May 6, 2026 · 16 min · 13 segments
Longtime aviation author and retired airline captain Les Abend joins AvBrief’s A-list editorial team with a focus on take-it-to-the-bank advice for safe, affordable, and smart airplane ownership.
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Yeah, you know, you and I are, were hanging out not too long ago, and you had said something that I thought a lot about, and that was, um, you know, when you're in a 777 with all the redundancy, all the backstop, all the safety, and all the, the team that's behind you, the decision-making is completely 180 than what it is down in the GA world.
You fly a Piper Arrow now, and you look at a guy like Les Abend, you say, "Well, there's a guy that's gonna take off in any kind of weather." Not so, right?
Um, you, you, you, you mitigate your risks like, like we all know, but, um, you know, I would, I would just as soon stay on the ground, um, you know, rather than, than get up in the air if I see something that's questionable.
And one of my favorite co-pilots is my wife, and my favorite passenger, and there's nothing I would do to, uh, to make her uncomfortable or, or, or scared.
Uh, the Cherokee Six was really my first airplane when [laughs] I finally convinced my wife to, to, to, to, uh, to, to purchase.
And I, I got it more from sentimental reasons, because when I was, uh, nearing, uh, y- the possibility of, of actually flying for an airline, I was working for a small operation up in Syracuse, New York, and, and, and they had Cherokee Six, uh, airplanes and, and, uh, uh, all, all the newer Pipers.
Of course, I'm dating myself, but-And I took a whole, a, a, a crew of, uh, uh, employees that were gonna ferry airplanes back from Vero Beach back to Syracuse in a Cherokee 6.
And I always loved the airplane because it's, uh, you know, if it, if it fits, it ships in the Cherokee 6, more or less.
And then I realized, you know what, I'm burning a lot of fuel for primarily just carrying my wife and myself, uh, back and forth to Florida on occasion.
And it, it, it, it didn't make a lot of sense at the time, and there were other mechanical factors that, that were involved, and it was an older airplane.
But, uh, you know, then, then I thought it was time to, to get rid of the Cherokee 6.
Yeah, you know, you and I are, were hanging out not too long ago, and you had said something that I thought a lot about, and that was, um, you know, when you're in a 777 with all the redundancy, all the backstop, all the safety, and all the, the team that's behind you, the decision-making is completely 180 than what it is down in the GA world.
You fly a Piper Arrow now, and you look at a guy like Les Abend, you say, "Well, there's a guy that's gonna take off in any kind of weather." Not so, right?
Um, you, you, you, you mitigate your risks like, like we all know, but, um, you know, I would, I would just as soon stay on the ground, um, you know, rather than, than get up in the air if I see something that's questionable.
And one of my favorite co-pilots is my wife, and my favorite passenger, and there's nothing I would do to, uh, to make her uncomfortable or, or, or scared.
Uh, the Cherokee Six was really my first airplane when [laughs] I finally convinced my wife to, to, to, to, uh, to, to purchase.
And I, I got it more from sentimental reasons, because when I was, uh, nearing, uh, y- the possibility of, of actually flying for an airline, I was working for a small operation up in Syracuse, New York, and, and, and they had Cherokee Six, uh, airplanes and, and, uh, uh, all, all the newer Pipers.
Of course, I'm dating myself, but-And I took a whole, a, a, a crew of, uh, uh, employees that were gonna ferry airplanes back from Vero Beach back to Syracuse in a Cherokee 6.
And I always loved the airplane because it's, uh, you know, if it, if it fits, it ships in the Cherokee 6, more or less.
And then I realized, you know what, I'm burning a lot of fuel for primarily just carrying my wife and myself, uh, back and forth to Florida on occasion.
And it, it, it, it didn't make a lot of sense at the time, and there were other mechanical factors that, that were involved, and it was an older airplane.
But, uh, you know, then, then I thought it was time to, to get rid of the Cherokee 6.
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