Yesterday morning, April 24**, 2017, I drove to Purdue Aviation* in West Lafayette, IN to meet, John, my brother, rent a Cessna 172 and fly to Danville, Illinois to fulfill his currency requirements and brush the rust off my flying skills. The weather was perfect: calm winds, unlimited visibility and not a cloud in the sky! During the pre-flight inspection, John couldn't find the plane's key. As a result, we changed planes and ended up flying N51204**.
We overflew very familiar terrain with the exception of the addition of hundreds of wind turbines scattered like foreign white invaders marching over the pristine farmlands sliding below.
My downwind at DNV was wide and low; and the landing a bit bouncy. The second was a better, however still a little low. And the third? Not too bad!
After turning a right downwind at 1600' MSL and flying an extended final to Runway 10 at LAF, John greased the landing. Upon shutdown the Hobbs Meter read 7242.43**. We had flown 1.3 hours.
*Fifty (50) years before, I landed at Lafayette Aviation (now Purdue Aviation). It was the first leg of my first solo cross-country from the University of Illinois' School of Aviation based at Willard Airport south of Champaign-Urbana! That day, as yesterday's, opened a new chapter in my life!!!
**Over time, the number 24 has become very special to me. It is one of God's fingerprints (one of the signs of His reoccurring presence) in my life. That is one of the reasons that I chose N724DT as the tail number of our LongEZ. These 'coincidences' are personal faith builders, signifying God's nearness, guidance and protection! Not planned, nor even expected, these rare occurrences are faith-building Sparkles that highlight my life journey, as they energize me and propel me forward with a song of thanksgiving in my heart. Sparkles of many shapes and forms have kept this 42 year-long project alive!