Page 12 - Volume 16 Number 12

The PLG argued UCC New Mexico law ownership and lien rights in Delaware Federal bankruptcy court. The judge was amused and accepted enough of our argument to derail the originally planned Chapter 11 asset sale. Our claims remained in force even through the subsequent Chapter 7 asset sale. Ultimately, we would relinquish our claims on our partially built aircraft just recently, but not before quelling the indignity of our lost dreams.After the bankruptcy, I recalled the sensation of jet flight. It was (and remains) intoxicating. I figure there may be perhaps a thousand pilots that are rated, equipped, and insured to fly a jet solo. Somehow, I couldn’t let that dream go. Some of my PLG brethren bought second-hand Eclipse aircraft to keep their aviation dreams alive. Things would be different for me. Amongst my customer travels, I stopped in to visit Mark Huffstutler from Sierra Industries in Uvalde, Texas. He counseled that a Cessna Citation was the aircraft for me. He ushered me out to the flight line, we climbed into the cockpit of one of his modified Cessna Citations, and blasted off for a short-but-convincing test flight.The Sensible AnswerI immediately felt comfortable. It was an aircraft I could afford, from a company likely to survive, and supported better than any other light jet out there. The more blatant blemishes of the Eclipse and itsmanufacturer seemed corrected in an aircraft 30 years older. Sure, it burned more fuel, but this aircraft could comfortably fit my family that had by now outgrown the diminutive Eclipse. Quite simply, I could not justify the extra cost and jeopardy of buying a second-hand Eclipse unless I could envision flying more than 250 hours per year and had the stomach to lose even more money if the factory closed again.In September of 2009, I purchased a Cessna 501SP. Sierra Industries trained me over the course of a week to fly the aircraft. I recalled my excitement during Eclipse simulator-based training. Flying the actual aircraft was much better. There was more incentive to do it right. It was a more realistic sensation, dropping at 10,000 feet per minute down during the emergency descent. Ultimately, as my training came to a close, I was certain I could fly the aircraft. My subsequent satisfactory check ride added to that confidence.I now owned a jet aircraft and had the appropriate credentials on my ticket. Ready to go flying? Not quite yet. For some reason, the insurers were more than a little skeptical of this pilot, newly transitioned from the Bonanza to the Citation. I worked with Steve Johns and Ernest De Spain to garner insurance. They deftly imposed a co-pilot requirement for the first year. In retrospect, I believe their requirement was well placed. I flew with10 • TWIN & TURBINEDECEMBER 2012