usbarbadosslim93
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20 August 2020 - 5:19pm

I Bought a Plane!

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So last week I took the next step in my pilot career by purchasing an airplane! I have been renting an airplane for $80/hr plus paying gas, flying 2-3 times every week. That money added up, and I realized it was more advantageous to purchase my own aircraft. We had a few false starts looking at planes that didn't quite pan out (I'm 6 foot 2, and I can't fit in a lot of smaller planes), but ended up finding a plane that fit the bill perfectly down in Lacon, Illinois. That plane is a 1966 Cessna 172.

My flight instructor and I flew out commercially (he flies free and got me a buddy pass), and we went through Chicago to Peoria. We ended up taking the plane for a test flight after doing a walk through inspection. After landing, we asked the guy to fix a couple things and we grabbed lunch at a local small town diner. After coming back we did 5 minutes of paperwork and flew all the way back to Michigan.

It was a lot of fun flying back. We could see the scenery change and as we got closer there were storms in the air. We flew around a bunch of clouds at 9,500 feet and even went over South Bend, Indiana (the home of the University of Notre Dame). It was about 3 hours and change, which was much shorter than the nearly 7 hours it would have taken to drive.

I've done some work on the plane (oil change, spark plugs), and there's some left to do to get it perfect for renting out to others, but this plane is awesome! I know I'm going to have a lot of adventures with her over the years.

Oh yeah! I need to note that we named the plane Irene after my grandmother who passed in June. I pulled into an airport in Metro Detroit yesterday to pick up my son from his grandparents, and my aunt was there. I told her the plane's name and she got emotional hearing it. She said she went to the cemetery aftward to tell her all about the plane and its new name. πŸ™‚

6 CL-Ed, coolsongss, blck, Matthew, adrianooo231, GordonnotRamsay

usbarbadosslim93
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20 August 2020 - 5:22pm
#1

Pics of Irene and her adventures so far:

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117780350_10100827641936384_4272040589067899784_n.jpg

2 coolsongss, TheKathoga

auEv_P
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20 August 2020 - 9:37pm
#2

Way to Go Slim !!! Big Congrats on your new toy.
I wish you years of fun for you and the family flying the skies and enjoying the scenery !!!

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20 August 2020 - 10:57pm
#3

Amazing, she looks like a beauty! And what a lovely touch to name her Irene ❀️
Plus, now you have a quick getaway plan if/when things go belly up in the States (just joking!)😜😜

2 barbadosslim93, Matthew

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20 August 2020 - 11:00pm
#4
CL - klaw wrote:

Plus, now you have a quick getaway plan if/when things go belly up in the States (just joking!)

Hahah yeah just what I thought. No way a wall can stop you from escaping now! πŸ˜‚

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21 August 2020 - 10:47am
#5

WOW congratulations...!!

...now that is a cool investment...!!

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21 August 2020 - 11:38am
#6

Thanks everybody! I'm gonna go practice some landings at my local airport (nice to actually be able to fly my local airport now), and then this weekend my project is to apply the vinyl "Irene" decals and wash and wax the plane. I got a call yesterday from the airport asking if she was really for rent, and that there's been a bunch of interest already!

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22 August 2020 - 7:49am
#7

Oh, great, man!!!
This kind of hobby is only possible in a huge and rich land.
Wow, I wish you fabulous life with Irene!!!

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24 August 2020 - 1:00pm
#8

Thanks coolsongss! I washed and waxed about 70% of her yesterday. While I was doing so I was approached by an older guy asking if the plane was available for rental. Turns out he's the father-in-law of one of my wife's best friends! He ended up offering me the spot in his T-hangar if we split the price (which ends up being $70/month for me).

I was on a waiting list for a hangar and was told it could be months before I got in one. I feel like I hit a small jackpot being able to store that plane locally, as I had it in another airport 30 miles away.

Looks like I should be able to start really making some rental money off it soon!

118246527_113792380442403_6983073128703434910_n.jpg

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24 August 2020 - 7:09pm
#9

Very nice! I'll have to stick to the new MS Flight Simulator.

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25 August 2020 - 4:27pm
#10
Reckless Bets wrote:

Very nice! I'll have to stick to the new MS Flight Simulator.

Oh man that new MS Flight Simulator is amazing. I actually practice landings with it. It's insane how close it is to the real thing. I know that I start my crosswind turn at a certain point and when I look out the window I see the same high school that's there in real life. I then turn downwind at some tennis courts, and they're there too!

I haven't gone crazy flying anywhere cool yet in sim, but my son took off from Homey Aiport (KXTA)... better known as Area 51. That was pretty cool!

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29 August 2020 - 7:51am
#11

I really like your opening story Slim. There's so much bad news being tossed everywhere around the world these days . It's nice to come across and read something like that, like a little slice of heaven for somebody.
Congrats on the new plane, and thanks for sharing your story with us all, it's something I really needed a shot of these days .

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1 September 2020 - 5:32pm
#12

Congrats on the plane. Too bad you're not John Travolta rich and have a runway in your back yard. Always amazed at his house down in Ocala, Fl

ad-john-travoltas-house-is-a-functional-airport-with-runways-01.jpg

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2 September 2020 - 12:47am
#13

Geez.. is that for real? I know Travolta is a bit of a nut case but that is on another level!

