ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

1000 Hours TTAF

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 was a milestone in my AirBike aviating career.  I want to share my achievement with you.

Following Tuesday's afternoon flight, my AirBike's accumulated flight time reached 1000 hours total time! That is an average of 60 flying hours per year over the last 16-1/2 years!  

Never in my wildest dreams upon finishing my AirBike in 1998 did I ever think that my life would be changed like it has been. Flying my AirBike started me on a path that opened up an entirely new world.

It was impossible to realize how much fun flying would be, how many places my little plane would take me, how many new friends I would make.  The places I traveled to were as exciting as the act of flying there. The situations challenged my imagination and led me to a level of self-confidence I had not known. Additionally, the satisfaction of planing and accomplishing cross-country trips, being a forum speaker at AirVenture and eventually entering the new horizons of publishing magazine articles and photographs were all extensions of flying and a way to share those experiences.

None of that would have happened if I didn't have my AirBike.

It has been an amazing ride! Thanks to all of you for being a part of my life these past 16 years. Our community of light plane aviators on this board provides a wonderful support system. It is fun sharing experiences with people who have the same passion.

Rock on!  Fly for fun!  God, I love this flying stuff!

Below are a couple photos of that milestone flight.

Paul D. Fiebich
a.k.a. AirBike Ace

Rock on, is right! Congrats!

I'm still just looking forward to the first flight of my MiniMAX.

Lynn

Thats the way to go...   Great job Paul.

Hello Paul and what fantastic news Paul..!!!

Congratulations...as as we say in the land down under....every hour of flight is NOT taken off your life span ...and in the words of others.....to share our thoughts and feelings of flight....

The exhilaration of flying is too keen, the pleasure too great, for it to be neglected as a sport.

— Orville Wright

I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Once you have learned to fly your plane, it is far less fatiguing to fly than it is to drive a car. You don't have to watch every second for cats, dogs, children, lights, road signs, ladies with baby carriages and citizens who drive out in the middle of the block against the lights. . . . Nobody who has not been up in the sky on a glorious morning can possibly imagine the way a pilot feels in free heaven.

— William T. Piper, president of Piper Aircraft Corporation

Flying makes me feel like a sex maniac in a whorehouse with a stack of $20 bills.

— Pancho Barnes

I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth into the air without knowing the uncertainty and the exhilaration of first-born adventure.

— Beryl Markham

I'll run my hand gently over the wing of a small airplane and say to him, "This plane can teach you more things and give you more gifts than I ever could. It won't get you a better job, a faster car, or a bigger house. But if you treat it with respect and keep your eyes open, it may remind you of some things you used to know — that life is in the moment, joy matters more than money, the world is a beautiful place, and that dreams really, truly are possible." And then, because airplanes speak in a language beyond words, I'll take him up in the evening summer sky and let the airplane show him what I mean.

— Lane Wallace, 'Eyes of a Child,' Flying magazine, February 2000

Aviators live by hours, not by days.
'
Well done ACE....cheers Arthur

Congratulations Paul on a job well done. Tomorrow you start on the second 1000 hrs. Go out and make some more memories.                                                        

Good Job!!  Now I want the next 1000 hours done in half the time! Now get off your ass and fly that thing!!

That's a BIG DEAL Paul!! We all know how hard it is to find the hours that we wish we could put on out great little planes!!

Tom

Cross Country flying is in my goals for this next flying season because you inspire me!!

Congratulations Paul! What a great achievement,
Two other things surprise me: First your plane longevity, it shows she´s a tough cookie and second how  difficult is to add air time in a hard weather environment in little plane like yours.
Arthur's post, what a great way to commemorate your achievement. Love Lane Wallace's note.

Great pictures, and congratulations on your milestone - (hourstone?)

Hope to be chasing you on those hours before too long. The rain let up for a couple of days and it was very tempting to forget the legal and do the possible.

In your pictures I see a solution or two for a couple of minor issues on my Tandem Air Bike. Very encouraging, thanks for your effort.

Great looking plane.

Terrain looks familiar. Where are you flying?

Remember to dive out of the sun.

Hi Paul
Congratulations, what an accomplishment. I, like all the rest of the members I am sure, have always enjoyed your flight stories. It has been great and I wish you another 1000 safe hours.. Please never stop with the pictures and stories. Again, great job. We should make you our Minimax ambassador.
Bob

I'm an avid aviation stamp collector and thought I would share stamp pictures of two of my Hero's when I was growing up.

Congratulations Paul. I may not know you personally..with respect and proud of you, just like a father proud of his son.
But then, considering you as my mentor for job well done.

Phil

Way to go.  What a milestone.  May you continue to make new memories on your way to the next 1000 hrs.

Very good on the first 1000 and much better on the next 1000. Congratulations
BobN

Thanks for all your comments of support and recognition.  I appreciate your thoughtfulness. It HAS been a great ride and it will continue! I wish all of you continued flying experiences of fun and enjoyment. At the current rate of flying, I will be age 86 when I reach the next 1000 mile mark, maybe I had better speed up my annual flying hourly rate?

Sorry about the delay in making the above reflection, but I have had a lot of difficulty getting on and staying on the Board to make a comment.  Alan has been working with me.

Last weekend was another cross-country trip, this one to Gage (GAG) Oklahoma to visit other AirBikers. Total flying time was 8.1 hours going there, coming back and flying with those fellows over the Oklahoma countryside just for fun. More on this later.

Paul Fiebich

Paul,
Belated as it may be; I also want to add my congratulations and admiration for your accomplishment. It is truly phenomenal. I especially enjoyed your post regarding the impact your airbike flying has had on your life experiences and on your perspective of self and of the world. And of course, I too, enjoy your stories. Your accomplishments are very inspirational to most of us. Thank you for being such a great role model.
Tony