Double posting in airplane and motorcycle forums.

Just as a matter of quick introduction: I am new to Prevosts but I have been kicking around airplanes since 1964. I flew the CH-46 and the OV-10 for the Marine Corps until I retired in 1991.

I have always had a motorcycle or two. Rode Harleys for about 40 years till I went to Beemers in 1995.

Always wanted a small yacht but have made do with a small day sailer. Likewise, enjoy railroads and railroad museums. Many campgrounds are located close to railroad tracks--to the dismay of most campers--but I enjoy the sight sound and smells of the trains going by.

Don't know a lot about them but a steam engine rally can entertain me for hours. Closest I have come is an old Ford 8N tractor but now have a Kabota 4 wheel drive.

Where am I going with this?

I think those of us who enjoy one of these things also enjoy some of the others. A guy who likes airplanes, will like motorcycles, sailboats, and coaches. The link, I think, is the feed back one gets back from a machine that is performing as it should: A well trimmed airplane or sailboat, an aircraft, coach, or motorcycle that is on the step, or a 16 inch bottom plow turning the furrow as it should. Likewise, we feel discomfort, if not pain, when a machine is not quite right.

I don't think I am a gearhead. I don't enjoy tearing things apart just to see how they work. Example: I didn't enjoy fooling around with broken airplanes--I like it when they are flying, or better yet, delivering ordnance.

I know I am on thin ice here but I swear some machines, like dogs, have souls.