Life after the Lottery Ch. 74

"I have someone that is looking for any old journals about early heart transplants..."

"You do! That's great...she found out that they are no longer in the library...I know."

"You do. That would be fantastic. Can she borrow them if she is very careful with them?"

"Sure...that is not a problem."

Dawn grabbed a pad and pen and wrote.

"Okay, I got it. I'm sure she would...thanks, Jerry."

Dawn hung up.

"Here, this is Dr. Jennings' home address. He said he has all the old journals about the first heart transplants. He and his wife collect old medical journals," Dawn said as she handed Amy the notepad.

"Cool!"

"He said if you needed them right now, you could pick them up at his house this evening."

"Wow! Great! Thanks, honey!"

"You be very careful with them."

"I will. What time can I pick them up?"

"He said his wife knows where they are, and he would call her."

"Great! I'll go see if they will help!"

Amy kissed Dawn and me and headed out the door.

"Who is Jerry?" I asked.

"New professor we hired to teach thoracic anatomy to the advanced nurses."

Dawn and I went back to reading journals.

*****

Samantha came in later and sat down with us.

"Where is sis?" Samantha asked.

"She went to pick up some old medical journals," Dawn said.

"Where? She is still gone."

"You remember Dr. Jennings?" Dawn asked.

"The new guy down the hall from you?"

"Yes. He collects old medical journals. I hooked Amy up with him for a research paper she is working on," Dawn replied.

"Really," Samantha said.

"He and his wife collect old journals."

"What time did sis leave?"

"About 3:00. I am sure she is just talking and looking through the journals she needs."

"I bet."

"Is there a problem?" Dawn asked Samantha.

"Well... when I met Dr. Jennings last week...he flirted with me a lot."

"Sam, everyone flirts with you."

"He told me that his wife would think I was really pretty."

"I see."

Amy came in about 9:00. She had a small stack of journals.

"Did he have what you needed?" Dawn asked.

"Yes! And he had all these journals too!"

We laughed.

Amy sat and told us about Dr. Jennings and his wife doing her.

*****

The next morning, my cell rang, and I picked it up. It wasn't a number I recognized, but I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Smith?"

"That's me."

"Hello, Dr. Smith. My name is Victor Douglas. I am one of Ms. Williams' tax attorneys. She asked me to give you a call."

"Okay?

"She mentioned that you are planning on buying a helicopter so your wife can fly back and forth to the Cherokee reservation."

"We are considering it."

"For what purposes would your wife be traveling there?"

"She is the Tribal Medicine woman. She has obligations to the tribe."

"I understand she is a member of the Cherokee Nation?"

"She is."

"Investing in a helicopter is an expensive undertaking. Ms. WIllaims wanted me to tell you how you could take some tax advantages of that."

"That would be nice."

"If she is traveling there for the purposes of using her skills and not just for visiting, you could have a huge tax savings."

"Even though she is a member of the tribe?"

"Sure."

"How could we do that?"

"For purposes of limiting liability, you should create a corporation to own the helicopter. All of Ms. Willaims' aircraft are held by separate corporations to limit any liability."

"That makes sense."

"Let me ask you a few more questions, Dr. Smtih. Do you and your wife give money to your wife's tribe?"

"Occasionally."

"When you travel there, have you been deducting the cost of travel from your taxes?"

"Before, we were just visiting."

"Let me explain what would be best for you. You should create one corporation to hold the helicopter. This will limit any liability problems and make it easier to track all the expenses related to owning an aircraft. Second, I would recommend that you create a non-profit charitable foundation if you are going to use the aircraft for your wife to perform her duties on the reservation. Once you have the non-profit, you can lease the helicopter to it and right all that off. Also, any future donations you make to the reservation can go through the non-profit, and you can write that off as well."

"That sounds good."

"And, since it is a non-profit foundation, you can solicit donations for the tribe."

"Where does the non-profit get the money to lease the helicopter?"

