The whole scenario has turned out to be something that would almost be worthy of a book!
Not to say that's the only cause, but it's a major one - let's just say that its not a lack of business, but the "other factors" involved that after pushing against them for 3 years, you get to a point of saying enough is enough.
We're not looking at this as a loss or a failure, or even as not fulfilling our dreams. We wanted to operate a DC-3 on commercial passenger work, and we did. We also upset a lot of the "other factors" along the way...
Walking into the office with a C of A application and being asked point blank for ID to check I'm old enough and "do my parents know I'm doing this?" - Not only have I been able to fly a DC-3, but I've been able to fly it with my old man which has been some of the most enjoyable flying I will ever do...you don't get luckier than that.
"These things belong behind glass cases in a museum, and that's where this should be" - now she holds a certificate of airworthiness.
"You'll never have an AOC issued for this aeroplane" - guess what there's a copy of sitting in a frame in my office?
"You'll never carry passengers in it" - I have my stockpile of letters, emails and cards of thanks...and the images of passengers who sat back and shed a quiet tear as memories came back to them of what flying was really like or as they fulfilled their own dreams of flying in a machine like the Dak.
Trust me, the list goes on...
Its all of the above that we're celebrating this weekend - not what we didn't get to do, but rather what we actually acheived. Its not the end of anything as such, merely the closing of a chapter and seeing what the next one is.
Yes, it hasn't gone on nearly as long as we'd hoped...but as you say Tinpis...this is just the first time around...
