Southwest Florida "Dream Plane" Blown Away By Hurricane

Naples Daily News reporter Jeremy Cox put it best: As Hurricane Charley battered Southwest Florida one month ago, it not only destroyed buildings. It destroyed dreams as well. This is one such story.

Robert Ulrich had wanted to fly for six decades. He worked on his rating at one time, shortly after World War II, but he didn't finish. Work got in the way.

Thirty years later, Ulrich and a group of friends bought a Cessna 182. But the aircraft was destroyed when the snow-covered New York state hangar in which it was stored collapsed.

Almost 20 years after that, in 1998, Ulrich bought an airplane kit -- a Dakota Hawk (file photo above) -- and started building it in his garage. Four years later, in December, 2002, Ulrich's plane was inspected by a couple of FAA types and deemed airworthy.

"I knew it was good. They didn't have to change a thing. The airplane flew beautifully," Ulrich told the Daily News.

But actually flying it almost eluded the 84-year old Ulrich. He had some vision problems that threatened to ground him. But he was so in love with his Dakota that he taxied it around at LaBelle Municipal Airport (FL), unable to keep his hands off his dream plane.

But after an MRI and a brain scan, even the FAA couldn't keep Ulrich out of the sky. Finally, Ulrich would be able to realize his lifelong wish -- he was flying.

The Daily News reports that in March 2003, Ulrich decided to move the aircraft to the Charlotte County Regional Airport in Punta Gorda (FL). Seventeen months later, Hurricane Charley came to call.

As Charley approached, bringing 145 mph winds, Ulrich's friend and fellow pilot, Ray Romeu, went to the airport and secured the Dakota as best he could. Even though the Dakota was hangared, he tied the aircraft to bolts anchored in concrete floor.

Charley was especially cruel to Charlotte County Regional. Very little on the airport grounds was left standing. When Ulrich and Romeu went to the airport after the hurricane, they found most of the hangars -- including theirs -- flattened.

"It looked like a pile of toothpicks," Romeu told the Daily News.

Ulrich agreed. "It was a sad day," is all he could say.

All that could be salvaged were a few instruments and the engine. In all, Ulrich got to fly his dream plane for about ten hours.

At 86-years old, will Robert Ulrich start over? Will he build another airplane?

"I'm too old for that now," he told the Daily News.

Instead, he'll spend the rest of his flying days at the controls of other people's airplanes, whenever they're willing to let him take over. And he'll remember that for ten hours, at least, he got to live his dream.

FMI: www.charlottecountyairport.com