Our Faithful Steed

I've had my pilot's license since I turned 17--my first license was actually dated my 17th birthday--even though it isn't something I would ever consider doing as a job. Some things are too much fun to ruin by doing them for money. Shortly after we were married, I convinced She Who Puts Up With Me to get her license, too. Not long after that, I got my instrument rating, and we realized that it made sense for us to buy an airplane.

So, in 1995, we found a 1979 Piper Archer II , a basic four-place single-engine airplane with enough oomph to be fun to fly, but not so complex as to be expensive or difficult to fly. It was literally owned by a farmer who flew it only occasionally, and was willing to be convinced to sell it. Mechanically, the airplane was in excellent condition, but it needed new paint, upholstery, and radios.

Airplanes are different than cars, in that a properly maintained small airplane will last almost forever. Or perhaps, the maintenance required of an airplane is such that, if done properly, the airplane will last almost forever. So, buying a 16-year-old airplane is not quite the same as buying a 16-year-old car. The airplane has many many years of reliable service left in it.

After buying the airplane, we gave it a new paint job, redid the interior, and completely replaced the avionics. When we had it painted, we also got a new tail number. N620CP: 620 is our wedding date, and CP is our initials. How sweet: a romantic tail number.

A new prop and an overhauled engine came along a couple years later. The engine overhaul was expected; the new prop was courtesy of our insurance company after a very minor mishap involving taxiing into a runway light.

Over the years, we've taken our plane as far East as White Plains, NY, and as far West as Great Falls, Montana. The most recent long trip was a business trip to Cincinnati, with a stop in Chicago on the way home. It would have been impractical to fly this trip commercially, since the three-legged trip would have been priced as three expensive one-way tickets.

Now, however, we are faced with a problem. Since the twins were born, we haven't been able to take the whole family flying. We literally don't have enough seats in the airplane, and we don't have enough available load to haul all the weight. This airplane is not a station wagon; it is a compact sedan at best.

So, at some point, dependent at least partly on the financial success of my company, our airplane will have to go. The most practical airplane for our clan is a Cessna 206 , which is roughly the airborne equivalent of a minivan: six seats, and it carries a ton. Unfortunately, the Cessna 206 is neither particularly attractive to look at, nor particularly fun to fly. It goes a little faster than our Archer, but where the Archer flies like a Honda (responsive, predictable, and reasonably fun), the Cessna 206 flies like a dump truck (big, heavy, and clearly utilitarian).

My choice of airplanes right now would be a Cirrus SR-22, a new model from a startup aircraft manufacturer based in Duluth (really, I'm not joking). The SR-22 has almost everything I could want, and is fast, economical, and comfortable. The SR-22 is almost perfect as a plane for personal business travel, but it has one fatal flaw for hauling my family around: It has only four seats, and we have five people.

Cirrus, are you listening? I'd really like a six-seat version of the SR-22.

But until then...My dream is that my company will be really successful, and we'll become a two-airplane family: the SR-22 for me, and the Cessna 206 to haul the horde.

Or, even better, the company will be really successful, and we'll compromise on a Cessna Citation X . Dream on....