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2 September 2020 - 1:01am
#14

It's called Jumbolair Aviation Estates

CL-Ed

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2 September 2020 - 1:09pm
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Wow, is he that rich to manage his own airport? Very surprising.

usButtBongoFiesta
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2 September 2020 - 5:17pm
#16

John Travolta has Scientology money. He also owns like 5 houses and god knows how many planes.

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3 September 2020 - 1:50pm
#17

Yeah there are places that have a subdivision connected right to an airport. You pull your plane up to your house and park it in a hangar or connect with a ramp, and you can fly to work or wherever.

Pretty crazy stuff! I guess my airplane had a repair done at a place outside Chicago that also features this subdivision option.

Maybe one day πŸ˜‰

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6 September 2020 - 7:29pm
#18

That is such a lovely story, congratulations on your big and very significant purchase. Hope it brings you much joy πŸ™‚

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6 September 2020 - 7:46pm
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How did I know, when I saw "I bought a plane,' that this would be 'Slim?! lol That is awesome! Be safe and have fun and many adventures!

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8 September 2020 - 12:28pm
#20

Thanks, blck and Hope! I'm getting much better at learning how to fly, and am pretty much landing it by myself. It's honestly pretty easy to fly, it's the landing that can get to be a bit tricky! πŸ™‚

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4 October 2020 - 4:52pm
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barbadosslim93 you are crazzy....come and catch me for a round or two
i got a little airport just around the corner....take care😎🍺

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5 October 2020 - 12:22pm
#22

That's my favorite band, vomvom! I actually think it's possible to fly my plane over to Europe, albeit with a really long flight up through Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and into the UK.

I also wanted to share a picture from Saturday. My son has been tagging along on my flight lessons. This past weekend we finished my flight lesson and my instructor asked my son if he wanted to swap seats with me and to fly the airplane himself. My boy took the opportunity and ended up flying around town.

He was skeptical that he'd actually get to fly the plane himself, but sure enough during flight the instructor gave him the controls and told him to fly somewhere and my boy did it. At one point the instructor was fiddling with his iPad, so Connor had full control at that point. Needless to say, he's hooked and wants to grow up to be a professional pilot now.

c172_connor.jpg
us_to_germany_flight.png

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6 October 2020 - 3:14pm
#23

Wow, it sounds fantastic to fly on your own over an ocean.
Flying is a fabulous professional hobby for you and your family.
I am envious πŸ™‚

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7 October 2020 - 9:47pm
#24
barbadosslim93 wrote:

That's my favorite band, vomvom! I actually think it's possible to fly my plane over to Europe, albeit with a really long flight up through Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and into the UK.

I also wanted to share a picture from Saturday. My son has been tagging along on my flight lessons. This past weekend we finished my flight lesson and my instructor asked my son if he wanted to swap seats with me and to fly the airplane himself. My boy took the opportunity and ended up flying around town.

He was skeptical that he'd actually get to fly the plane himself, but sure enough during flight the instructor gave him the controls and told him to fly somewhere and my boy did it. At one point the instructor was fiddling with his iPad, so Connor had full control at that point. Needless to say, he's hooked and wants to grow up to be a professional pilot now.

hahaha ...great then i nailed it with the foo fighters song !
wow what a great opportunity for your son ... i think he would never have
dreamed that he would fly himself at his age.

then everything is clear ... the airport is around the corner. you are welcomeπŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

cheers

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22 October 2020 - 10:56am
#25

Wow! good for you πŸ‘Your plane can also be your investment. It is also a good thing that you know how to fly a plane... How far did you reach? Is it difficult to use? Too much questions haha sorry about that! Kinda excited to know more about your experience. Nice pictures too!

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22 October 2020 - 6:14pm
#26

Thanks Gordon. It's a lot of fun. So far the furthest we've flown is about 300 nautical miles, when we bought it.

Flying a plane is easy... the hard part is landing in one piece! πŸ™‚

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16 November 2020 - 1:21pm
#27

Little update from my aviation journey: We went into annual and got everything repaired... only to find out that there's a 47 year old airworthiness directive that needs to be addressed before I can legally fly the plane again! We're looking for a cheaper version of the part, as a new one costs about 3 grand.

The day after hearing this, I had to go take my FAA Airman Knowledge Exam. This is a 60 question test that tasks you with knowing the rules, weather, navigation, etc. It's basically a test on what you should know to become a pilot. I've been studying for it for months, and the question bank is so large that I was still seeing questions in practice exams that I hadn't seen before the night before the exam.

Well, I had a bad night's sleep, fell out of bed onto my back... and I passed! I got an 85%, which is just about average for the exam (for those who pass anyway). I could have done better, but I'll certainly live with an 85!

Now it's onto racking up some more hours and then having an oral exam and a check ride, and I'm officially a licensed pilot!

3 CL-Ed, CL - klaw, coolsongss

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17 November 2020 - 10:44pm
#28

Congratulations on passing your exam. You'll be escaping to Canada as a refugee in no time! πŸ˜‰

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19 November 2020 - 3:12pm
#29

Congratulations, man. You will make a good pilot, cheers!! πŸ™‚

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19 November 2020 - 4:56pm
#30

Thanks, guys! We also got good news today from the mechanic: He looked through the verbiage of the airworthiness directive and determined that my plane has another 300 hours of engine time before it needs to be replaced.

That means instead of dropping the three grand in the next couple weeks, I can wait a couple years to get it done. That gives me more time to save toward it and find a way to keep my wife from murdering me! πŸ™‚

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