My Baby Is Getting A Facelift

That may be an alarming post title for some people. You must remember that "My Baby" is a Hawker Beechjet 400A! Real babies are way too cute to need cosmetic surgery...

We dropped off the airplane to the fine folks at Oxford Aviation in Maine just before Thanksgiving for a new paint job and interior. Believe me...these improvements were needed! Oxford has been working on my airplane night and day for the past two months to get it ready for a new life. We are supposed to pick it up next week, but I'm not holding my breath. After the paint gets finished and has time to cure (in Maine winter temperatures, mind you), time will still be needed for installation of the new interior, which is being built at the same time in a different part of the shop.

In addition to the beautiful paint job seen above, we are getting new carpet, new sidewalls (no more ultra suede!), and the seats are being reupholstered in a beautiful tan leather. Even the pilots' seats up front are getting redone and having new wool placed on top. We truly do have the best seats in the house! The airplane was in sore need of some loving attention, and I have been begging for a new paint and interior for years! Unfortunately, I'm the only girl on the airplane and therefore the only one who cares about the aesthetics of something flying through the sky at 550 MPH! My Baby will be turning fifteen years old this year and still has the original paint and interior. An upgrade like this major makeover inside and out will be a very welcome sight indeed.

And I thought I loved this airplane before!

I miss My Baby and can't wait to get her back. I must say that the time home, without the constant threat of being called for work at any hour of the day or night, has been a nice treat.