By Mike Davenport, EAA 89102, Langley, British Columbia
A cane is a wonderful thing most of the time, if you need one that is. Other times it can be a pain in the nether regions when you need to find a place to put it or can’t remember where you did put it.
When you get in the car it has to go somewhere; most often in the passenger seat. In someone else’s car you can always hang on to it. After all, you will need it when you get where you are going. If you are at home watching TV, it can go on the floor nearby where the wife can trip over it but it will still be handy.
But what if you aren’t actually going somewhere but are still going? Can you leave it behind? Of course. The question though is where to put the darned thing where one can find it upon return. Just the other day this became a question of some importance. He who shall remain nameless but does use a cane, was going flying but just a few circuits and back again. No destination, no need for the cane.
He pushed the airplane out of the hangar and with some help from a hangar mate got the engine running and proceeded to do just that — fly some circuits just to see if he remembered how. As it turned out he did remember how and felt quite good about that.
On return to the hangar, said hangar mate got ready to help push the airplane back inside when something not quite aeronautical caught his eye. A cane, the cane, you know the one that needs to be put somewhere secure so that it can be used again. Yes that one.
Well it had been put somewhere, not particularly secure but apparently secure enough. I mean, after all it was still there where it had been put. An accomplishment surely given that it had ridden through six circuits of the airport while resting on the stabilizer. One can say that it should have been attached more firmly but hey it stayed on. Perhaps another time it can be left in the hangar. What do you think? Hmm.