By John Wyman, EAA 452533; Chapter 266, Montreal
Before I finished the preflight briefing with the crew today, I casually asked them if they had any resolutions going into the new year. It was my way of breaking the ice, differing slightly from the standard briefing down south and back again to gauge the crew’s spirits. Maybe because it was so early in the morning, but not a single crew member (out of a complement of 10) had anything resolute to say about 2025. I suggested that the company’s shares climb to the edges of the stratosphere – but that seemed to fall on deaf ears. A crew member later pointed out that was more “making a wish” over and above making a resolution, so I stood corrected. However, I did later add that mine was to limit my use of the phone and stay more focused on my surroundings, visiting my friends more often, and reading much more on paper.
Patrick
I say this, in part, because my end of 2024 was not very positive. It downright sucked with the passing of a very close friend, Capt. Patrick Cudahy. He was an accomplished individual and a very good pilot and mechanic. I thought highly of him on many fronts, but it was his uncanny ability at troubleshooting that stood out most for me. He had a knack for it – so good, in fact, that most times he was able to diagnose problems over the phone. We had many enjoyable conversations (some very heated with debate) that would start with troubleshooting engine problems and that would ultimately end with solving the world’s problems. He was certainly a mentor. I learned a lot from him. Above all, I lost a friend.
You can read more about Patrick’s life here. (https://turnerporter.permavita.com/site/PatrickOrmondeCudahy.html)
If you knew or had a chance to meet him, feel free to leave a comment in the “Sign the Guestbook” section of the funeral home’s obituary. I am sure the family will still appreciate your comments. He passed on November 23, 2024, from complications (heart failure) after a difficult surgery.
Pat was the same on the surface as he was deep down. He was a steady guy who excelled with anything he touched. I told one of his best friends, Chris, that he often reminded me of a character on the TV series, M*A*S*H. It was a one-off episode where a car mechanic showed up at the hospital, and in the rush to perform emergency surgeries, filled in for a doctor at the operating table. The other surgeons were so impressed with his skills that no one questioned his credentials, so he just naturally kept helping the team. It was only at the end of the rush that someone did figure out he hadn’t had any official training as a surgeon and that the entire time he was just applying techniques that he knew would work on the human body based on his experience as a mechanic! The doctors finally let him continue on one more emergency and ultimately suggested he pursue a career in medicine. Pat embodied that character.
I appreciated Pat’s focus. He wasn’t easily sidetracked. He studied and studied until he could master anything. There were no half measures with him, but he was humble enough to admit when he didn’t know an answer to a question. He wouldn’t BS. He’d tell his protégés on the flight deck or in the shop, “I’ll get back to you on that…”, but you could bet your britches that he’d find the answers! There was no second guessing in his books. He never minced words and was forthright with his opinions. I admired him for that. I also learned over the years that he read voraciously on a lot of subjects. It showed. He might have used his phone for some social media, but he wasn’t addicted to it. He probably used it to do research more than anything else, often advising me of the benefits of YouTubing problems if you couldn’t find the answers in the books. I found this particularly handy with old cars. There is a ton of info out there, and that is really helpful if you don’t have the manuals.
Pat also taught me resilience and patience. If I ran into something difficult to solve, he’d say, “Step away from it and mull it over,” – and, in the past year, that’s helped me a lot with my projects. I was finally able to just repair one part at a time and not look at the daunting size of the total project. That’s been key to me getting stuff off the to-do list and into the “Check, that’s done…NEXT!” column.
His sudden demise (at the tender age of 58) has left me with a lot to think about. It has me contemplating what’s really important in life – what we all should be focused on. Family is a big one and so are relationships. The old adage “life is too short” pops to mind, yet it also seems absurdly simple to point out. We all know that. So how do we not just blindly take everything for granted? Personally, I think we can focus more on just staying in the present and putting our smartphones aside for a while (try a full day without one!) to remain connected to where we are (not where the rest of the world is) and where we are going. I guess you could call it “dead reckoning for the soul.” No matter what it is, reading is a part of that. It allows you to develop a picture (not watch it), and it relaxes the mind through imagination. If you haven’t read a novel or a good biography of late, give it a try, you’ll discover what I mean.
Jean
I have also garnered much inspiration recently from helping a friend on a couple of occasions build his new home. His name is Jean Gosselin, and, of course, he’s also an airplane homebuilder who is within steps (maybe six months) of completing his RV-6 build. I should probably get him to talk about that timeline in a future article. There really isn’t anything worse than another party talking about your project’s progress.
As for his house, he chose a relatively new building method. His walls (for the large garage and house) use a Quebec-developed system called OSBlock.ca that uses a formed core of strand wood structure, surrounded by foam for insulation, which piece together the walls instead of stick framing them. It goes together like Lego. It is an inventive design that allows you to do the work without laying up a slab to build straight walls. In other words, the floors can be poured after the building is erected, allowing for drains, wiring and a host of other things to get installed with a roof over your head. Once you’re done, the gypsum sheets go straight on without any need to insulate.
I could go on about the details – but this is really about being around such a positive and can-do guy. For me, by surrounding yourself with forward thinkers like that, your glass always feels half full versus half empty.
I think there’s much to be said about the journey versus the destination. It’s the trip that counts! We talked about that over supper, and he’s ultra keen to make it to Oshkosh, soon. Ask anyone who’s flown there about that! We live in a rat-race of a society that has us running around for everything to be done quickly. I have found that if I just step back every now and then and slow down, then, for the most part, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. For 2025, I am going to limit myself to remaining in the NOW and try not to drift too far away from it. I will keep on fixing stuff and planning for that dream hangar/home of mine, but I’ll also pay attention to what my mind is saying and how my body is reacting. I think it’ll pay to take the dog for more walks, too, and “take stock” of the present. If we have our health and loved ones nearby, then we have everything.
John Wyman, EAA 462533, Chapter 266 Montreal, is a passionate aviator. When he isn’t in the saddle at the airline, he can be found out at the airfield doing any number of things. He likes to fly gliders, practice aerobatics, work on airplanes, and fix stuff.