Author: The Flying Dutchman

I am a man who loves Christ, loves my wife, loves my family, loves my church, and loves aviation. In that order.

The fruits of the Spirit – Kindness

On By The Flying DutchmanIn FaithLeave a comment

How is kindness different from love? God shows His love to those whom He has chosen by enabling their belief, by offering them salvation, by atoning for His chosen by sacrificing His Beloved on the cross. God shows His love by bestowing blessings upon His chosen. God shows His love by selecting them for eternal life. We show love by taking care of one another, being faithful to one another, and helping one another. How do we show kindness then? Love and kindness sound so similar. They are but with one important difference, kindness can be shared with those we don’t love.

God shows His kindness in many different ways. He keeps the planet warm and habitable, sends the sun and rain at just the right times, and He provides us with water and food. This is kindness that is expressed to all life on the earth, not just His elect. God enables some to become rich and enjoy their wealth all their days on earth. This is kind in that many of them are doomed to destruction. (I don’t judge them, God does.)

One may ask then if God is so kind to those who are not His chosen, then why doesn’t he just save them anyway? If you had spent your whole life denying that there is a God, or even worse, not caring if there is a God or not, would it be kind to for you to stand before God for all eternity? To have to stand and praise God all eternity when you never believed in the first place would be very unkind indeed.

We can’t pretend to know God’s motives. Our highest love is not quite as good as His lowest kindness. How can we ever hope to understand His greatest kindness? Or for that matter, His deepest love? Emulate your Father. Show kindness to those whom you don’t love.

The fruits of the Spirit – Patience

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Faith2 Comments

Holy Lord, I have barely enough to make ends meet. I work hard but the money always seems to be gone. I don’t know what to do Father. Won’t you help me?

Silence.

Holy Lord, my family is all gone. My children don’t call or visit any more. I’m lonely and feel as though my heart will break. Won’t you bring me home?

Silence.

Mighty God, you know how young I am but I want to serve You so badly! I want to find a Godly man to share my life with and raise Godly children but there doesn’t seem to be anyone in sight? How long must I stay in my parent’s home? When can I begin Your work?

Silence.

Most merciful Father, one trouble after another seems to pile itself on to my life. I trust You and know You will deliver me from all evil. When will these troubles end?

Silence.

When God doesn’t seem to answer our prayers, when it seems as though He is turning a deaf ear to our needs or troubles or sorrows, we must remember to ask ourselves, is God’s answer “No” or is He trying to teach us something? First of all turn to scripture to seek His answers, secondly consider that He may be teaching you to rely completely upon Him. God doesn’t do things on our timetable but on His. Wait for Him. He will take care of you at the proper time. No sooner, nor shall He delay.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
Colossians 3:12

The fruits of the Spirit – Peace

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Where will I find peace?  Will I find it locked witihin my car before I face the day’s challenges?  No, the challenges will still come.  Will I find it under the green trees along a quiet stream?  No, I must eventually leave that place.  Will I find it in the bosom of my family?  No, children grow up and move away.  Spouses die.  I cannot find peace anywere except within myself.  Quietly, gently placed there by a loving and merciful Savior.

How will I find peace?  Will I find it by studying the great works of man stumbling across some secret wisdom that unlocks it?  No, though you gain all the knowledge in all the world, you will not find peace. Will I find it by asking all the wisest men in all the world, some guru upon a mountain?  No, men who offer peace try to give away what they themselves don’t have.  The Bible, that’s it, the Bible will show me how to find peace!  The Bible speaks of peace but does not offer it.  Those who follow the teachings in the Bible will be given very little in the way of peace.  No, there is nothing I can do to find it.  The only way I will find it is if I am led to peace by a loving and merciful Savior.

When will I find peace?  Will I find it when I have finished studying Scripture having unlocked all it’s secrets?  No, many learned men read Scripture and it does nothing for them.  Will I find it when the wars have ended, when men no longer rise up against one another?  No, there will always be war and suffering until the return of our King.  Will I find it when at last I am laid to rest?  No, the dead feel nothing, they only sleep and await peace.  No, I will only find peace when I have completely submitted myself to a loving a merciful Savior.

My Savior leads me through righteous paths, He calms the waters for me, though the wolves snarl and snap I do not fear them.  I feel the peace that can’t be explained.  The peace that comes from knowing that you are beyond the reach of evil.  The peace that comes from knowing that no matter what happens I will ultimately be victorious because my Savior, my King, my God has ordained it and nothing can stand before Him. 

Peace is where I Am … is.

The fruits of the Spirit – Joy

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I sit amid silver glints streaking through cloud and sky. My heart races as I see the green and brown of earth melt into the blue horizon on all sides. The roar of engine and air fills my head and mixes with the acrid heady smell of fuel and hot metal. Ever so gently this flash of silver floats earthward and alights the gound once more.

I bask in the warmth of my wife’s smile, the aroma of the food she cooked filles the house. My children are making foolish noises at each other across the table. My work for the day is done, I can rest, relax, enjoy dinner with my family. I pray over the food. My wife tells me about her day, my children each tell me something that interests them at the moment. I mostly just listen quietly, only asking a few questions here and there.

I have to there be early. I have to help set up. Arrange the chairs just so. Make sure the food supplies are moved to the kitchen. I listen to my wife play preludes on the piano while I bustle around. The service begins. The chair I sit in is uncomfortable, it hurts my back. But then… oh then when we sing!

“Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
-Nehemiah 8:10

The fruits of the Spirit – Love

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Christ has poured out His love upon you, make yourself a conduit for that love.

Family

Kiss your wife.
Hug your kids.
Call your father.

