I'm not sure if what I'm going to post here is appropriate for BCP, but since I feel part of this community, I wanted to share my journey.
On that note, Zane, just holler if I veer too far off course in my (mostly visual) ramblings.

I'll start with a question I asked myself many times:

How did I get into flying?
Even after all these years, it's still a mystery to me.

Well, no matter how, I don't regret a single minute of it.

Good to see you back Wolf!

Those were the days....



The first airliner I ever saw: an Air France DC-4.
First I heard the low rumble of her four radial engines as she passed over our house on downwind, then I got to know her “up close” at the Nuremberg airport.

I hardly noticed the two taildraggers in front of the big bird, which were called "sport planes" in Germany at the time. No, for me they weren't "real airplanes".

Since German pilots (and therefore Lufthansa) were only allowed to fly to Berlin again after reunification, PanAm, Air France and BEA provided all commercial air traffic from West Germany into Berlin’s airports. From Nuremberg Air France and PanAm began their service with the DC-4 which (in the case of PanAm at least) was soon replaced with the DC-6B.

Round Tail – Square Tail, A Metaphor For Parallel Worlds?




Round tail – straight tail, this topic often sparks a lively discussion between Cessna tailwheel pilots.

When I stopped in Escalante, UT on my trip out west, they were nothing more than a visual backdrop for a nice conversation and a reminder that I’ve sometimes used them as a metaphor for parallel worlds (or lives I could have imagined living…)

From Silent To Powered Flight





I came to gliding by chance and to powered flight by an irresistible offer.

As I mentioned in an earlier post the why and the how I got bitten by the aviation bug was and remains a mystery.
There I also told the story of why and how I became a glider pilot. Getting a PPL for powered aircraft was completely out of reach financially for me in Germany at the time.

But when I moved to the US for a post-doc position, the Universe must have decided that it was time for me to take the next step in my flying.
A friendly FAA employee who issued my US-glider license encouraged me to get a power licenses, as well, as flying “real” airplanes was much cheaper in the US than in Europe.

His comment got me thinking and a couple of weeks later I had my first lesson in a Piper Tomahawk.

The fact that I got my hands on the controls of a Cessna 170A shortly before my return to Europe was – in retrospect – another act of cosmic providence. And a sign that decades later this particular type of a taildragger would play the dominant role in my life as aviator.

When opportunity gives you a tiny nudge, you should always pay attention and give in to spontaneity.

I'm glad I did that that day - and connected a bush pilot from Alaska with mountain flying in the Pyrenees.

Memories of a short fling, er short flight, with the yellow brand… LOL




A soaring friend invited me to join him on a quick trip around the neighborhood in a Piper L4.

Beautiful day, impeccably maintained oldtimer.

It was such a wonderfully relaxing experience to pilot a classic called “Grasshopper” in 1000 ft across green pastures.

Not having a throttle is not the only thing that distinguishes flying a glider from flying an airplane.




Is it the same whether you land a glider or an airplane with the engine off?

Not really.

Flying gliders or airplanes involves different mental states.
And that applies not only to landings.

This is great wolf. Thanks for taking the time to share your story.

I’m excited to see where you’re gonna end up with your 170 this summer! I’m thinking Alaska!

When work and passion came together.



It took some time until a Skywagon appeared in my life.
And when it did it was during one of those rare moments when work and passion come together: during a sabbatical at NCAR, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, where we studied how thunderstorm clouds became lightning generators (using an instrumented glider towed up by the mighty C185).





For him, it was a gigantic adrenaline rush in the service of science when he flew the Explorer into those towering cumulus clouds. (see also the IMAX movie “Stormchasers”).

The Power Of Dreams






Dreams can be persistent and powerful.
Some never give up when it comes to addressing an issue.

Take my boyhood dream, for example. It lay dormant for more than fifty years, and when it finally resurfaced, it still had enough power to propel me into action.

When I started to take my dream seriously...





And then came the moment when I convinced myself that there was actually a chance of realizing my dream - which meant convincing myself to sacrifice a little nest egg - and I gave myself permission to do something about it and jumped on the internet to search for a used Cessna 170.

140eagles wrote:When work and passion came together.



It took some time until a Skywagon appeared in my life.
And when it did it was during one of those rare moments when work and passion come together: during a sabbatical at NCAR, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, where we studied how thunderstorm clouds became lightning generators (using an instrumented glider towed up by the mighty C185).





For him, it was a gigantic adrenaline rush in the service of science when he flew the Explorer into those towering cumulus clouds. (see also the IMAX movie “Stormchasers”).

What’s cool use for a glider

Also first time seeing static wicks on a glider lol

Very interesting

How I found my 170




“It seems like everyone wants a 170″ I was told, and ” the nice ones are snatched up very quickly”.

This made my search much more complicated. After all, I didn't live in the USA and I didn't live in a "suitable" time zone. So I had to find one before it officially came onto the market , and I used every avenue available to me to do so.

And in the end I lucked out.

My first rendezvous with Whiskyblue...



...was a blind date, so to speak.
I had bought her sight unseen, which meant that I hadn’t seen her. But someone I trusted had not only seen her, but also worked on her and even flown her.
So all was good.
The date was set for 7:30 am, the day after I touched down at Boston’s Logan Airport.
Was I nervous? Naa, not really!
Curious and excited would be the appropriate words to describe my feelings, no wonder after all these days, well, months of searching.

Off to the first adventure with my bird...



And then the day had come, the day I would set off on a journey I had dreamed of as a boy.

Whiskyblue was loaded and refueled, the weather checked, nothing could stop me now.
Take-off was at 9:55 a.m. EDT on August 16, 2019 - an epic journey had begun.

Will Engine Trouble Prevent A Second Adventure ?

When I came back from my camping trip through the eastern USA after just over two weeks, I was hooked.
I wanted more!

After all, in my dream I had been on the road - or rather in the air - for 3 months!

Yes, there were still a few bucks in the travel fund, but would they get me through one last adventure?

And what about that hiccup of the engine?

Whiskyblue is going to get an upgrade

Those two and a half weeks flying across the eastern United States and camping under the wing were not only a wonderful experience, they also confirmed that I had made the right choice in buying a Cessna 170B.

She was just what I had always dreamed of.

But dreams, desires, fantasies always keep pushing: Better!  More!  Longer!

So when I made plans for a second, longer (!), trip I asked myself: How can I make Whiskyblue better?

Making it mine - panel upgrade

Upgrading or modifying an aircraft is not only an attempt to adapt it to a particular flying style, a particular mission, but often also reflects a desire to comply with individual preferences and manifest a personal taste.

To get a bigger engine rather than overhauling the O-300 was definitely mission driven: I wanted to be able to take off safely from short backcountry strips at higher elevations.

My desire to give Whiskyblue a personal touch played a bigger role when I was looking at modernizing the panel.

Engine upgrade - a new experience

Weighing up the pros and cons of an engine upgrade and making a decision can take quite a while.
Stating the conclusion, on the other hand, is only a matter of seconds: Let's do it!

Accompanying the entire project from start to finish had yet another, completely different time horizon, and doing this from a distance of 3700 miles was a totally new experience for me.

There was a lot to learn, a lot to look forward to, a lot of anticipation built up and also a few frustrations to overcome - it's all part of it, I think.