"You are going to donate it to them. Write them a check to cover the operating cost of the helicopter each year. That will be a tax deduction. You cannot donate your time or your wife's time, but you can donate all the related expenses much easier this way. Every trip she makes, the fuel used, maintenance cost, and other expenses become a tax write-off."

"If we do that, what about if we use the helicopter for other purposes?"

"If you use it to fly somewhere for a vacation, you write a check to the holding corporation for an hourly rate. That is not a tax write-off for you, but the money will go toward expenses for the aircraft. That is a tax write-off for the corporation. When the foundation pays the lease for the helicopter, all that money goes to maintenance and operations. An expense for the holding corporation. At the end of the year, all the money you donate to your foundation is a tax break for you. The non-profit will not make any money to pay taxes on. The holding company uses the lease money to maintain the aircraft. That will be a tax break for the holding company because it is an expense. This way, you get to write off the bulk of the cost of use and ownership of the helicopter."

"I like the sound of that, Victor."

"Ms. Williams thought you would."

"How do I set all this up?"

"The first thing is to set up the corporation to purchase the helicopter. Once that is done, all expenses related to the aircraft are funneled through it. Then you create the non-profit foundation."

"How long does all this take, and what does it cost?

"The cost will be about $10,000. All this is boilerplate for me. It takes about two weeks to get all the paperwork approved by the state and the feds."

"Well, Victor, it sounds like that is what we should do."

"You'll find a lot of advantages to doing this."

"It will be a while before we have the helicopter."

"I recommend that you go ahead and let me set all this up. Once that is done, pay all expenses from the holding corporation."

"Including the cost for training to get a pilot's license?"

"Yes."

"I was planning on getting a pilots license along with my wife. Can it cover that?"

"All expenses, Dr. Smith."

"Then let's do it!"

"Fine. We can set up a time to meet at my office to go over everything."

"I'll find some time next week if that works for you?" I said.

"It will. Just give me a call a few days in advance."

"I will. Thanks, and tell Linda thanks."

"I will."

"Bye."

*****

Samantha came down before she headed to school.

"Hey, come here a minute," I said to Samantha as she came down the stairs.

She came and sat next to me.

"I want to talk to you about learning to fly a helicopter. Why do you want to do it?" I asked.

"It would just be cool."

"I am getting concerned about you getting overextended, honey. It will take a lot of your time to learn to fly."

"I can do it on weekends."

"Are you going to stop working on your blackbelt?"

"Of course not."

"Ground school is usually on weekends, on Saturdays."

"Oh...how long does that take?"

"Maybe a few months, according to Jeanine."

"That's not too long."

"Then you have to learn to fly."

"Can I do that while I am pregnant?"

"I guess."

"I think that once I am three or four months pregnant...I'll have to limit Krav Mega. We get pretty banged up on Saturdays."

"Maybe. Jeanine is looking into ground schools to see when they are available. If you do this...I am going to be making sure you are keeping your studies up."

"That's okay."

"And...I also expect you to be honest with us, and if you get overextended, you tell us."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Maybe you can get past ground school before we go to Hawaii."

"I hope sooner than that."

"Okay. You'll have to work hard."

"James...are you going to feel comfortable with Dawn flying by herself?"

"I guess. I'm depending on Jeanine to make sure you two get very good."

"You too."

"Me too. I have talked to Linda, and she is going to build a proper helipad at her new house and a hanger for her helicopter. I guess we will need to do the same thing."

"Put it near the lake in the back," Samantha said. "It is nice and flat there."

"That is what I was thinking. I'm not crazy about the idea of a big metal hanger out back."

"It wouldn't have to be metal. Make it look like the house."

"Hmmm...not a bad idea. I'll need to find out how big it has to be."

After Samantha and Amy headed out to school, Dawn went to the store. I called Linda and talked to her about the plans for building a hanger and a pad at her new house. She gave me the number for her architect. I called him and talked to him for a bit, and he said he would come by the house about 3:00.

*****

We were all waiting for Linda's architect to stop by after the girls got home. He pulled up about 3:15, and I met him at the door.

