Flying in an airshow is fun, but it is a lot of work. Although I enjoyed the rush of the 8-9 minutes of my performance, the memories that fill my mind of my airshow career are those of long flights over changing terrain, the great conversations with people everywhere I stopped, and the chance encounters that changed me forever.

 

Although they say you can never go back, this trip at least recaptured some of the beauty, wonder, and change that made my earlier wanderings so memorable. I now have a new slew of memories to last me for a few more years, until I take off "Flyabout" again. By then, my sons should be old enough to join me, so I won't have to do it alone ever again.

 

I continue to be amazed at how few planes there are in the sky. Sure, the sky over North America is almost endless, but it seems to me that there ought to be more of us in the air at any given time. As Jonathon Livingston Seagull pondered to his mentor, "Where is everybody, Sullivan? Why aren't there more of us here? Why, where I came from, there were..."

 

Also, in my tiem at airports around the country, I almost never encounter the "airport kid" we have all read about. With the post-9/11 security changes, it would be almost impossible to become one at most fields. With the advent of computers, TV games and the like, there are many more outlets for kids energy besides the lure of flight, further contributing to the infrequent appearance of these kids. I hope that one every trip such as this, I can motivate at least one young man or woman to pursue a love for flight.

 

Lastly, I would like to thank the people who gave me the freedom that allowed this whole trip to be possible: my family. Kay, Sean, Alex and Toby all let me go off in pursuit of a dream, leaving them behind, although I carried their spritis with me whereever I went. Thanks.