 6-7 years. Salvage price is what I would offer. A friend who recently lost his medical has asked that I sell his Mong and his Monerais. and I am negotiating to buy his T-Craft. He does not want the birds to go downhill and he also does not want to stick his wife with the task of selling something she knows little about. He does not want to give up flying, but as time and circumstances befall us, sometimes there is no choice. My mother had to sell off my Dad's planes after his death. It was not easy.

Derswede

[Jim Rosenow]

Based on my experience, this 'hanging onto things' is not a new phenomenon with the current generation. In the early 70's my flyin' buddy Jack (RIP) told me about a 7AC in a barn a few miles from the local grass strip. He knew the owner, so I convinced him to take me out there. We shot the breeze with the old gentleman (mid-70's, which was much older back then), and he showed us the fuselage sitting in a slatted corn crib, the tailwheel buried in muck. We then climbed into a hay loft where the wings and tail surfaces were located. He was happy for the company, but didn't want to sell the 7AC or a T-Cart he had in similar condition. The key was that he was 'happy for the company'. It took awhile, but further visits convinced him I was the one to take over guardianship of his treasure.

I could bore you with additional, but similar stores about a pre-war Aeronca (also in the 70's), a Warrior (in the 80's), and a Vagabond (in the 90's).

Note to younger enthusiasts....if you like my airplane, please respect that I do also, and I've liked it a lot longer than you have. Patience and persistence!

As always, YMMV!

Jim
EAA #64315 (recently expired....the membership, not me!)

[MickYoumans]

I purchased a 150 to learn to fly back in the 80s. When my wife was pregnant with our second child, I decided to sell my 150 since there was no way to get a family of four in it. We were also building our house at that time and I felt the money would be better spent on other things for the family. I remember the day the new owner came to pick up the airplane. Even though I knew it was the right thing to do, it just about killed me watching my plane disappear in the sky. I stood there following it until it was completely out of sight.

Fast forward to now. My kids are grown and gone. I have a four seater Cherokee that is perfect for my wife and I to fly around to visit family and make other fun trips. I have totally refurbished my Cherokee including major engine overhaul, new interior and new paint. I hope that I have another 10 to 15 years of flying left before I have to face giving it up. One of the big differences now versus when I sold my 150 is that back then I considered selling because of financial reasons and for the greater good of the family over my personal love for the plane. If I had to give up flying tomorrow, there would be no compelling financial reason to sell, so I'm sure there would be a lot less motivation to let it go even though I would not be able to be PIC. I probably would keep it and get other legal pilots to fly with me as long as I remained mobile enough to easily get in and out of the plane. I might not be able to fly solo but I would try to find other ways to keep flying.

I have already experienced the pain of parting with my 150 so many years ago. I remember it vividly to this day. I just hope the good Lord will allow me good health to enjoy flying for many years to come so I won't have to cross that bridge again any time in the near future. When I do finally have to face the reality of aging, I hope that I will have the wisdom to do the right thing, whatever that might be, at that time.

[Jim Clark]

You love a lot of things if you live around them, but there isn't any woman and there isn't any horse, nor any before nor any after, that is as lovely as a great airplane, and men who love them are faithful to them even though they leave them for others.
- Ernest Hemingway

[Mark van Wyk]

Poor old thing. The C-172, I mean.

[Dana]

When I sold my T-Craft after flying it for 300 hours or so and then watching it gather 10 years of dust as a "next year for sure!" restoration project, I climbed into the cockpit one last time and sat there for a few minutes just before loading it onto the truck. The buyer stood respectfully aside, and just said, "It's never easy," when I got out.

I still wonder what happened to it. He promised me a ride when it was restored, but 15 years later I'm still the last registered owner.

[1600vw]

How I would have handled this.

Sir if you really want to get this airplane up and flying again I am here to help you. I will work with you and get this bird flying. Become friends, go flying. You never know that airplane could still be yours when he decides to sell it. But after he/she see's you love flying and this airplane as much as he/she, you just might end up with it at a reduced cost. People are good that way sometimes. Nothing to loose but some time, and everything to gain. If nothing else you made a new friend.

How I would have handled this.

Tony

[Frank Giger]

The thing is that most pilots are nostalgic suckers, that's for sure. I was admiring a fellow's Ercoupe the other day while he was puttering around his hangar and couldn't resist putting my hand on the cowl and say "the things you've seen and the places you've been" to her.

Naturally of all the things to pay attention to, he heard that.

We just gave a long look to each other and went on to moving stuff around, pretending we weren't both a little misty eyed. I think one of the problems with these hangar queens is that the owners don't realize that the potential buyers are just as romantic about aircraft as they are, and will become just as attached.

While they're just machines, I've yet to find a GA pilot that doesn't hold a reverence towards aircraft, particularly older ones.