Tail Number

The story behind the tail number:

It may seem pretty early to have a tail number for an airplane that is little more than a real hard wish.  But I have, nonetheless, reserved N7559Q with the FAA. 

In 1999 I was meeting with a prospective client at his home. It was obvious he was an aviator and we chatted about that.  He offered to fly down to the airport close to my home town and "do the pattern".  I had no idea what that meant at the time, and had no idea that I had the "aviation virus" lurking undetected in my soul.

True to his word, he met me at Sanderson Field (KSHN) the following Saturday and I got my second ride in a small airplane.  What made this different from the first, many years before, was that I was given the yoke during climbout!! 

After talking me through my first left turn, the gentleman leaned over and looked in my eyes and observed, "You are in deep S**t".  I was definitely hooked. 

The gentleman, Hollister Young, took me along on many flights after that.  I essentially learned to fly in his Cessna 185.  I went on to earn my Private Pilot License (a whole 'nother story of incredible friends) and purchase my little Cessna 150.

Holly, as he was called by his friends, was an incredible gentleman, encompassing the entire meaning of that word.  He was an ex-marine (to the bone), a commercial pilot with over 33,000 hours in his log book (12,000 in single engine piston aircraft), a man of very high character and integrity, and a very close friend.

We flew a mess of Angel Flights with me in the right seat.  Any time we were alone, I flew the airplane.  We had a ton of "inside" jokes, and we loved to fly along singing together through the intercom.  We shared a love for big band era music.

On December 12, 2008, Holly died of lung cancer.  I handled his memorial service (I am a part time pastor) and I have rarely seen a room so full of dignitaries.  People, many aviators, came from all over the country to little Poulsbo, Washington to attend Holly's service.    Holly's estate sold the 185 to someone in Canada, freeing up the US tail number, N7559Q. 

This project is in the honor and memory of Hollister Young (Holly, Howitzer, The Big Gun).