AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2016 - 12

LETTERS

FROM OUR JUNE 2016 ISSUE

Farewell to a friend
Barry Schiff's discussion of mourning a beloved family pet
struck a chord with animal-loving readers.
I read Barry Schiff 's column
"Proficient Pilot: IM SAFE (or
not)" this morning. He is correct not to fly until his grief
has had time to subside. I have
lost a number of dogs, and my
heart was broken to the point
of physical pain. I don't have
human kids, so my dogs are
the love of my life. The pain
he described brought tears to
my eyes, I am so sorry for his
loss. Nothing will ever make
the pain go away, but time will
ease it a bit.
My S p r i n g e r S p a n i e l
Conway flew with me. He
was so scared the first time,
but when he saw birds out the
window, he was like, "Dad, this
is the best thing in the world."
After that he flew with me
many times all over the western United States. He was my
best friend, and I died a little when he died. I can never
get that part of my life back,
and neither will Schiff over
Boychik.
I still look over where my
buddy once sat in my airplane,
and I think good thoughts now,
but is takes to time to get there.
Until then, my prayers are
with Schiff and his best friend
Boychik.

you for sharing this personal
story with AOPA Pilot readers.

PROFICIENT PILOT

IM SAFE (or not)
A WELCOME ASPECT of piloting an aircraft is that it
can be a form of escape. Flying seems to temporarily distract and relieve us from life's turmoil and the
curveballs that are thrown our way on the ground.
Earthly problems seem to blur and dim as we take to
the sky, even though we know that they will still be
there upon our return. So it is that the challenges of
daily life generally do not interfere with flight safety.

BOYCHIK, the

author's 13-year-old
Havanese dog.

BARRY SCHIFF

has written more
than 1,700 magazine articles and 12
books (including
two novels) dealing
with aviation.

I recently discovered, however, that this relief
valve is not as reliable as I had come to believe.
Five days before writing this, my wife, Dorie, and
I (with the counsel of our veterinarian) were forced
to concede that Boychik, our 13-year-old Havanese
dog, was in store for a painful passing that likely
would occur in a matter of days. We decided with gutwrenching consternation that it would be in his best
interest to end his suffering and send him on his way
to the "Rainbow Bridge."
His journey, we decided, should begin at home,
where he would be most comfortable. The thought
of abandoning him at the vet's office to be put down
while on a cold, stainless-steel table was unbearable. The vet arrived at our home that afternoon, and
Boychik was soon cradled in my arms, his beautiful,
trusting eyes looking at me one last time. He was made
to fall asleep and soon passed into another world
while snuggled in Dorie's lap.
It did not matter that ending Boychik's suffering was the right thing to do. I felt as though I had
betrayed my best friend. The grief and heartbreak was
unlike anything I had ever felt. It was as though a part
of my soul had been ripped away.

That night I finally managed to cry myself to sleep
but awoke to more tears after only a few hours. Unable
to return to sleep, I crawled out of bed and spent the
predawn hours stumbling about the house like a zombie. There were reminders of Boychik everywhere.
There was a cookie "buried" in a remote corner; his
half-filled water bowl sat next to a kitchen wall; a
leash hung from a doorknob; his favorite toy, a squeaky
squirrel, lay forlornly on the living room floor. Our
home seemed devoid of energy, as if the essence of
life had been sucked out and replaced with a heavy
cloud of sadness. ("Dog people" might better understand these sentiments than others.)
Thankfully, I had access to relief. The day after
Boychik departed I was to fly a rented Cessna 172SP
from Camarillo, California, to Santa Monica to have
lunch with friends. It was a short, 20-minute flight
that I had made what seemed like a thousand times
before. I could fly there in my sleep.
I conducted the preflight inspection in a perfunctory manner, finding that I had to repeat certain steps
to convince myself that I really had checked this or
that. I soon began to recognize that I also needed
to preflight myself. The FAA's acronym "IM SAFE"
came to mind. (The letters stand for illness, medication, stress, alcohol, fatigue, and emotion, factors that
can impact flight safety.) I admit that I had always
made fun of this and some of the FAA's other seemingly unnecessary acronyms. After all, I thought, if I
weren't fit to fly, I would simply know it. I discovered
in the Aeronautical Information Manual, however,
that relying on intuition can lead to disastrous results.
The AIM says that emotional distress can decrease
alertness and lead to risk-taking that borders on selfdestruction. This could apply to me. I was a basket
case, and I knew it.
I locked the airplane, reattached the tiedown
chains, returned the keys to the rental desk, and called
my friends to explain why I had temporarily grounded
myself. I then climbed into my car and began driving home, tears returning when thoughts of Boychik
drifted across my consciousness.
This experience taught me in a different way that
there are times when the most successful flights are
those that never leave the ground.
AOPA
WEB

www.barryschiff.com

18 | AOPA PILOT June 2016

Barry Schiff's most
recent article about
Boychik was very
moving and at the
same time a great
safety lesson.
Rarely do I get
emotional, but the
article triggered
something within
myself. I am truly
sorry for his loss.

Ben Breck
AOPA 960881
Grand Junction, Colorado

12 | AOPA PILOT August 2016

Navion memories

I read Alton K. Marsh's article
about Navion N4110K ("Seeing
is Believing ") with interest, realizing I had flown this
airplane on my fifteenth birthday in 1978. My Civil Air Patrol
squadron, based at Torrance
Airport, flew to a weekend
outing at Holtville Airport
in Southern California. I got
to fly N4110K from the right
seat on the way home with
our squadron commander,
Mr. Griffin, at the controls.
I don't think I've seen Mr.
Griffin since.
I've been a pilot since 1985
and an airplane owner since
1995. It seems every airport
I've been based at has a poor
Navion rotting somewhere on
the parking apron. Each time
I saw one it always made me
wonder what became of the
beautiful Navion I got to fly
when I was a teenager. I'm
happy to hear N4110K escaped
that fate by being lovingly

David M. Sampson
AOPA 901607
Tehachapi, California

In the summer of 1951, a herd
of donkeys charged across the
tarmac of Mexico's Acapulco
airport, tearing into a row of
parked, private airplanes. Most
of the aircraft, made of wood
and fabric, were severely damaged. When one of the donkeys
crashed into the left wing of an
all-metal Ryan Navion, the collision was so fast and so violent
that a main landing gear was
lifted 10 inches off the ground.
But although the donkey was
badly injured, the Navion's
wing suffered only a minor
dent.
When Salvador Mariscal,
Nav i o n 's L a t i n A m e r i c a

What's your favorite time to fly?

Mike Samac
AOPA 705708
San Jose, California

Ba r r y S c h i f f 's a r t i c l e
"Proficient Pilot: IM SAFE
(or not)" is one of the most
touching accounts of losing a
beloved animal companion. I
feel with him in his grief over

Rolf H. Scholz
AOPA 1164337
Columbus, Indiana

BY BARRY SCHIFF

Sometimes you need to ground yourself

restored by her current owner.
My CAP time as a teen led
to enlistment in the Air Force
in 1981. Over a 27-year military career I went from airman
basic to lieutenant colonel, and
even after retiring from active
duty, I continue to serve the
Air Force as airfield manager
at Edwards AFB as a civilian.
I bet Roger Griffin would be
interested to know that.

the loss of his dog Boychik, as
I have gone through the same
trauma several times myself.
Maybe he'll find in his heart
to adopt another dog; they are
such loyal creatures. Thank

Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Aviation eBrief poll

68%
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8%
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68%

http://www.barryschiff.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2016