This is the first post I’ve made since the 7th Anniversary post here. I guess that means it hasn’t been the most productive year for ReviewBeforeFlight. That said, I just couldn’t let the 30th of December go by without at least marking the occasion of the day I started the blog. I created the blog when I was a full time flight instructor, teaching ground school courses and collegiate aviation courses. I wanted to have a space to memorialize items to serve as a reference for my students as well as a place to share my passion for aviation. Little did I know that so many others would contribute to the writing here or that readers from across the world would frequent the site… I may not be actively flight instructing anymore but I maintain my flight instructor certificate, and I maintain this site because of the continued readership.

This past year I returned to the skies for the first time in many years. On the 4th of July I took to the skies over Indiana. It wasn’t to watch fireworks, but it was in the right seat of a Cherokee 180. The CFI I was flying with let me exercise the aircraft and encouraged me to fly through the soft field landings myself. I have to admit, I was overly surprised how amazing my soft field landings were, maybe my best ever. I’m not trying to make a comparison between myself and Ted Williams here, but… They say that Ted Williams was such a good hitter because he could see the ball in slow motion. Well, when I was making those soft field landings, it was like things slowed down and I was one with the airplane. That flight made me remember how much I love flying and I’m grateful to my wife and father-in-law for setting up the opportunity.

As 2021 concludes I have stepped down as President of EAA Chapter 51, but I’m excited to stay involved with the board of directors as Immediate Past President. I opted not to seek reelection with EAA because I am very excited to be the new President of the Massachusetts Airport Management Association (MAMA), which has been a goal of mine for quite some time. I look forward to contributing to advancing aviation in Massachusetts in my new role.

-Fly Safe, @MTElia1B9