Wheels up with Chris
There's an old joke that goes like this. "How do you know there's a pilot in the room?. . . .
Answer: He'll tell you.
Now Chris Barnett is a modest guy and doesn't inflict his love of flying on everybody he meets quite like that, so we'll tell you: did you know Chris is a pilot? And a good one at that! In fact it was his first career path. It all started when his dad came home one day while still in med school and announced to Chris' mom that he had bought a plane. So his mom, like any sensible wife and mother would do in such a situation, went out, learned to fly and got her license first!.
So flying is in the blood and was a natural course for Chris to take. He got his private pilot's license before he graduated high school, went to Florida for additional training and his bachelors in Professional Aeronautics. Afterwards he obtained a FAA Part 135 charter certificate and paid the bills flying private aircraft around the country. But life had its curveballs and different stages that made a pilot's career untenable so he changed course, eventually ending up going to law school.
But you can't get rid of the flying bug. He owned a small single engine plane or two during that period and flew some, but life priorities forced him to sell them. That was back in 2003. But again, you can't get rid of the bug.
The Golden Eagle
Fast forward a decade or two and life circumstances brought the possibility back into view and Chris was in a place to start flying again. So for the past two years he has been the proud co-owner (alongside his father and a good friend) of a Piper Malibu and then the illustrious Cessna 421C, the "Golden Eagle." It is a thing of comfort and beauty, able to carry 8 people in a pressurized cabin with room for everybody's luggage..
The Cessna 421C is an incredibly popular model produced from 1967-1985. It is a twin engined plane with 375hp Continental engines. The 421 cruises at 220kts (253 mph!) and has a max range of 1,487 miles; this thing can get around! And it does it in comfort and style as its pressurized cabin means it can fly above or around most weather.
The 421 was very popular because along with being pressurized, it is a very quiet flier, as the propeller is gear driven instead of being directly driven by the engine. This allows the props to rotate at about ⅔ of the engine speed, giving it the torque advantage needed to get the necessary thrust which is generated by running larger 90 inch props. Since much of the noise on a plane comes from the propellers, this slower rotation makes things significantly quieter for the passengers inside, one of the big selling points of the 421. We could go on forever about its technical specs… but won't. We can feel your eyes glazing over.
Speaking of jokes, have you heard this one? How do you know a pilot is half way through a first date. . . ?
He'll say: "Enough talking about me, let's talk about my airplane a bit."
All of the details that go into flying are endlessly interesting to pilots and we're glad they are! Pilots are consummate geeks about their planes, they have to be. There is so much that goes into flying: physics, engineering, weather, regulations, physical skill, feel for the plane, risk management, maintenance, safety procedures just to name a few. Let’s face it, there are risks involved in the endeavor. Fear of flying is a “thing” for a reason. But a pilot who has mastered all of those details, is constantly refreshing his skill set, keeping track of all the variables, and just plain loves the whole experience is exactly who you want at the controls.
Many people get to ride on Chris' Golden Eagle as he's always looking for an excuse to get up in the air. Friends, family, clients, and staff, and . along with other pilots in the area, he loves doing angel flight work where he transports families of sick kids to where they need to go, for free. And if you've flown with Chris, you know he is a reassuring person to fly with. He has a way of putting everyone at ease with his mastery of the craft of flying. He tells you what he's doing and is able to prepare you for things that might be alarming. He'll say "I'm going to put the landing gear down now, it's going to make some noise as they deploy." He makes the adventure fun and stress free because he is so capable at the helm and good at communicating what he's doing.
Landing a Real Estate deal smoothly
Calm and competent, that's exactly what characterizes our title work too and why Select Title is the place to go in Fredericksburg and in Gillespie County. Like flying, title work is similarly detail intensive, requires a steady knowledgeable hand, and can be stressful to people in the middle of a property sale adventure. You want a good pilot at the controls of the title process. Chris is that person and has infused this approach into the entire company. He knows where the stress points are, where things can go wrong, and how to resolve them. When questions come up that might threaten to derail a deal, Chris will calmly walk you through the issues and help bring the plane down for a gentle landing.
It is a totally natural connection point for Chris, flying and title work. It makes sense, the things we are and love flow into all of the things we do well in our lives. If you're interested in learning more about the Cessna 421 feel free to get Chris started the next time you're in our Chase Bank building office on Main St. Don't worry, Chris is polite about it and won't data dump unless you are really interested, but he does love talking about planes and loves taking the time to catch up with clients, so stop in.
Which brings us to our last joke. What do a pilot and a lawyer have in common?
They both wanted to be pilots when they were kids.