A Father's Gift (& L-16 Stuff Too!)

Greetings, comrades! Happy Father's Day to all those dads, grand-dads, great-grand-dads, etc, out there. On this day, I wanted to reflect on my great man who got me into aviation in my first place.

My dad, Jeff Hancock, is not a pilot. For the one thing he is not, related to aviation, there are a million things he is. A WWII enthusiast, warbird fanatic, photographer, model-maker, artist, orator...the list goes on. My father grew up building plastic warplanes, taking photos at airshows, and reading countless books about "things with wings" (of WWII vintage in particular.) It only makes sense that his obsession would be passed on to me, his son.

As I've mentioned before on this blog, my dad was a volunteer at the National Warplane Museum for a few years before I was born. As a result, I made my 1st visit to the museum at only a few weeks old. From here, I was "hooked." I would continue to attend the museum with dad for years. Sitting in his baby-back carrier while he gave tours, or observing agape while he used my old (clean) cloth diapers to help polish the B-17G "Fuddy Duddy." As soon as I became old enough, I began to volunteer at the museum myself, and I still do today.

My 1st Visit!

Now, what my dad has done for me goes beyond just the museum. Dad gave me my life, not only physically, but spiritually as well. He gave me my purpose, flying. Every time I fly, my father is first in my mind. Flying the L-16, as I have, is the single-greatest honor I have achieved. I don't lie when I say that as an infant, touring the museum with dad, I'd see that L-16 and think "someday, I will fly that." I believed in myself, but dad has always believed in me even more. For this, I am forever thankful. Love ya, pop!

"In other news!" Yesterday, I flew the L-16 down to Perry-Warsaw (01G) for their "Wings & Wheels" fly-in. I took fellow museum volunteer Bob C. with me. We had a blast!

6/18/16 L-16 Flight Summary (D52>>>01G>>>D52)

1.) Depart D52 (Geneseo)

2.) Arrive 01G (Perry-Warsaw)

3.) Depart 01G (Perry-Warsaw)

4.) Arrive D52 (Geneseo)

Until next time, "Keep 'Em Flying," and "Never, Never, Never Give Up."

FAA Instrument Rating Checkride = Super Double-Secret Date
6/18 Flight Time Logged = 0.9 Hrs
Total Flight Time = 225.9 Hrs

Total Flight Time to Commercial License = 24.1 Hrs