wrote:

About three years ago I had the second most beautiful monent in my
life, buying my first airplane.
Last weekend it was time for the most beautiful moment in my life, I've
sold the same plane for good money.

I had one of those beautiful moments recently too. But I'm not
concerned about what's next. I'm out of flying. I take nothing away
from anyone who still has enough fire in their belly to want to tolerate
all the baggage that comes with it. But when my medical expires this
month, guess what - I don't care. It'll just expire, and I'll go on
down the road. Same when the biennial comes up - not a problem, let it
pass.

- No more annuals
- No more transponder certification checks
- No more worrying about when the ELT battery expires
- No more horribly punitive and usurious airplane insurance renewals
- No more bills for hangar rent
- No more worrying about increasingly restrictive airspace and what new
TFR lies in my route of flight today
- No more looking for somebody I can trust to fix my airplane and radios
since there's no decent maintenance on my home field
- No more searching for parts for a 40 year old airframe
- No more paying outrageous fuel prices for something that never was
more than a hobby
- And, the one I like the most, no more having to worry about what to do
when there's no STC for mogas for my airplane, and the petroleum moguls
decide it's no longer in their best interest to keep producing the
boutique product known as 100LL.

Yep, it's been an interesting last 20 years of ownership, but the time
has come for me to bow out. Oh, I'll still be around the aerodrome, I'm
still fascinated by things that fly. But I've reached the point in my
life when I'm willing to let others be the ones to do it.