Mission Orthodoxy

What was it like flying the F-15? My typical canned response; "It is the most fun you can have with your pants on!" After a few more probing questions I would gladly try to explain the exhilaration of strapping on a modern day flying machine. Some are fascinated by the speed, some by the prestige, some by the design and the really keen focus on the capability.

In the flying business, I define capability as mission. The union of a tool and an experienced operator yields extraordinary results that are game changing. That tool can be as simple as a pencil or paint brush. It can also be very complex like an aircraft. One without the other is in my view simply squandered potential. I wonder if Jimmy Doolittle could identify Japan on a map before he became the first pilot to perform the outside loop. Did you realize he was also the first pilot to perform a successful instrument flight in zero visibility conditions? One could argue that these were foundational milestones that led to the famous Doolittle Raid. I provide these examples to illustrate what it takes to overturn an orthodoxy and change the rules of the game. Our friend, Webster, defines orthodoxy as "a belief or orientation agreeing with conventional standards." We all have them. However, successfully overturning orthodoxies can open a world that is so gratifying it is impossible to accept viewing life from any other lens. Try to imagine a day where no pilot attempts an outside loop, IFR flight or catapults from an aircraft carrier.

My orthodoxy was with general aviation. As an F-15 driver, my passion was employment of the jet. I often announced that I would retire my g-suit if I ever flew a "perfect mission". It was a safe bet. There is always a radio transmission, attack profile, defensive reaction to a threat or formation that could be improved. I failed to see a mission offering from the general aviation community. Quite frankly it is one of the reasons I did not pursue a commercial airline career. For me the offering had to be more than cranking the engines, navigating and arriving safely. That is not to say that my exodus from the flying community in 1998 was easy. Many that knew me well doubted I could find happiness outside the cockpit. There were times that I doubted my decision.

As my journey in the "real world" continued to take twists and turns I found myself with an unmet need. How can I efficiently travel from our land-locked primary residence to our lake home, share my true passion with family and continue to challenge myself? To my surprise, general aviation had the answer! I often thought of having a plane on floats and seeking fishing holes in the wilderness that were undisturbed by land lubbers. My view was that a float plane was not practical since I could not justify only landing on water. This is where orthodoxy can be misconstrued as ignorance. Personally, I did not see value in $100 hamburgers and forever at the mercy of the weather gods in a small airplane. Now I don't think twice about finding an excuse to seek out a 4-napkin cheeseburger adjacent to an airstrip and pump liquid gold into my machine.

At the heart of the matter was life-balance. Unless you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth or savvy enough to marry money, getting to a place where you can entertain the thought of owning an airplane that you can fly to a second home on a nice lake requires a lot of hard work and luck. The energy behind my obsession with the perfect mission was redirected to a successful transition from military to civilian life in an industry I had zero experience. It would be an understatement to say that I could only have accomplished this with a supportive wife that empathetically explained to the children why daddy worked so much.

My 12 year old son, Keaton, loves the outdoors. Last year he killed his first deer. He is an avid fisherman and loves to camp. That is his passion. When flying is purely discretionary, owning an airplane that fulfills the family mission is critical to keeping your currency. Fortunately, I'm at a better place in my professional life and can start to make deposits for all the years I was taking withdrawals. Keaton and I have spent a small fortune on camping equipment over the last few months getting ready for the big event. He approached me with a simple request. "Dad, I want to take the airplane camping." Trust me; he was not considering the infield of Oshkosh. On Father's Day, I was overwhelmed with camping paraphernalia. He was zeroed in on an island in a lake we have never fished. We set course for Lake Kerr in northern North Carolina and found a wonderful cove that gave us a view of the sun setting behind our airplane. Keaton caught all the fish, I cleaned them and we cooked them together with a recipe he found on the internet. That night I taught him how to play blackjack under the dim light of one of the gifts I received. We could hear the lake water kissing the hull of the plane. It was a great experience and made memories no camera can accurately capture. The next "mission" is already in advanced planning stages.

Many of you probably share this orthodoxy. Airplane keys secured with a flotation device, paddle in the cabin, anchor, water rudder, bilge pump, hull plugs and retractable landing gear are not appropriate items on your preflight checklist. Someone out there will be the Jimmy Doolittle of Very Light Jets (VLJs). General aviation is full of possibilities. It is up to us to discover them!

I owned the world that hour as I rode over it.... free of the earth, free of the mountains, free of the clouds, but how inseparably I was bound to them.

Charles A. Lindberg on flying over the Rocky Mountains