"I'm niner-niner-six-two-tango!"

Growing up, my friend Jason and I would actually run around our yard pretending to be airplanes and yell out "I'm niner-niner-six-two-tango!" at the top of our lungs. So yeah, I guess you could say this plane has been a major part of my life - whether it was with us or not. 

As my father aged, he battled everything from Cluster Headaches to testicular and colon cancer. After all that however, it was Dementia that ultimately took him from us. 

As the disease progressed, there'd be days that it seemed he'd forgotten everything. But I'll always remember him, regardless of his state, telling me a flying story, then reassuring me that we'd find that Cessna and he'd still fly with me relying on checklists and my younger mind. 

Sadly, my dad passed away on Dec. 27th, 2012. Even though we'd gotten to fly a few times prior to his passing, he never did get to see his old plane. 

In the fall of 2015, my brother (who works for the FAA and was investigating an accident involving a Cessna 182) texted me the picture shown above and said "that's dad's plane!". I really can't explain the giddy feeling that stirred inside me. I HAD to buy that plane.

On the 4th anniversary of my father's passing, the plane was mine and just a few weeks later, it landed in Lincoln NE (KLNK) and was parked in it's new home, ready for it's next mission - One that Craig (@spilk22), Calvin (@calvincaneva) and I (@ccaneva) will document and share with you