A Life Wasted

Dahlonega, Georgia 1989

We loved the north Georgia mountains. We often took long family drives into the mountains and have many good memories from them. One of the more important things that happened while living in Dahlonega had to do with a dog. A neighbor lady couldn't keep her dog any longer so Emily brought her home. The dog was a funny looking breed I'd never seen and so fat she could barely move. She was called Pooh Bear. I didn't like Pooh Bear and I didn't want another dog as I had just bought an expensive and beautiful Rottweiler we named Lady. I would have sent Pooh Bear back to her owner but it was clear my daughter loved the dog so I couldn't do it. I'll always be glad Pooh Bear became a part of our family. Those two dogs, Pooh Bear and Lady were the two best dogs we ever owned. They both became a part of our family. In my long life I can't think of another animal I would consider either's equal.

The local flying club was home to most of Dahlonega's movers and shakers. The town was isolated, but affluent, and a ninety minute drive to Atlanta, much of that in heavy traffic. The combination made Dahlonega perfect for a pilot. Very few of the town's dozen or so pilots owned their own plane, but all belonged to the flying club. Through the club I met everyone I needed to meet: lawyer, banker, insurance agent, drug store owner, etc. I was the only computer guy in town so as a pilot and computer guy, I was immediately accepted into this tight knit group. I was invited to their weekly poker game. I'd never had friends that did a "boy's night out," so this was a new experience for me. Something I enjoyed, something that had been missing from my life. It was also something my wife supported and encouraged.

The Dahlonega airport's runway is short and sits in a bowl of mountains. It is a very difficult place to land or take off. Before I was able to operate out of Dahlonega one of the locals took me up in his plane to show me the trick to landing there. In the day light it was tricky, but not terrible. At night it was so dangerous the FAA prohibited night operations in or out of the airport. Georgia pilots, being Georgia boys at heart mostly ignored the FAA's silly safety rules. Still, because of the FAA's rules, Dahlonega lacked landing lights. All it did have were three dim threshold lights at the beginning of the runway.

Learning night landing at Dahlonega was a challenge. It went something like this: you had to approach the town of Dahlonega from the east at a prescribed altitude, something like 2,500 feet. When you were directly over the hospital (easily seen from 2,500 feet) you dropped air speed to 90 knots (I think) and took an exact westerly heading, then set a timer for 90 seconds (can't remember the times).  When the timer beeped you had to change heading and drop altitude. All you could see on the ground was a black hole, but down there were serious mountains and valleys. Suddenly you saw the lights from a small commercial chicken grower which you flew towards, at it you made a slight heading correction then dropped into the dark towards a runway you couldn't see. At the very last second you could see the three threshold lights, then the airplane's powerful landing light would pick out the runway. No matter what, you had to land. The airport was surrounded by mountains you couldn't see and they were so close that attempting a missed approach was suicide. There was no go-around at Dahlonega. It was hammered into me so hard that I believed it. There had been several pilots killed on those mountains attempting a missed approach. So if you missed the runway you had to crash land in the valley or die on the side of the mountains.

I explain this for a reason. I needed to fly to an airport customer in Orlando, but the two best club planes for this trip were unavailable on that day. There were several FBO's at the Cobb County airport north of Atlanta so I drove there to rent a plane. Insurance rules require three things before an airplane can be rented: a copy of the pilot's FAA license, a copy of the pilot's current medical certificate, and first time renters are required to take a short check-ride with an instructor to demonstrate proficiency. The plane I selected was a Grumman Tiger. It was a fast little airplane that I had never flown, which is why I chose it over the Cessna 172 I had many hours in. So after the check ride I flew the plane south. You don't have to tell the FBO where you're going, but they do like to have an idea of when you'll return so they can plan other rentals. I told them I was going to Orlando and would return the next afternoon.