My first flights were in my Uncle's Navion airplanes when I was probably 7 or 8. The flying bug never left. After a total of 15 years in the Navy and Marine Corps, I still had not realized the dream of flying and, instead, was becoming a workaholic!

My work life, managing e-Business and Information Technology work was full ... but I needed something that was FUN to do!

My wife surprised me with ground lessons through our local junior college for my birthday in 1998 and, by the end of the year, I was in the seat of a Cessna 150! I continued up the Cessna chain and flew a Cessna 172 for my Private Pilot check ride. I soon found the need for more payload so I moved up to Cessna 182 airplanes and began to fly these airplanes most of the time. The 182 became one of my favorite airplanes and I think it is a fantastic airplane (high-performance, an honest four seats, and no serious flaws).

Along California's central coast, we experience the "May gray" and "June gloom" of a marine layer that rolls in and often makes Ventura County's three airports overcast (it's not restricted to May and June but it is prevalent during the early Summer so the names fit). I pursued my Instrument rating. I was thinking of Navions so decided that some complex time would be good; I took my Instrument check ride in a Piper Arrow.

I wasn't really ready to buy an airplane when, after several years of waiting, my number came to the top of the hangar waiting list at Oxnard airport (KOXR) ... but I looked at the hangar anyway ... and took it ... and then realized that I had 60 days to get an airplane in that hangar ... registered in my name! I measured the hangar twice and compared the measurements to the dimensions of a Navion ... and I paid careful attention to the wingspan, length from spinner to tail, and height. I later learned that anyone measuring a Navion for a T-hangar should focus on the width of the horizontal stabilizer! (my horizontal stabilizer just barely fits into this hangar)

I had been watching Navions for several years and quickly found a functional, IFR-capable 1962 G model in Minnesota brokered by Hal Kading, N2443T. On February 7, 2003 after a pre-purchase inspection by Sierra Hotel Aero, I picked up 2443T at South St. Paul Fleming Field (MN).

May 2003: Navion 2443T at Santa Paula, CA (KSZP)

I needed 15 hours of dual time for insurance and Paul Thomas (another Rangemaster owner and flight instructor with tremendous experience) was willing to accompany me on the trip West. We flew a first leg to Scotts Bluff, Nebraska ... then on to a stop in blowing snow at Leadville, Colorado ... and then stayed overnight in Telluride. The next day, we continued on past Las Vegas, Nevada and flew into Santa Paula for a brief stop. It was a great experience!

July 2003: Navion 2443T in Fish Lake Valley, Nevada

From Ventura County (California) airports I fly to beautiful destinations:

• Big Bear Lake,
• Bishop,
• Catalina Island, and
• Oceano.

I also fly to my parents' farm in Fish Lake Valley, Nevada. Their 3/4-mile dirt driveway is a good Navion landing strip. In the photo at right, looking West from their house, Boundary Peak (the tallest mountain in Nevada at a little over 13,000 feet) is visible ... and further down the White Mountain range (off the above photo to the left / South), White Mountain (in California) is over 14,000 feet in elevation.

This high-desert (almost 5,000 foot elevation) location is part of the reason I wanted to step up from the 260 HP IO-470-H engine to a turbocharged 285 HP engine. You don't want to take off from here after 8:00 AM at gross weight on a hot August day with a normally-aspirated 260 HP engine.

July 2004: Navion 2443T gets a Wing Waxers cleaning at Shafter-Minter airport, California. Pictured: Paul Tonning (left) and Jon Hartman (right)

2443T has been cosmetically challenged for some time. I suspect that many airplane owners (like me and 43T's previous owner) tend to invest in things like engines and "core" systems. In the photo at left, we at least treated the airplane to a good cleaning! While the airplane was getting cleaned, Paul and I got to visit the airport's museum.

I combined my work with my avocation because no Navion Web sites existed with forums. The Navion Pilots Association was born out of this and I'm hopeful that it can be a great service to the Navion community. I'm always pleasantly surprised by the kind and helpful pilots, owners, mechanics, and other Navion enthusiasts with whom I come in contact.

It's been a great experience so far and I look forward to many more hours of flying fun!