"Hi, Carl. Come on in."

I led Carl to the den, and he sat down with Dawn and me.

"Thanks for coming by," Dawn said.

"No problem. I can see where you are thinking about building the hanger and the pad."

"In the back, down by the lake. It is flat there," I replied.

"What about power to the area? You wouldn't want electric lines overhead."

"Everything coming to the house is underground. The transformer is about 30 feet from the house."

"Great. There shouldn't be any problems running underground lines from there."

"How big does the building need to be?" Dawn asked.

"Let me show you what I have already designed for Ms. Willaims."

Carl rolled out some big blueprints, and we looked.

"This is the hanger for hers. It is 70 feet wide and 80 feet long."

"That's big," Dawn said. "But it could give you room to put that tractor you are wanting buy."

"It will also give you room to turn the helicopter around inside," Carl said. "We could probably scale it down a little. I would need to find out the dimensions of the helicopter you are getting."

"How tall is it?" I asked.

"Her pilots want a 25-foot high door."

"That's tall."

"I think you could go with a 20-foot. I'll have to check with the manufacturers. Her helicopter is nearly 50 feet long, and the rotor is almost 50 feet. The one you are looking at is a little smaller, but not by much. If you went with this design, it would give you plenty of room."

"What about the pad to land on?" I asked.

"30 x 30 will work well for you. That gives you plenty of room for lights and all the other things. Ms. Williams is planning on having a concrete connection between the hanger and the helipad. They can roll her helicopter into the hanger. Yours doesn't have wheels, but her pilots said there were ground wheels to put under the one you are looking at so you can roll it."

"We'll have to make sure we get those," I said.

"How far from the house would the hanger be?" Carl asked.

"It is about 100 yards."

"Okay. Something to consider you may not have thought about. Ms. Williams is having an underground fuel tank installed. Have you thought about that?"

"No."

"Well, it doesn't have to be done while you build the hanger and pad, just something to think about."

"What would be involved to do that?" Dawn asked.

"Burying a 2 or 3 thousand gallon tank, and how a fuel truck would get to it. It would need to be a paved or a concrete roadway. The tanker trucks are heavy."

"Hmmm...we'll have to ask Linda's pilots about that," I said.

Carl smiled at me.

"You know...you could just ask Ms. Williams if you can use hers," he said.

"Good idea!"

We talked a little more then we walked Carl down to where we were thinking of building the landing pad and hanger.

"This should work fine," Carl said.

"Carl, I don't want a big ugly metal building back here," I said.

"You could have the exterior finished like your house and the pool house. No reason you can't. It would just look like a big barn."

"I like that idea," Dawn said. "Can it be covered in stone like parts of the house?"

"Sure. You could have it look just like the house. Stone part of it and brick or wood panel it like the house."

"Plan on that then," I said.

"Okay. I'll get some pictures of the house. It will add some cost..."

"Don't worry about that," I said. "Also, make the interior of it nice and clean looking and plan on a way to heat it."

"That is what Ms. Williams is doing."

"Carl, how long would it take to put all this in?" I asked.

"We would pour all the concrete first, then erect the hanger. A month to get the hanger fabricated and shipped, then another month or more to get it up. A month or two to finish it out. When will you have the helicopter?"

"Not sure yet."

"It is a different crew that builds these than a house. Ms. Williams won't be ready to start her hanger until fall, maybe, but we will pour the concrete first before it gets cold. We could plan on starting yours around August or September. By the time it was completed, it would be time to build hers."

"That may work. Once you have all the plans drawn up, let us know. I may want to get the concrete down earlier," I told him.

"Okay. Can the surveyors come out anytime?"

"Yes. Just let me know when they are coming."

I stood outside and talked to Carl while Dawn went back inside.

"Carl, if you can, plan on starting on the hanger as soon as you can. Find a reason to tell Dawn you need to get started. Our helicopter may be arriving by late summer, but don't let Dawn know."

