My Hobby

I earned my Private Pilot license in March of 1996 -- one of my all time dumbest things to do.  Mostly because is so expensive and takes time away from the family.   But I love doing it.  I currently hold a Commercial Pilot certificate, and ratings for Single and Multi Engine Land and Instrument Flight Rules, with endorsements for Complex Aircraft and High Perfomance, which means I can fly fixed wing airplanes that weight less than 12,500 pounds and have one or more engines.  I am also qualified to operate those aircraft in clouds.  The aircraft can also have retractable landing gear or engines with more than 200 horsepower.

We finally got an airplane and it's a great airplane for us, a 1963 Cessna 205.  I bought half, and Regal Air bought half, and we formed R and R Avaiation to manage the leaseback of the plane.  It has a custom engine engine built by Steve Knopp of Camano Island, and an upgraged instrument panel by Avion.  Avion was not very helpful.  The powder coating on the main panel was soft enough to rub off with a fingernail, we waited on them for the sub-panel for nearly 4 months, and once it was installed they admitted that there was no FAA approval for the panel.  It also has a new instrument stack that includes a new Garmin GNS430.

The best feature is seating for six.  Now we can go places together in the plane!

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