Logbook: Ken Volk

There’s no specific flight associated with this post. I am writing this today to honor a good friend whose life we will celebrate tomorrow.

We moved to the Bar V-K in Sanger, TX just over a year ago. Almost immediately, we met Ken Volk. He was in the final days of his career as a Captain for Delta/Northwest Airlines. Ken welcomed us with open arms into our new community and brought me up to speed on how things worked around the field. One of the “unwritten rules” was that if your hangar door was open, it meant people were welcome to drop by. His was almost always open.

I twisted Ken’s arm into training me in my Legend Cub when I bought it last October. It was tough to admit that after 20 years, I felt like a brand new pilot. The tailwheel transition made a real pilot out of me. Ken was patient and built my confidence up in a way I hadn’t ever experienced from a flight instructor. I was planning on getting him to teach Brandi to fly someday.

We flew together several times after that initial training as well. I even got a ride in his immaculately restored Stearman.

More than that, though, was that Ken was always smiling. He always made a bad day better by just hanging out for a bit in his hangar.  He would spend hours with 3-4 guys in the hangar telling stories and solving world problems over a beer.  He could fix anything and was always willing to lend a hand.  He even liked my crazy dog…in fact he may be on the only person who did!

He’d cringe at these words, and calling out any attention to him, which is yet another admirable quality he possessed. However, I thought it appropriate as we will gather with his friends and family tomorrow. We’ll meet one last time at Ken’s hangar and celebrate his life.

Ken, you are missed. Thank you for making us feel welcome when we moved here, and for being a good friend.