Hello BT Community,
My name is Sam, and I have been a long-time lurker on this forum. After more than a year of learning from and enjoying the contributions of many of you, I have finally decided it is time to introduce myself. Aviation has been a lifelong passion of mine but I am a low-time rusty pilot who hasn't been at the controls since 2012.
I didn’t feel like I had much to contribute. I now realize that there is more to BT than just aviation and that I have value to add. If anything my perspective may be under represented. I came here as a lover of all things Beech, especially the V-tail Bo but I’ve never even sat in one.
I’ve had a long career as a professional drummer performing all over, 160+ dates per year. I live in Los Angeles but I started flying in the mid-90s in my hometown of Tulsa where I soloed a C150 at 18. My dad is retired from American's TUL maintenance base and my grandfather was an engineer at Rockwell and McDonnell Douglas.
I had an uncle with a Navajo in Texas and another had a Cherokee in OK.
I’m really just a good ol’ boy who found himself in a big city because of a love for writing, recording and performing music.
I finally passed my checkride in the mid-2000s after joining a flying club out of VNY. My touring schedule took over, and I found myself flying less and less. I didn’t feel safe flying so little, I often had weeks in between. I miss flying terribly, although I have built an elaborate sim and have been an active contributor to the flight sim community designing accurate models of airports I've visited. It's a poor substitute for being in the cockpit. I live between SMO and VNY so I’m always enjoying a stream of GA, commercial and military flying over. I'm sure I've looked up to see some of you flying over!
Now in my late 40s, my finances are more stable but time is still a factor. I would hate to start back up only to hang it up again. If I learned one thing from you guys it's that I made the right decision to go on hiatus when I no longer felt I was safely staying current.
I daydream about getting an instrument rating and maybe one day joining a partnership or small club with anything I can afford.
I'm not sure what my path back to the cockpit is. I am grateful to have been a part of this community and hope to contribute something worthwhile. Thank you for allowing me to be a
fly(er) on the wall for so long, and I look forward to participating in the BT community.
Best regards,
Sam