A Dream Realized

For over 30 years I have harbored a dream of one day obtaining my pilot's license and being able to fly a small plane.  The prospect of having the freedom to roam the skies and visit places without relying on terrestrial transport or even scheduled airlines and all the hassles and hold ups that occur has attracted me.  D, our eldest even put a photograph of the inside of an aircraft cockpit on a canvas and hung it in my office at BG many years ago.  He was one of the few people I had shared this dream with, thinking it would probably be something that would elude me.

On Wednesday I drove up to Wichita, Kansas, and yesterday completed the purchase of a 1977 Piper Archer II and flew it back with Steve, a Flight Instructor with 15,500 hours of instruction who I "chanced" to meet only 2 weeks ago.  I landed at Grand Prairie, our local airport to be greeted by L, J and R and the GKs.  I haven't completed my training yet, but am about to do my first solo and I now have this wonderful machine to realize that long held dream to take to the skies.  I am very grateful and excited that even after all this time, this has become a reality.