The Ownership Agreement
Hang on!
Chad and I have a long-standing joke: If it flies, floats, or fornicates, you should rent it. A terrible joke, really, but we’ve always found it amusing. Clearly, though, we haven’t taken our own advice. We’ve been in an ownership agreement—for better or worse—for 33 years.
Take the boat, for example. We had one for about 15 years. It wasn’t big, it wasn’t flashy, but it was just enough to tow the kids on an inner tube while they alternated between shrieking with joy and shrieking in terror. My favorite boating moment was our friend Bill falling into the water while wearing a self-deploying life jacket. He bobbed to the surface like an inflatable parade float. That alone might have justified boat ownership.
The last remaining piece of our joke was an airplane. And now, well… we own one of those, too. I blame Randy—Chad’s law partner—for this. But I have to admit, it’s been kind of fun.
Randy and Chad bought a Pilatus PC12, a propeller plane that moves surprisingly fast. It seats six comfortably, with enough room for luggage and, presumably, regrets. People always ask, How far can you go in that thing? My answer: Anywhere this side of the Mississippi. Truthfully, it’s more about how long you can hold your bladder. (You are not allowed to use the toilet on the plane because then you must clean it.)
When Chad and I first flew in the Pilatus, I had a sobering realization—if something happened to the pilot, Chad should probably know what to do. He had started flight lessons before we had kids but never finished. This reignited his interest, and off he went. With Chad, though, interest quickly escalates to obsession. He explained it like Boy Scout merit badges—earn one, immediately start working on the next.
So, one by one, he knocked them out: private pilot’s license, instrument rating, commercial license. And now? He’s already working on becoming an instructor.
He trained at our local flight school in Rock Hill, but half the time, the plane was broken. This annoyed Chad. And when Chad gets annoyed, he finds a solution.
Naturally, that solution was to buy a small Cessna. – We call it the baby plane.
February 2024
Chad got his private pilot’s license, so we took the baby plane to Charleston for dinner. It was my first real flight in the plane, and I have to admit—it was pretty cool. We landed at Charleston’s big commercial airport, where all the private jets and airliners were coming and going, and I described our entrance as a Ford Fiesta in the sky. We taxied in, parked our tiny baby plane next to a row of sleek private jets, jumped into an Uber, and had a fantastic dinner.
I started to think: This is actually kind of fun.
The only real downside to general aviation? Half the time, the planes are broken, or it’s too windy to fly.
Fast-forward One Year
Of course, we’ve now added another plane to the inventory.
The biggest issue? About 80% of small aircraft aren’t built for someone Chad’s size. He’s just too tall, and most of his height is in his torso, so he physically can’t fit. The other issue? I wanna go fast.
So, naturally, we bought a Vision Jet from a family in Mississippi. It goes fast and Chad and fit into it.
It’s become pretty clear that flying is going to be a major part of our life. So, this week, I took my first discovery flight—not necessarily to become a pilot, but at least to understand how the radios work. I’m sure I won’t rack up merit badges as fast as Chad, but after all these years, it’s obvious why our relationship works: we both love a challenge.
Crosswind Notes.
After spending the past year around pilots and aviation enthusiasts, I’ve come to believe that flying is something ingrained—either it’s in your blood, or it’s not.
For Chad, it absolutely is. His biological father and grandfather were both pilots, and he’s always had an interest in flying. He would have joined the Air Force if not for two things: his height and his vision. The military, it turns out, prefers pilots who can both fit in the cockpit and see where they’re going.
Chad’s biological grandfather, Ernest Charles Fiebelkorn (December 12, 1922 – July 6, 1950), was a decorated fighter pilot, credited with shooting down nine aircraft during World War II. That made him the highest-scoring ace of the 20th Fighter Group. He was later killed in action during the Korean War.
I, on the other hand, do not have this deep-seated aviation gene. But I do like to go fast, and I do like to eat at good restaurants. So, I think this flying life might just work out after all.
