I’m pretty sure I can fit this through there…

Or, maybe not.

Several years ago I watched a very old film called “Yours to Fly.”  It was a marketing film from the late 1940’s showing the benefits and utility of the North American Navion (if anyone has a copy of this, let me know.  I’ve lost mine).  One scene in the film showed very large, heavy machinery being placed inside the Navion for transport out to some remote oil mining operation.  So when an RV blows a tire in some very remote town in Iowa (aren’t they all??), the Navion is the perfect plane for the job.

With some determination, both tires eventually fit in the plane, although not through the luggage door.

As you can see, the back seat had to go, along with a considerable portion of the front seat leg room as well.  I’ve told friends before that I’m more than willing to put up with some personal discomfort if it means a chance to fly or learn something cool.  This was a chance for a night cross country flight.  Taking my shoes off gave me that last inch I needed to fit, but the lesson learned that evening did not happen in the air.

The plane, a Twin Navion, is fresh out of its annual inspection, and is a very, very nice plane.  We hopped into the plane and fired her right up to taxi down to the gas pumps.  As we fueled, it was getting later and later into the night, and I began thinking about the effects the lack of sleep might have on me at work the next day.  But, as a student pilot, I was excited, and I wanted to go.  I could always sleep later.  After fueling and some last minute logistics, it was time to go. 

Oh, but the battery did not want to go to Iowa that night. 

While Jamie went to get jumper cables, I had a chance to re-evaluate what we were about to do.  I realized that it was my eagerness that was fueling the mission.  If I wasn’t there, the flight would have already been delayed until the next day.  When Jamie returned, I confessed my ‘get-there-itis’ and we agreed to call it a night.  Well, after we jump-started the plane and taxied it back to the hangar, that is.

So, well-rested, I started another week at work, and the mission to deliver tires to the stranded RV would go on without me.  Jamie will just have to get the tires out of the plane by himself. 

(Thanks to Jen for the Kool-Aid, the photos, and the jump-start)