Gratuitous Indeed

Recently I had lunch with my friend and colleague Jeff Van West, Jenny Van West, a talented musician and Jeffs delightful wife, and 14-year-old Baxter, their youngest son. Baxter is an uncommonly bright and interesting young man with the not-uncommon black-and-white simplistic view of the world that is the purview of youth.

Editorial Staff

Saturday, December 30, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A teenager's observation about the "gratuitously large" nature of the author's plane sparks a broader reflection on whether personal aviation is inherently excessive.
The author concedes that most personal flying is indeed gratuitous but argues it aligns with a modern society that values convenience, time efficiency, and recreation.
Ultimately, the author embraces the "gratuitous" aspect of his flying, citing specific mission needs, and resolves to minimize excess in other areas of his life rather than abandon his aircraft.

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Recently I had lunch with my friend and colleague Jeff Van West, Jenny Van West, a talented musician and Jeff’s delightful wife, and 14-year-old Baxter, their youngest son. Baxter is an uncommonly bright and interesting young man with the not-uncommon black-and-white simplistic view of the world that is the purview of youth.

We’d flown our six-passenger, twin-engine, pressurized, 30-gallon-an-hour-burning Cessna 340 to the meeting. Baxter, a budding pilot, asked what kind of plane we had, and Jeff told him. Baxter, being unfamiliar with it, grabbed a cell phone and looked it up. After a couple minutes to research and absorb the information, he took me slightly aside and conspiratorially asked me, “Isn’t that gratuitously large for just two people?”