Friends

Help your buddy change his oil.
Call an old acquaintance to say hello.
Laugh at your brother’s joke when it isn’t funny.

Colleagues

Make coffee for once.
Listen to someone’s problems.
Tell a colleague you admire them because…

Strangers

Smile at an elderly person.
Let the other car go first.
Help a mother lift something heavy at the grocery store.

Church

Thank your pastor for his hard work.
Ask an elderly church member for advice.
Sit next to someone who is alone.

Three simple things you can do in almost any situation to express Christ’s love. How many more can you think of? Will you act upon them? Let the fruits of the Spirit ripen in your life and burst forth their goodness upon those around you.

Hangar therapy

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Aviation, Faith2 Comments

What a week this has been. There were family problems, work problems, thank God there were no church problems. In fact my church has been a great help this week. For the first time in recent memory a church has helped us. Bless them. It was kind of a bell curve, the week started out good, got worse as it went on, then ended as good as it started. My wife and I got to go out to dinner alone for our wedding anniversary, which was very good. I feel I cheated her though, because my mind was still racing a mile a minute from this week.

But today my mind was freed and returned to normal. The best therapy besides prayer for me is aviation. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t get to fly today. It doesn’t matter that I spent the last two months building elevators that I can’t use. What matters is that I was able to spend a few quiet hours at the airport in my hangar working on my plane. It’s dirty and dangerous work. Dangerous to your eyes and fingers anyway. But the cares melted away with my vixen file, my bolts and bearings, my tin snips and clecoes. There is almost a poetry to drilling, deburring, dimpling, priming, and riveting. It somehow restores me. When I do it, I feel normal again. Though it is not normal for most men to build airplanes. But to me it is liberating.

Dreaming is almost as fun as doing. I have almost as much fun planning my flights as I do executing them. Even now I am trying to decide where to go after I have flight tested my elevators. Someplace close like Los Banos, or farther away like Oceano where I can walk onto the beach and watch the waves for a while. In the end it doesn’t really matter because it’s the journey I have come to enjoy much more than the destination.

Here’s to the journey.

Flight safety

On By The Flying DutchmanIn AviationLeave a comment

I recently completed my Biennial Flight Review or BFR as it’s known in aviation circles. You see, when you get your driver’s license, you take a driving test and that’s it. You may have to go back to take a written test from time to time but you probably won’t have to take the driving test again as long as you live. In aviation it’s different. You don’t get a pilot’s license per se, it’s a certificate of demonstrated ability. You must periodically demonstrate that ability, in fact, every two years.

A BFR consists of recurrent training with a Certified Flight Instructor or CFI. The CFI must spend one hour with you in ground instruction where regulations, aeronautical knowledge, weather, charts, and the like are covered. Then you must spend one hour in the air doing… well whatever the CFI senses your weak areas are… that’s what you do.

I got through the ground portion easily enough. It’s always the flight test that gets me. It’s not that the manuvers are that hard, it’s just that I don’t fly a Cessna 172 that often. After flying an RV-4 for two years, a 172 handles like a big truck with manual steering. I plunked it on the runway twice and then made one good landing. I think the CFI signed me off just to get me out of there.

🙂

I hate doing it but I know it is all about flight safety. I really enjoy this hobby but I always have to remember that aviation is “terribly unforgiving of any carelessness or neglect.”

Beware, dear son of my heart,
lest in thy newfound power thou seekest
even the gates of Olympus….
These wings may bring thy freedom
but may also come thy death.

— Daedalus to Icarus,
after teaching his son to use
his new wings of wax and feathers

Amazing phone call

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Faith2 Comments

I’ve refered to him as the man of sorrow and the agnostic Calivinist, he is in fact my father and I received an amazing phone call from him the other night. He said he just called to let me know that he’d read through all of my postings on this site and was very proud and respected me for the journey I had taken and shared through this site. I was stunned. Some of what I wrote under the assumption that it would never be read by family. After all I cleverly hid my words in a blog on the Internet. Who’d ever think to look there?
However, true to his nature, he didn’t take offense at anything I wrote but instead took my words in the spirit in which they were intended. Something I don’t often get to experience. My response was genuine, and without any pretense of hiding behind humor; thank you.

I told him that it’s still my hope that he will join the journey one of these days and I relayed as such to him. I can’t remember the response I got exactly but it wasn’t “NO!” So from now on, whether he likes it or not, I shall refer to him as the man of hope.

Thanks again, Dad. I love you.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

More RV-4 work, more RV-7 work

On By The Flying DutchmanIn RV-4, RV-7Leave a comment

I worked some more on my RV-4 elevator. I spent most of the day getting very little accomplished on it. It’s almost ready to rivet. I need to get some smaller nails for the close quarter dimpler I have. You use a pop rivet tool, some dies, and a nail to dimple a rivet hole. Once these last few holes are dimpled it’s ready to start riveting the elevator spar to the skin.

I also did some work on my RV-7 horizontal stabilizer skeleton. I alodined the ribs and spars and other raw aluminum stock that goes on there. I have found that the best method when using alodine is to just pour it in a basin and soak the pieces in it. I tried a trick using a long plastic bag to alodine the longer parts but had mixed results. When it comes time to alodine the vertical pieces I may look at a different technique. Here are some pictures of the final product. You can see I need to refine my technique. It’s good enough though and won’t be seen by the general public anyway.

Forward side

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Aft side

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The quality of mercy is not strain'd

On By The Flying DutchmanIn PoetryLeave a comment

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice.

— William Shakespeare

Would that I could write such as thus. 🙂