A few months ago I happily blogged about my purchase of a 2006 Cirrus SR22 with two partners. Those were happy times.

But 3+ months after signing that purchase order, we still don’t have the airplane. At times I feel the purchase was a dream, just a figment of my imagination. Did I really buy an airplane?

Granted, the airplane needed considerable work when we bought it… it looked every minute of its 2000+ logged hours. We signed up for new paint, new graphics, detailed interior, new Avidyne screens, a full annual, a new prop, and oh, a new engine, too (then after installation, our new engine was determined to be a “lemon,” so now we wait for a replacement.) We also decided to splurge on a WAAS upgrade which apparently involves moving the antennas and some time-consuming wiring shenanigans. It’s a lot of work , and unfortunately Cirrus did a bad job of estimating how long all this would take.

(As I write this blog, I kid you not, I  just received an email saying the replacement engine didn’t actually ship in mid-November as we believed. The new delivery date for the engine is December 7.)

I believe it will be a true Christmas miracle if we get our plane by year’s end, but I will be patient. I have heard that good things come to those who wait.

Awaiting a new engine and some graphics.

Gary already had blueprints for a standout marriage proposal when he came to us; he simply needed a finale.  After surprising his dearest at work and popping the question in a horse-drawn carriage on the Mag Mile, he opted for a dazzling finish — a twilight aerial tour of the Chicago lakefront.

He and Laura departed from the swank executive terminal at Midway, then took in the sunset and city views from 2,500 feet.  After the flight they headed to Little Italy where they capped the evening with an incredible dinner at Francesca’s on Taylor.   Troppo delizioso!

Gary is one of several who’ve come to us recently for help in making the big proposal über special.  We’re delighted to be a high point in such life milestones!

The happy couple post ring, pre flight.

The weather in Tampa last week was beautiful, not that I had much time to experience it. I was busy manning my booth at the AOPA Aviation Summit. Here are the show highlights from my perspective:

AOPA Live: I was interviewed by Rod Rakic, founder of MyTransponder.com, on the subject of social media in business, which was streamed live over the internet. I was nervous (after all, there could have been tens of people watching!), but I think I managed to conduct myself somewhat respectably. Special thanks to Rob Mark for watching my booth while I was on the couch.

Our booth at the AOPA Aviation Summit.

Traffic: Other exhibitors reported that traffic was down from past years. It was my first year so I had nothing to compare it with, but I thought the traffic was great on Days 1 and 2 — I collected many names for my newsletter. Day 3 was quiet and very slow… you could have taxied a Cessna down our aisle and not hit a soul.

The happy couple (photo from AOPA.org).

Marriage: I didn’t see the nuptials myself, but Twitterland was all abuzz when Glenn Plymate and Irene Bolam decided to get hitched at Airport fest.

Herb Sloane of the Flying Octogenarians.

The Flying Octogenarians: Are you 95 and still flying, like Herb Sloane, above? Well then God bless ya!