By Michael Golden, EAA 623692
There comes a time in our lives when we have to move on from one chapter to another as a result of circumstances beyond our control.
Tom Meadows, EAA 555391, and his wife, Lynn, EAA 555392, of Truckee, California, have been close friends of mine through aviation for half a lifetime. We have had many adventures flying around our nation together.
Tom and Lynn owned a Cessna 172, N61710, for 35 years. Nicknamed Red Devil, they have flown all over the country in it and Tom has flown an impressive 2,135 Young Eagles in the airplane. Tom is a CFI and taught me how to fly in Red Devil decades ago. Back in 1990 when Tom and Lynn bought N61710, Lynn’s friend Candy gave them a cardboard “red devil” duck and thus the name stuck. Red Devil duck has been hanging in the airplane’s back window ever since.
Sadly, the time had come for Tom and Lynn to say goodbye to their trusted counterpart, Red Devil. They made the decision to donate Red Devil to the Bob Hoover Academy in Salinas, California. The Academy works with disadvantaged teens teaching them all about aviation, from maintenance to flight. It gives young people an opportunity to excel in life that they may not have had available to them. A more admirable gift I cannot think of. Renowned aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker, EAA Lifetime 259123, who heads up the academy, was exuberant when Red Devil was delivered to them. It was a beautiful flight to its new home. Tom flew it to Salinas with Sarah Krammen. I flew in to meet them and say a tearful farewell to Red Devil, and give Tom and Sarah a ride back to Truckee.
We met the folks from Bob Hoover Academy, the students, volunteers, and staff. We enjoyed lunch outside at the picnic tables, as the students were drooling over their new addition in the hangar. We picked the perfect day to deliver Red Devil to its new home, and Tom and Lynn picked the perfect way to send their trusted adventure companion of many decades on to a new life.
Thank you Tom and Lynn Meadows for all you have done making the lives of people better through our aviation community over the past 40 years.
Friends Forever,
Michael