Nothing wrong with an old Cherokee 6. Had a 300 years ago. The only thing it couldn’t carry was 100 knots in a headwind!

 

Truth! My wife and I have had a Turbo Arrow for the past 15 years and fly it every week. We've taken it to Mexico 4 times, Canada 3 times, and every state west of Kansas.

Lately we've been on a mission to support every airport restaurant within 200 NM or so (about as far as I'm willing to fly for lunch.) I figure they need all the help they can get, to make it through this Coronomy (that's 'corona' and 'economy', but doesn't it kinda sound like some really uncomfortable medical procedure?)

Used to rent a Cherokee 6. If it fit, it flew!

 

Nothing at all wrong with them, I love our Cherokee 6 (300HP). You're not kidding, load it up and go!

 

My wife and kids, and I LOVE doin the "hundred dollar hamburger" about once a month, weather permitting. In reality its a lot more than a hundred, but I wouldn't take anything for those experiences. We eat, watch other planes take-off and land, explore for other warbirds, and watch my kids run and play. The smaller airport FBO's usually have a guest book to sign, and are very family friendly. You can look and see where people are coming from and going to. Makes flying fun again--like it was when we got started. Its drive our RV, fly our own aircraft, or take a cruise. Won't catch us on another airline flight--I couldn't care less if they all go t!ts up.

good riddance.

 

I certainly love your outlook in the first sentence and how I hope to be in retirement...plenty of great/amazing things to see without flying thousands of miles on airliners. Your last sentence is a poor thing to wish on so many who count on the airlines to feed their families.

 

You got it wrong, I'm not wishing blight on anyone. Just my perspective from 33 plus years in this "industry". Thats just it--you CANT count on the airlines to feed your family. This "job" is nothing but a shadow of the great career it once was.

If you don't have a hell of a strong backup plan, your kidding yourself.

 

You're flying something with Merlin power? This, I gotta see 😎

 

Makes me wonder why you stayed 33 years in this job? Of course it was easy to pay ridiculously good/promise great pensions. We had regulation and very little competition throughout the world. That's long gone but it doesn't mean it's still not a great career. Guys love to opine about how great it used to be but forget that, compared to today, very few ever actually made it to that greatness. Also, it's not like companies didn't go under back then too. Of course we'll see hiccups along the way, no industry is immune to that. I had lots of friends, outside of aviation, lose it all and have to start over at the bottom during the 08 crisis.

I couldn't agree more with this, but again, I think that goes with any career. This is one reason I'm continuing to build a side hustle that can scale up if I really needed. It's also why I chose to stick it out 20 years in Guard so I'll get another retirement source...and income for now.

 

hahaha I wish!!!

No my budget isn't that large yet. I volunteer once a month at a wonderful aviation sanctuary (museum) where warbirds still fly regularly. We get to be the caretakers of these national treasures-some powered by big Pratt & Whitney radials, a few Wrights here and there and some powered by that very distinct sounding 12 cylinder Packard built engine honored in my screen name.

It really is an honor and I'm proud to be part of it.

 

Crewdawg;

You and I see eye to eye on a lot of things. I didn't have a completely straight run of 33 years, I went back to college and got a medical career after 9/11. Rejoined the Aviation world a few years ago as a freight dog. but all told, I've been in and around it for that long. Still have my hand in the medical gig part time thanks to a good flying sched in the freighter.

Very Early on in my aviation career, I got to fly with some great guys that had come over from Pan Am and Eastern. They would tell me how it was back in the old days. That was the frame of reference that I used to gauge the airlines of nowadays by. You are right tho, about the number that actually made it to the Bigs back in the day. Not too many. All geezers like me sit around and squawk about how everything was better back in the day, its all arguable, and that's what makes us "geezers".

Good on you for having 2 backups-you got it right!!