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:

The author is confronted by a teenager who labels his personal aircraft "gratuitously large" for just two people, prompting a reflection on the nature of personal aviation.
The author concedes that most personal flying, from presidential jets to small recreational planes, can indeed be considered gratuitous, serving as a luxury or for pleasure.
Despite its gratuitous nature, the author justifies personal flying by highlighting its value in a modern, convenience-focused society for saving time, facilitating work, and providing recreation, as well as meeting specific mission requirements.
Ultimately, the author accepts the "gratuitous" label but declares he is unwilling to give up personal flying due to its practical benefits and its place within contemporary life.

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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?”