Airplanes!

I don't think I've ever blogged about something that, around our house, is a huge deal: airplanes. Not only is J a career airline pilot by day, but he flies our airplane around during his time off. You could say he's obsessed.

So this morning I was driving to the Y when I spotted 3 Stearmans in the pattern. If that carries no name recognition for you, here's a sample:





I've always had a love affair with this plane, even before I met and married J. To me, just seeing one evokes images of a simpler place and time. Yes, I know they were developed for the military and primarily used as military aircraft, but I love them nonetheless. I once told J that if he bought a Stearman I'd get my pilot's license.

Now, mind you, we have a perfectly nice airplane:





It's called a CJ-6A and it's a Chinese military trainer. Ours was built in 1982 which confounds most people; most want to place it in the 50s or earlier. That's probably what attracted J to it: it looks old. It's a great airplane that's relatively cheap to own and maintain. Plus, it's capable of aerobatics which means J can go up and do loops and rolls in it.

But I'm afraid that seeing the Stearmans at the airport today has re-awakened J's desire to have one. It doesn't help that an airport buddy told him a couple weeks ago that there is a Stearman sitting idle in someone's estate that the lawyers just want to get rid of. He's promised J the right of first refusal. He's been talking about it for weeks now and seeing these today, he was practically drooling.

So, there may be a new old airplane in our future. I don't know how things will work out. I may have to start studying for my pilot's license test! I'll let you know.