Cessna N7051X - A different kind of love story

It's fitting to recall an old romance on Valentine's Day. Most of us had crushes when we were young, that still haunt our memories and get our hearts beating faster. Maybe it was a high school sweetheart, a first date, graduation prom night, or being struck by Cupid's arrow.

Like many others, I've also had those experiences. But this is about a different kind of romance, the one that gives flight to your imagination in a very real way.

I'm talking about the first airplane that I ever flew. She was a real beauty. A two seat Cessna 150 took hold of my passions and would not let go. I first spotted her through a chain link fence, parked next to the Sig Uldert Flying School at Zahn's Airport in North Amityville, New York in 1961 when I was still in college.

The tail registration number always stuck in my mind, even after all these years, N7051X. After all, I had spoken it so many times, and written it repeatedly in my flight log book. It had a magic sound, "seven zero five one X-ray."

CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT)  Victorian Valentine's Day Card by Vintage Holiday Crafts (Wikipedia/Common Usage - Public Domain);  (BELOW RIGHT TOP) Cessna N7051X at Zahn's Airport, Amityville, NY, September 27, 1963 (Photo Credit - Steve Dobin, used with permission); (BELOW LEFT TOP) Cessna 150L warming up on a great winter day in Helsinki - Malmi, Finland (HEM), January 23, 2010 (Airliners.net/Sampo Kiviniemi); (BELOW RIGHT BOTTOM) essna A150M Aerobat, UK - England, January 3, 2010 (Airliners.net/Robert Beaver); (BELOW LEFT BOTTOM) 1970 Cessna FA150K (G-AYCF) landing at Hullavington airfield, Wiltshire, England. Built 1970. Photo by Adrian Pingstone in May 2005 and placed in the public domain (Wikipedia/Common Usage - Public Domain)

My flight instructor's name was Jim. At the time, I paid the school $10 an hour to solo, and $14 an hour with an instructor. That would be a bargain today. I remember my teacher being a no nonsense type of person, serious and intense. He cut me no slack, never smiled or joked, and seemed impossible to please.

I had endured hours and hours of his strict reprimands while aloft. It seemed as if I could do nothing right. Compliments never came my way. During one lesson, he made me land the aircraft on the short 900 foot East to West runway in a 30 mile an hour cross wind. I did it on my first attempt, saying out loud all the while, "I have it, Jim. I have it." Fighting the winds all the time, sliding sideways using cross rudders, I brought the aircraft down safely, light as a feather.

Glancing at Jim out of the corner of my eye, I could see a broad grin on his face. "That was the prettiest landing I've ever seen," was all that he said. Then he added more seriously, "You can let me out here, while you take it around yourself. Just remember all that you've learned, and bring my airplane back in one piece." That's how I learned I was about to fly solo. The passing of time hasn't clouded those memories at all.

Checking the FAA registration data base recently, I discovered that the aircraft is still around, and is now parked in Apple Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota. I contacted the current owner, Chris Bobka, and we exchanged messages.

I learned that old "Cessie" is still alive and in good hands. As Chris wrote me, "Fortunately I was the chap to wind up with N7051X.  It had a lot of corrosion so I disassembled the entire fuselage, cleaned the aluminum parts, etched them, alodined them, and then sealed them with epoxy primer/sealer.  All the steel was sandblasted, cadmium plated, and in many cases, epoxy primed/sealed, and then painted.  Reassembly is almost complete.  The wings were still airworthy as were the tail pieces and I figure that I can find replacements for them fairly easily and cheaply when the time comes."

He went on to say, "I am still not finished with the restoration work though, so she is not flying.  She has been painted white all over the exterior and the plan is to use the same trim colour as she originally wore in the same scheme.  She will look the same except that the base colour will be white instead of bare aluminum.  There are virtually no modifications to it except that the radio stack height was made a little taller by removing some metal on the bottom of the panel.  Also, the black plastic instrument panel material has been replaced with paint and etched placards.  The original upholstery was under the newer upholstery and is in pretty nice shape.  I have not decided what to do with the interior yet."
 
"She last flew in 1993.  She flew sweet and was very light in weight so she performed better than any other 150 that I have flown," Chris concluded.

If N7051X ever takes to the air again, I hope that I may be able to go along for the ride. It would be good to see the old gal again, and remember the days when we were both young. Love and memories never die.

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