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- Joined
- Nov 26, 2001
- Posts
- 3,374
I used to own this great little airplane - a Cessna Hawk XP. Two friends of mine and I bought it together back when I had about 100 hours. It was white with red and blue stripes down the side, and an Elvis red interior. The interior was pretty shocking at first, but I grew accustomed to it and even learned to love it. The rest of the airplane was an absolute gem. Low time Continental IO360 (big for my experience at the time), fuel injected (whoa!) with a constant speed prop. And, 210 hp. Never had a thing go wrong with it. Not a leak of oil to be found anywhere and we didn't carry any squawks. Compression was good and the engine just purred. It was an airplane you could have confidence in, flying over the mountains, in the clouds or over the water.
We didn't buy the airplane to build flight time for the purpose of becoming hireable. We were all professionals in our respective fields, and flying was a hobby for us. We bought the airplane because we wanted to, well, own an aircraft, go where we wanted to go when we wanted to go, and we wanted to know the condition of the airplane we were flying. We also wanted to save some money and get a good value for our money. We searched for weeks for the right aircraft and finally settled on one in Texas. The airplane we found had very few owners. It started its life as a sightseeing aircraft in Hawaii, of all places, having been ferried out here new, then crated back to Texas when the flight school finally sold it.
After everything checked out in the annual (our first learning experience), my partner and I flew to Texas to pick it up. Me, 80 hours and halfway through my instrument rating. Him, maybe 90 hours and no instrument rating. We made it as far back as Chino, California, where I had to call my CFI and have him come rescue us for the ILS back into foggy Long Beach.
I did my first "real" trips in that airplane, including the first flight from Texas to California. I learned something on every single flight I took with 8ND. Some of the trips were more memorable than others...
-A two week Mexico trip (La Paz, Loreto, Mulege, San Felipe and Tijuana) where I learned about the importance of calling ahead to make sure airports have fuel, and learned the hazards of flying in a country with no weather reporting when a tropical storm shows up. I also learned how to catch lobsters, spear hunt and had my first taste of tequila.
-A trip up the California coast with no schedule, stopping at all the little airports that caught my eye. Shelter Cove, a small airport that was on the cover of the AOPA magazine that month. Eureka, the home of a bed and breakfast establishment on a small peninsula, where I found 20 sand dollars in pristine condition on a beach that looked like no one had ever walked on it before. Harris Ranch, where I enjoyed a nice meal and a dip in the pool. Oceano, where I pitched my tent next to my airplane and stayed a while, checking out the sand dunes and the fan man.
-And, my first trip to Catalina. Enjoying tri tip, and guiltily sampling buffalo burgers while actual buffalo are roaming just a few feet away. Flying back and seeing whales breaching below.
-Flying into my first airshow at Salinas. Flying Young Eagles over their homes and schools, letting them have a go at flying an aircraft. Flying several Angel Flight missions, in particular, a boy with stomach cancer who lived near Napa that had to be flown down to UCLA Medical Center on a regular basis, and a woman in Monterey who had to be flown back from chemo treatments.
That airplane showed me the joys of being a pilot. It was during that time that I decided I wanted to do nothing else but fly an airplane. Especially if someone would pay me to do it.
After a while, I was hired to fly for a regional. I moved across the country for an upgrade, other partners had babies, and then 9/11 happened. Eventually, as life and money got in the way, we were forced to sell 8ND. Here's a picture of the airplane a couple of years after we sold it.
http://www.aandeflyingclub.org/modules.php?set_albumName=maint_11_03&id=100_0061&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
We sold the airplane to a flying club. I just discovered this week that the aircraft was in an accident, apparently totalled.
I always thought I would fly 8ND again. Now the opportunity is lost.
There are at least 6 flightinfo members that flew 8ND with me. I know some Aloha pilots have flown it, too, as I've meet two captains this week who flew it back in the early 80s while it was in Hawaii. Thought I'd put the word out there for anyone else that has flown it. Great memories for a great airplane.
Now, the burning question - should I buy another airplane, now that my first love is gone?
We didn't buy the airplane to build flight time for the purpose of becoming hireable. We were all professionals in our respective fields, and flying was a hobby for us. We bought the airplane because we wanted to, well, own an aircraft, go where we wanted to go when we wanted to go, and we wanted to know the condition of the airplane we were flying. We also wanted to save some money and get a good value for our money. We searched for weeks for the right aircraft and finally settled on one in Texas. The airplane we found had very few owners. It started its life as a sightseeing aircraft in Hawaii, of all places, having been ferried out here new, then crated back to Texas when the flight school finally sold it.
After everything checked out in the annual (our first learning experience), my partner and I flew to Texas to pick it up. Me, 80 hours and halfway through my instrument rating. Him, maybe 90 hours and no instrument rating. We made it as far back as Chino, California, where I had to call my CFI and have him come rescue us for the ILS back into foggy Long Beach.
I did my first "real" trips in that airplane, including the first flight from Texas to California. I learned something on every single flight I took with 8ND. Some of the trips were more memorable than others...
-A two week Mexico trip (La Paz, Loreto, Mulege, San Felipe and Tijuana) where I learned about the importance of calling ahead to make sure airports have fuel, and learned the hazards of flying in a country with no weather reporting when a tropical storm shows up. I also learned how to catch lobsters, spear hunt and had my first taste of tequila.
-A trip up the California coast with no schedule, stopping at all the little airports that caught my eye. Shelter Cove, a small airport that was on the cover of the AOPA magazine that month. Eureka, the home of a bed and breakfast establishment on a small peninsula, where I found 20 sand dollars in pristine condition on a beach that looked like no one had ever walked on it before. Harris Ranch, where I enjoyed a nice meal and a dip in the pool. Oceano, where I pitched my tent next to my airplane and stayed a while, checking out the sand dunes and the fan man.
-And, my first trip to Catalina. Enjoying tri tip, and guiltily sampling buffalo burgers while actual buffalo are roaming just a few feet away. Flying back and seeing whales breaching below.
-Flying into my first airshow at Salinas. Flying Young Eagles over their homes and schools, letting them have a go at flying an aircraft. Flying several Angel Flight missions, in particular, a boy with stomach cancer who lived near Napa that had to be flown down to UCLA Medical Center on a regular basis, and a woman in Monterey who had to be flown back from chemo treatments.
That airplane showed me the joys of being a pilot. It was during that time that I decided I wanted to do nothing else but fly an airplane. Especially if someone would pay me to do it.
After a while, I was hired to fly for a regional. I moved across the country for an upgrade, other partners had babies, and then 9/11 happened. Eventually, as life and money got in the way, we were forced to sell 8ND. Here's a picture of the airplane a couple of years after we sold it.
http://www.aandeflyingclub.org/modules.php?set_albumName=maint_11_03&id=100_0061&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
We sold the airplane to a flying club. I just discovered this week that the aircraft was in an accident, apparently totalled.
I always thought I would fly 8ND again. Now the opportunity is lost.
There are at least 6 flightinfo members that flew 8ND with me. I know some Aloha pilots have flown it, too, as I've meet two captains this week who flew it back in the early 80s while it was in Hawaii. Thought I'd put the word out there for anyone else that has flown it. Great memories for a great airplane.
Now, the burning question - should I buy another airplane, now that my first love is gone?
