I hear you guys and promise not to just hop in the cab, push the starter button and blast off. As part of a thorough pre-flight inspection all fluid levels will be checked and all drive-line, suspension, and brake components will be inspected as much as possible. If there are any safety-critical squawks, then we will call this a sightseeing trip to Atlanta and worry about the retrieval of the FLU419 later.
When I look back at my life, it is clearly the "breakdowns on the road" that were the memorable events, the experiences that built character, knowledge, and friendships with people I would otherwise have never met. This started right after graduation as a mechanical engineer with a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa where a friend and I put a Ford inline six under the hood of a Landrover, replaced the seals on the front axle joints and a couple other drive-line issues before spending the next 2 month driving back to Aachen, Germany. I learned a lot on that trip about properly designing and welding custom engine mounts, tuning a leaf spring suspension for maximum ride comfort (if there is even such a thing as comfort in a classic Landrover), and met a lot of interesting shops and folks along the way. Most importantly I learned the value of patience in cultures where "inshalla" does not necessarily mean tomorrow but definitely "not today".
From there on I looked at every aspect in life as a journey of continuous improvement, not as a quest for destinations of imaginary perfection. As long as I experience the sun rise in the morning, nothing is ever completely broken nor is anything ever perfect. In today's world it may appear that cars are either perfectly running along or "broken down". But I can still feel the nuances that the book 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' touches. There are days where the diesel in my boxtruck cannot find its own rhythm and then I think about taking the injectors out and having them gone over. The next day the same engine purrs along like a Swiss clockwork and I decided to leave things alone until the rough days get more frequent.
As a pilot I have never flown an airplane where everything was 100%. What I care about is that the systems are "sufficiently safe" to start the flight and that things are not deteriorating too quickly during the flight. Which is exactly the same issue with weather, traffic, and my own performance.
Ironically, friends and colleagues from different practical and philosophical backgrounds who insisted on perfection have had more catastrophic breakdowns in various aspects of their lives over the decades. I think that an awareness and acceptance of living in an imperfect and ambiguous world avoids or drastically shortens the denial phase when things start to go south. Whether it is on the road, in the air, on the job, or in relationships, 90+% of the "explosion" occur because we chose to ignore the early warning signs. (The remaining portion - like getting cancer - is largely unaffected by even the best preparations and reactions).
In the end, I may decide to put the FLU419 on a truck but why should I now limit my options to grudgingly writing a check in my office and then cursing to myself while fixing nit-pick items in my garage if a reasonably smooth journey of discovery and improvement is not yet out of question? Also, if predictability would be my goal in life, I would have bought a Case, JD, etc. backhoe.
Please keep the suggestions coming of what to bring and what to check to increase my odds of getting home without major "explosions".
