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03/09 - Don’t Fear the Imaginary Fence

By Steve Krog

Almost from the time he was born, Romy Baus, a 52-year-young design engineer, has had the urge to go fast and do things others haven’t done. Anything mechanical in Romy’s hands could be disassembled and made better; anything with wheels had one purpose—to go faster than anyone else! How does this relate to flying? Even though his focus was on ground vehicles with two or four wheels, he always had a burning desire to learn to fly and have his own airplane. But first he had to get racing out of his system. “My earliest recollection of airplanes began when I was probably three or four years old,” he says. “Every time an airplane flew over I’d look up and watch it until it disappeared out of sight.” When he was a teenager, a family friend introduced Romy to radio-controlled model flying. “So for several years I purchased a lot of balsa wood!” he said. “Every flight seemed to end in some form of crash, but the experience did teach me to understand the basics of lift, flight, and flight controls.”

One-time racer Romy Maus stands beside hisPiper PA-12 Super Cruiser.

When Romy turned 18 he launched his professional racing career beginning with snowmobiles. About this time he met and married Cindy, his wife of 30 years. Two daughters soon followed. Then he moved on to ATVs, but his mechanical abilities, coupled with his driving skills, yearned for something even more challenging. So he entered the world of mini-sprint car racing.

By the time the girls were in school, both knew every part on the racecar and loved helping dad work on it every evening. Combining family life with working 50-60 hours a week, building and fixing his racecar in the evening, and racing every weekend, Romy kept the family very active and involved. It was not uncommon to load the family in the camper and drive six or seven hours with the racecar in tow for a Saturday night race. Cindy and the girls were the pit crew pit crew. The family would then load up and drive all day Sunday and be back at work and school Monday morning.

Finally, after nearly three decades of racing - including hundreds of wins and championships and a three-year stint on the Outlaw Winged Sprint Car circuit - it was time for Romy to hang up his Nomex racing togs and pursue flying.

Romy’s entry into the world of flight nearly ended before it started. He began visiting different airports and checking on flight schools.

“It seemed that every time I asked about flight training, the first thing they would do is set out a stack of books about a foot tall telling me I’d need to buy and learn everything contained within,” he commented. “This was overwhelming to me. I needed to learn all of that? At my age? I never did like learning from a book and thought that maybe flying was beyond my abilities.”

Then one day he stopped at an airport that offered Discovery Flights. “I told the gal behind the desk I’d like to take one of these flights and was soon connected with a young flight instructor,” Romy recalled.

The flight was uneventful and something less than what Romy was anticipating. “Being the inquisitive type I asked a lot of questions,” he stated, “but the pilot/instructor never answered me with more than a grunt. When the flight was over I thought that I was probably making a mistake.”

Several weeks passed, but the desire to fly was still foremost on his mind. “I’d been to the Hartford airport before but was always leery of crossing that imaginary fence,” he said. “Finally, on an especially nice day, I brought my lawn chair along and sat on the ramp next to a hangar and watched airplanes and continued doing this several times a week for several weeks.”

Romy noticed one individual who seemed to be at the airport and flying every day. Overcoming his bashfulness to talk to “airport types” he approached the individual. Once the introductions were made and Romy expressed his interest in learning to fly, he realized he had made a lifelong friend in Tom Hegy. For the next few days he went for rides in Tom’s Piper PA-12 and Travel Air 4000 biplane.

“Tom flew me to a number of different airports and introduced me to a lot of aviation people. I then realized two things: airport people are no different than anyone else and I just had to learn to fly,” Romy said. “Tom took me to a nearby hangar and introduced me to Steve Krog and the rest is history.”

They agreed that Romy would take four or five lessons and then sit down again and evaluate everything. “If I didn’t like it, I’d go on and do something else,” Romy said. “But if I liked it, we’d hit it hard so that I could get my private pilot license.”

After the second lesson Romy was hooked…and when he makes up his mind to do something, nothing gets in his way.

