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Posted by Larry Jordan
on April 2, 2008, 5:24 pm, in reply to "Re: Stopover at Dyersburg?"
69.66.111.56
I didn't say Jim was uncomfortable flying alone...he used to invite friends to go with him on trips over the years in which he was merely a passenger in a car or plane. It was just more fun to have somebody with him, that's all, especially on longer trips (so he would have somebody to talk with). An example would be when he would invite Buddy Killen to go with him to Texas to have some fun and see friends. Buddy would tag along when they flew commercial airlines.
In order to get his pilot's license, Jim also had to fly alone, and to solo. And he did that successfully.
As a pilot, Jim was very methodical in preparing for his trips and doing all the necessary pre-flight checks. If he was going to be away from a plane for awhile, he always insisted on a refresher "checkout ride" with a skilled instructor, and would practice "touch and gos" so as to make sure he was thoroughly prepared to fly an aircraft on his own.
On his last trip, he refueled at Batesville before departing for home. Hence there was no need to stop at Dyersburg.
--Previous Message--
:
: Larry,
:
: You mentioned that Jim was uncomfortable
: flying alone, and this seems sort of odd to
: me since Jim supposedly took flying lessons
: to "overcome" his fear of flying.
: Sounds like Jim unncessarily forced himself
: into flying. Were there times Jim actually
: flew by himself to gain self confidence as a
: pilot? I also believe if Jim had not
: refueled in Batesville before they left, he
: should've at least stopped in Dyersburg if
: he had thought of his plane's fuel
: consumption back to Nashville.
: --Previous Message--
: Jim didn't like to go places by himself,
: especially when he flew, so other people
: (like Mary, Dean, et al) would sometimes
: accompany him. They also helped him look for
: navigational aids like landmarks (roads,
: rivers, TV towers) since he was licensed to
: fly only by Visual Flight Rules (VFR). It
: made sense for Dean to accompany Jim to
: Batesville, since he was from Arkansas, and
: knew the area where Jim was interested in
: looking at property for an investment.
: Others were invited along, but opted not to
: go because they had already had plans. These
: included Ray Baker (a member of Jim's staff)
: and Hank Cochran (a songwriter friend of
: his). Over the years, a long list of other
: people (including Maxine Brown) have claimed
: Jim invited them too, but you should take
: that with a grain of salt (though Dean
: himself invited Bud Logan and Leo Jackson,
: who declined the invitation).
:
: --Previous Message--
: I have always wondered why Dean Manual
: accompanied Jim on the Batesville trip. Was
: it part of his management job to do so? I
: did read an article a few years ago, that
: part of the reason he went with Jim, was so
: he could visit relatives that lived near by
: in Batesville Arkansas. Larry, could you
: comment on this ?
:
: --Previous Message--
: No, he did not, although he was in
: communication with Dyersburg by radio in
: regard to the weather conditions enroute to
: Nashville.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Hi everyone,
:
: I'm not sure if this topic has ever been
: brought up on the forum, but I was wonder if
: Jim and Dean did stop in Dyersburg for any
: reason on their way back to Nashville on the
: 31st of July? If they had, at least Jim
: would've had the chance to refuel.
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