Sky Unlimted
with Job Conger
Welcome to Sky Unlimited. My name is Job Conger. I am a freelance writer/photographer, proud to be a new Associate with ZG Worldwide, and founder/director of AeroKnow Museum (AKM), located in the Horizon Aviation building at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (KSPI) , Springfield, Illinois, USA. You may have read my book Springfield Aviation from Arcadia Publishing. I spend hours a day. seven days a week here at AKM, maintaining and updating and showing it to visitors. Part of a typical week includes chatting with the fine people at Springfield Airport Authority offices in the nearby terminal building and operators of businesses here at the airport. I've launched Sky Unlimited to share: 1. news of what's happening at KSPI with the world at large; 2. what's going on with the tenants and players here with the tenants and players here; 3. my interaction with AKM visitors; 4. pictures and notes about historic and contemporary aircraft, passengers and crews photographed in the course of their coming and going. I don't intend to repeat the same "news" you find at hundreds of providers of that kind of information who share it very well. If readers of Sky Unlimited have concerns and opinions about general, commercial and military aviation, e-mail me -- akm@eosinc.com or visit the museum. For the time being, until we can recruit a few volunteers, visitation is by appointment only.
Sunday, August 2, I met Greg Hackett of Akron, Ohio, owner pilot of a factory-fresh Cirrus SR-22. Greg and his SR are Class A examplars of current popular flying in the USA. During our 30 minute visit he explained he spent most of his life wanting to learn how to fly, but didn't have time to pursue that dream as this successful entrepreneur built a business and raised a family. As he approached retirement, after he sold his company, his dream came true. He learned how to fly in the first airplane he owned, a Cirrus SR-20, a predecessor to the SR-22 Platinum Edition he purchased from Cirrus about six weeks ago. Greg is one of a new generation of pilots who began in "glass cockpits" which have few or no "steam gauge" analog, round dial instrument panels. He pursued flying with incredible zeal and dedication. He flew his SR-20 to log a landing and take-off in the continental 48 states. While visiting Hawaii (via commercial airliner) he rented an SR-20 from an FBO so he could a 49th state. He is planning a trip to Alaska, something of a significant undertaking in his new SR-22. He showed me his bird on the ramp outside Horizon Aviation and reluctantly had to say goodbye so he could comply with his posted flight plan for the rest of the day. From SPI he was heading to Arkansas (if I remember right; I wasn't taking notes), then to Georgia and finall back to Akron for dinner with his family. It was a great visit and he promised to come back to tour the rest of AeroKnow Museum.
If you enjoyed this glimpse of what's happening at SPI, consider writing or visiting to share your experiences. I intend to post the next Sky Unlimited in two weeks, but if there is interest from readers, I will post more frequently.
May your skies be CAVU,
your winds light to moderate,
and may you always return,
softly,
to home.
with Job Conger
Welcome to Sky Unlimited. My name is Job Conger. I am a freelance writer/photographer, proud to be a new Associate with ZG Worldwide, and founder/director of AeroKnow Museum (AKM), located in the Horizon Aviation building at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (KSPI) , Springfield, Illinois, USA. You may have read my book Springfield Aviation from Arcadia Publishing. I spend hours a day. seven days a week here at AKM, maintaining and updating and showing it to visitors. Part of a typical week includes chatting with the fine people at Springfield Airport Authority offices in the nearby terminal building and operators of businesses here at the airport. I've launched Sky Unlimited to share: 1. news of what's happening at KSPI with the world at large; 2. what's going on with the tenants and players here with the tenants and players here; 3. my interaction with AKM visitors; 4. pictures and notes about historic and contemporary aircraft, passengers and crews photographed in the course of their coming and going. I don't intend to repeat the same "news" you find at hundreds of providers of that kind of information who share it very well. If readers of Sky Unlimited have concerns and opinions about general, commercial and military aviation, e-mail me -- akm@eosinc.com or visit the museum. For the time being, until we can recruit a few volunteers, visitation is by appointment only.
Sunday, August 2, I met Greg Hackett of Akron, Ohio, owner pilot of a factory-fresh Cirrus SR-22. Greg and his SR are Class A examplars of current popular flying in the USA. During our 30 minute visit he explained he spent most of his life wanting to learn how to fly, but didn't have time to pursue that dream as this successful entrepreneur built a business and raised a family. As he approached retirement, after he sold his company, his dream came true. He learned how to fly in the first airplane he owned, a Cirrus SR-20, a predecessor to the SR-22 Platinum Edition he purchased from Cirrus about six weeks ago. Greg is one of a new generation of pilots who began in "glass cockpits" which have few or no "steam gauge" analog, round dial instrument panels. He pursued flying with incredible zeal and dedication. He flew his SR-20 to log a landing and take-off in the continental 48 states. While visiting Hawaii (via commercial airliner) he rented an SR-20 from an FBO so he could a 49th state. He is planning a trip to Alaska, something of a significant undertaking in his new SR-22. He showed me his bird on the ramp outside Horizon Aviation and reluctantly had to say goodbye so he could comply with his posted flight plan for the rest of the day. From SPI he was heading to Arkansas (if I remember right; I wasn't taking notes), then to Georgia and finall back to Akron for dinner with his family. It was a great visit and he promised to come back to tour the rest of AeroKnow Museum.
If you enjoyed this glimpse of what's happening at SPI, consider writing or visiting to share your experiences. I intend to post the next Sky Unlimited in two weeks, but if there is interest from readers, I will post more frequently.
May your skies be CAVU,
your winds light to moderate,
and may you always return,
softly,
to home.
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