“I was really bitten by the flying bug and looked forward to every lesson, no matter what time of day they were scheduled. I looked forward to learning; how the plane handled, what it felt like in different attitudes, and the proper inputs needed to perform every maneuver correctly,” he remembers.

Within several months Romy was nearing completion of all the flight requirements for earning a license. However, the FAA written test still loomed.

“At the beginning of my training I began doing some studying, but as I approached the finish, the amount of information I needed to know seemed to intimidate me,” he said. “In reality though, it isn’t bad at all. I really hit the books and learned a lot, and with much of the flying experience under my belt, everything in the books seemed to come more naturally and make sense,” he recalls.

Romy called every lesson a highlight of flight training. “Going out and learning something new was fantastic,” he said. “I never had to set the alarm for the early morning lessons because I was really stoked! It was new, challenging, and fun!

“Operating in a three-dimensional environment opened up a whole new world for me. It wasn’t just a big engine, four tires, and turning left anymore.”

His first solo topped the list of most memorable experiences during his flight training.

“It was early Saturday morning and we made three or four take offs and landings,” Romy explained.” Then Steve told Romy to pull over and exited the airplane, instructing him to make three more take offs and landings to a full stop. “He told me to be aware that the Cub would perform significantly better without him in the front seat.”

Romy’s first landing was uneventful and served as a great confidence builder. “It was exhilarating; I was actually flying solo!” he said. Then the fun began. The wind began to pick up, forcing two go-arounds before completing the second landing. Sweating profusely, he thought Steve would surely figure that was enough. But then he signaled at Romy to make one more.

“As I recall, I made two more go-arounds before completing the third and final landing. What a confidence building experience,” Romy recalled.

His first solo cross-country flight was also memorable. “It was the first time I was leaving the vicinity of the Hartford airport on my own. I thought, wow, I’m really going somewhere.”

After a few nervous minutes thinking about finding the next airport and flying my course, Romy settled down and flew the entire flight uneventfully. “The smile on my face and the tears of joy nearly blocked my vision, though,” Romy offered.

Finally, checkride day arrived and Romy was at the airport by 5:00 a.m. for an 8:30 checkride. A last-minute review was followed by constant pacing.

“I was really keyed up for it, but it turned out that I was just over anticipating,” he said. “The examiner began the oral exam and I seemed to nail everything. With nerves relaxing a bit and sweaty palms drying out, the 90-minute oral was over.”

His check ride went smoothly as well except for the last take off, Romy recalled. While demonstrating a steady crosswind take off he let the wing dip a bit. “I said ‘Oops, I shouldn’t have done that,’ and the examiner firmly stated that ‘oops’ is not an accepted word in a pilot’s vocabulary as it may scare a new or timid passenger.”

Finally the flight test was over, the paperwork was completed, and thank you’s and good byes were exchanged. “I didn’t need an airplane to fly at that moment,” Romy explained, “What a pleasure and what a sense of accomplishment earning my private pilot license!”

Romy offered this bit of advice for anyone considering flight lessons. “If I can do it, anyone can. Don’t be afraid to cross that imaginary fence and talk to some of the people at the airport. You’ll find they are no different than you and will almost always stop to talk about flying. I’ve met and made a lot of new friends.”

Though Romy lives only about 50 miles from Oshkosh, he had never attended EAA AirVenture Oshkosh until learning to fly. Now he never misses the event. “It’s always fun to see the planes, watch the air show, and learn about new products. But the highlight of the event is the people,” he said. “Where else in the world can you go and talk, learn, and make new friends like you can do at Oshkosh?”

Editor’s Note: Since completing his flight training, Romy Baus has acquired a beautiful Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, restored by the well-known father-son duo Dick and Dan Knutson, and has logged nearly 200 hours on the airplane. Flying, just as racing, continues to be a family affair, which now includes his 6-year-old grandson, Parker. Seldom is the rear seat empty when Romy makes a pleasure flight.

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