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When my wife and I met in the early 2000’s, flying was a dream. I started flight lessons, but “life got in the way”. Our career’s in Healthcare & IT Administration took us from Texas to Colorado, Alaska and New Mexico. Eventually, 14 years after starting my flight lessons, my wife suggested I get back into it because it was “the one thing I do that I don’t think about work”.
A year after earning my Private Pilot Certificate, we had an opportunity to buy-into 1/3rd of a 1965 Piper Cherokee 180. Although this plane was a little worse for wear with its original paint, a little elbow grease turned this Cherokee into a jewel. A little more than 14 months later, my wife and I had put 250 hours into our logbook. But, that was just the beginning.
My wife and I loved being able to truly travel using General Aviation, but the Cherokee 180 was a bit limited in the baggage capacity arena, so we started looking at airplanes we could upgrade to that would give us more hauling capacity so we could do the things we love to do, like snow skiing and golfing, and to also take friends and family members on our adventures. A bit of a complicating factor was that we lived in Angel Fire, New Mexico where the field elevation is 8,380 feet, so we not only needed something able to carry a lot, but with performance capable of performing every mission at high density altitudes.
We attended air shows, we sat in airplanes, we visited with other pilots but the only airplane that met our needs was the turbocharged PA32 series. After an exhaustive search, we were coming to grips with the idea we may never find one of these birds…until one night when I was awakened from my sleep by an excited wife holding a tablet. She looked at me and said, “Babe, Babe…this plane just hit the market 1 minute ago, go make an offer on it”. I went to my computer, looked at the listing, and sent in my offer. The next morning, I was the first of five potential buyers.
We have owned our beloved Piper Turbo Saratoga for four years and have flown 800 hours, all over the Mountain West, to see family in Texas, and even as far as Key West. We have landed at the highest airport in the country and the lowest airport in the country. We have taken friends to places they never thought they would go, and we have taken my son to college. I have flown with my nieces and nephews, and we have ignited a passion for aviation in some of our family and some of our friends. N624DP has not only improved our quality of life as a couple, but she has impacted the lives of dozens of other people as well. I know of five individuals who have gone on to earn their Private Pilot Certificates, including my son, after experiencing the joys of aviation in our Saratoga.
During COVID, N624DP kept us sane and allowed us to connect with our family when others like us, who live far away from their families, were unable to do so. My wife and I have seen aviation become such a critical and essential part of our lives that we have recently moved to an Air Park Community, have built a home, and are in the process of building a hangar so that we can have our Saratoga right here with us, ready to fly us off to our next adventure at any time.

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