The Mayor and I. (Life's little lessons)

The Oracle @ Delphi #4 5/11/06 - The Mayor and I. (Life's little lessons)

Many years ago, long before I began to fly I learned that it is better to be comfortable and anonymous than rich and famous. I've applied that lesson many times and in many ways. As it turns out I was practicing it the other week while I was at the airport. I was at an event that was aimed at helping children and their families put aside their realities for a few brief moments, to break the bonds that hold us to this earth and to be free (if only for a brief time).

Hot dog in hand, I sat on the grass, sipped a soda and listened to people pronounce what a great success this event was. I of course knew simple by the looks on the faces of the kids. I'm a simple guy, more fortunate than many, and less thanothers, I am fortunate enough to be able to fly and honored to be allowed to share that experience with others. When the speeches were over and the sounds of those flat fours and sixes had filled the air again, I returned to the flight line to once again mount my steed.

The sun had finally burned though the fog that earlier had threatened to ruin the fun. The kids and their parents where happy, and everyone was having fun. Then the operations person looked at me and said, "How would you like to fly the Mayor?"

I know that our airport (like most airports) in under constant pressure to being closed. The land could always be better used for low income housing, or a park or just about anything other than an airport. It is difficult to convince people how valuable the smaller airports are to a community. In a person?s day-to-day life, they never consider that the smaller airports are needed to bring supplies in after an emergency, or to fly critically ill patients to far away hospitals. It doesn?t oocur to the non-flying citizen that airports contribute to the communities that they serve, not only with taxes but with jobs. I saw my opportunity to help the mayor see at least some facets of those benefits. "Of course" I replied.

So we all strapped in started the engine and taxied out to the run-up. And then it happened...

I?m sitting on the taxiway, run up completed number 2 or three in sequence, and the Mayor as my ?co-pilot?, with the best seat in the house. An aircraft is just touching down, there is an aircraft on base and the aircraft that was previously holding short pipes up on the radio and announces "N1234 position and hold"...

As I sit with my engines at idle, I wath my dreams of beautiful day of flying turn to the things nightmares are made of. The words of my FAA CFI examiner are ringing loudly in my ears, "I never want to see you taxi into position and hold at an un-towered airport". The aircraft holding short cannot take off because there is an aircraft on the runway, and can?t possibly see the traffic on final that might or might not be using a radio. I realize that there is no more dangerous place on the entire airport at that moment than the place that aircraft just chose; with a load full of kids holding short, with a load of kids on base and the Mayor getting a front row seat (sitting on 88 gallons of 100LL) to an accident waiting to happen?

It didn't happen this time. Will it happen to you and your family next time?