I lost one of my dearest friends on Saturday.

Dick was a man that I looked up to. We shared many common interests, boating, engineering, art, computers, lively discussion and, of course, our Lancairs.

I met Dick while building my Lancair.   He and Don Goetz prodded and poked me thru my 9 year process to build N333EX.  Then Dick provided the support and motivation during the full year that it took me to get my plane off the tarmac in Santa Rosa.

Dick's engineering skills were peerless. He designed and manufactured the trim system in my aircraft. That was just a tiny part of his skill. He designed adapted and perfected his own unique turbo system for his N79Y.  I have flown in his bird. Dick made sure that I had the basic skills necessary and feel for a Lancair before I climbed into my own cockpit. I did my first stalls in his plane, this is a friend.

As time went on, Dick and I traded phone calls on computers, politics and aircraft.  He was an early adopter of microcomputer technology.  He saw a niche market in hotel systems, taught himself software and founded a software firm.  That firm still has loyal customers.  We were always talking about going here and going there together with our wives; we only found the time for very brief overnight visits.

Dick participated in the Redmond air race a bit of time ago and pretty much messed up 79Y.  He walked away after a rather spectacular landing.

79Y sat on a spit in his front yard for some time. He would tinker with her on and off, bringing her back to life. Linda, Dick's bride, was happy to know that her only competition kept Dick wandering no further than the garage and the front yard. Linda always referred to 79Y as Dick's girlfriend.

A couple of months ago 79Y was ready to take to the air once again. That first test flight resulted in an oil line malfunction and Dick emergency landed at Santa Ynez airport just some 15nm from his home base in Santa Barbara. The landing was adequate, but the gear was damaged and took some time for Dick to repair 79Y to get her airborne once again.

That day came was last Saturday. Dick Reichel took off for the last time from Santa Ynez. We may never know exactly what happened on that flight. There are reports that Dick had enough time to assess the situation and perhaps he started an approach back to Ynez.