The Purchase Story:

At times you wish that 40842 recorded all its adventures for the new owner to listen to. Instead, we carefully reviewed its logs, contracted a pre-purchase inspection and after what seemed like months of negotiating, settled on a date to complete the transaction with 40842's Austrian owner.

My wife and I flew commercial to Ft. Lauderdale Florida for a bit of a vacation and to complete the transaction. While driving to La Belle Municipal Airport the beauty of the Everglades was all around us. We arrived at the airfield to meet the owner and look over 40842. Did I mention that I have a wonderful and supporting wife and let me assure you that none of this would be possible without her help and guidance.

The plane behaved OK during my test flight. My usual regiment of leaning while taxing and leaning once in cruise upset the owner who never leaned. My eyebrow did go up a bit, but OK. I also decided to do a power off landing which made the owner a bit shaken up. The plane behaved fine and landing was smooth. We decided to go ahead and finalize the transfer at a small local bank branch that could notarize the transaction and issue an official check.

I was starting to worry a bit about how late it was getting, but figured that we could get everything done in the next hour and I would have plenty of daytime to fly to North Perry Airport, Hollywood Florida. How wrong I was.

We met the owner and his South African wife at the bank and noticed that there was some tension between the two. As the bank manager was drawing up the check, the wife loudly proclaimed that they wanted cash instead. You read in the Bible, how a glance back at destruction turned one to a salt statue? Well the three statues, bank manager, my wife and I, looked at each other and finally the manager broke the long silence with "excuse me?".

I noticed that my wife was restraining herself from laughing out loud (LOL) and I just chalked this up to a continuation of this crazy process that begun months ago. The wife and obvious top dog in this relationship stated clearly that they wanted cash or the sale would not proceed. The manager went to check their holdings and came back with the news that they did not have that much in cash on hand and that we would have to go to a larger branch in Fort Myers. When comparing new and used plane prices, this was not an expensive purchase, but getting the couple to agree to a partial cash and bank check transaction was a no go. The manager, being a wonderful administrator, informed the central branch of our predicament and provide driving directions. Since daytime was running out, I tried to keep the mood easy and relaxed, especially with my wife getting angry and in no mood to dick around with these people. Did I mention what a wonderful wife I have?

We made it to the Fort Myers branch just prior to closing time. Finalized the transaction and we became the new owners of 40842. The old owners went off with their bundle of money. Now for the fun part and also, DON'T DO THIS. As darkness approached, I rechecked the plane and my wife gave me one of those I hope to see you again hugs and kisses. I carefully prepared to fly over the everglades at night while my wife drove back to our hotel at Ft. Lauderdale.

I packed in all my items, got all the flashlights and night flying tools set up and started up the plane. I did a number of circles around La Belle at different settings and with the plane working fine, set course for Hollywood, Florida that is. In my mind, there was this reoccurring cartoon image of a helpless idiot falling into the open jaws of a large alligator. It's funny how every noise becomes amplified when you are alone over a large swamp at night. While focusing on tasks at hand, a corner of the pilot mind kept running scenarios of; is it easier to ditch in the ocean or swamp and the ocean kept winning. The saint of all pilots must have been in a good mood and I made it to North Perry from which the rest of the journey to RDU would begin, after a bit of sleep.

Once we had our breakfast and lots of fun conversation, my wife drove me back to Perry. I checked the plane, added gas and set out for Sanford KTTA, the temporary home of 40842. The Garmin GPS was programmed with stops and I was in a good mood as all new owners are. I enjoy flying and its my only hobby and this was great, until the cloud ceiling kept getting lower and lower as I approached the Jacksonville area. If there is one major item that I remember from my flight training with the Wings of Carolina club, "Never be in a Hurry" came into to play as I diverted to St Augustine Airport to wait out the weather which was getting worse by the minute. The Old City is worth visiting and I decided to overnight. The FBO was great in arranging transportation and favorable rates at a nearby hotel. The morning review of weather showed a large band of clouds across the top of Florida, but clearing in Georgia. I requested for VFR on top and had a very smooth flight into Marlboro County Jetport - H.E. Avent Field Bennettsville, South Carolina. After filling up and a nice stretch I flew direct to Sanford where the next phase of 40842's refurbishment journey would begin.

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