"Okay. We can start the work to get the pad poured and run plumbing and electrical soon. It will take a month or more to get the hangar fabricated and shipped. That would put it about the first of May to start. How does that sound?"

"Perfect. Let me know the cost too."

"After the surveyors come, I'll have the layout for everything you can look at."

"Sounds good."

We went back into the house and talked some more before Carl left.

*****

The four of us were driving into town to meet Stan and Jeanine for dinner. We met them and got a big table.

"What have you got for us?" I asked.

"First, the three of you need to get a flight physical. There should be no problem with that," Jeanine said.

"What did you find out about ground school?"

"Ground school is needed to pass the FAA's test. As soon as you can learn it all, the sooner you can take the test. There are several good schools in the area on weekends."

"Are they Saturdays and Sundays?"

"One is. The other is 8 hours on Saturdays. It is usually about 40 hours of classroom instruction for initial ground school. Once you get your license, there are about 30 more classroom hours on instrument training," Jeanine said.

"So five weeks of classroom instruction initially," I said.

"About that many."

"I didn't want Samantha going on Saturdays. She has something else for the next few months on Saturdays."

"That is what you told me. I talked to the owner of one of the FAA-approved ground schools for helicopters at the airport about a Sunday only class. I explained I knew three people going all the way through the instrument license. They teach ground school and flight instruction, plus instrument training. He said that since all of you are family that he could set something up."

"Like what?"

"I think he would teach a Sunday class for all of you if you also use his school for the flight instruction. I think the idea of making about $150,000 from all of you appealed to him."

"I would say so. Did you check out the school?"

"I did and asked around. They seem to be highly recommended and are the only school in the area that teaches instrument flight on helicopters. There is not much call for that from civilians."

"What do you think, Stan?" I asked.

"I agree with Jeanine. If you are going to do this, get instrument-rated, please. But, not everyone can perfect instrument flying in either a plane or a helicopter."

"Why?"

"It can be very disorienting to some people. We had pilots flunk out in the military because they could handle flying blind."

"How is a good way to find out if a person can handle it?" I asked.

"In a helicopter, night flying. Being in a helicopter is different than being in a plane. You can lose your sense of orientation because there are no wings to help you feel horizontal."

"Then we need to find out. Make plans for taking the three of us up at night soon."

"We can do that," Jeanine said. "You'll each need to fly left seat."

"Okay. How do we get all this started?"

"If you three want to do Sundays, I'll let the guy know."

"Tell him we are agreeable to him handling all the flight instructions."

"He'll like that! Also, he likes to take students up for an orientation as part of ground school."

"Sounds good. What's next?"

"I'll talk to him and schedule it and pick up all the course materials for you to look over first. When do you want to start classes?"

"Well...we are all caught up with our other business projects. Dawn and Samantha have been working on me constantly. See if we can start them by the first weekend in March if possible."

"I'll start that after we leave here!"

"Okay. Anything else?" I asked.

"Well, I made an initial inquiry about the lead time for an EC 135. They have only been available about five years, and they are selling like crazy."

"What does that mean for us?" Dawn asked.

"Right now...you are looking about a year out to get one. Maybe more?" Jeanine said.

"That may not be that bad. Sounds like it will be late summer before we are licensed."

"No problem," I said.

"I am going to get Linda to put me in touch with the people in Europe she bought hers through."

"Okay."

We ordered dinner.

"Oh, how much money do you need to schedule the classes and get all the materials?" I asked.

"I think when I tell him who they are for, it won't be needed."

"If they need money, have them call me."

*****

Samantha and Amy in Friday afternoon and were all questions because Linda and Rachel were coming by to discuss the helicopter more.

"What time are Linda and Rachel going to be here?" Samantha asked.

"About 7:00," I said.

Later, we heard Linda come through the gate just before 7:00.

"Let them in," I said, and Samantha and Amy got up and ran to the door.

"Hi, you two!" I heard come from Amy.

"Oh, high, Jeanine and Stan," Samantha said as they came in with Linda and Rachel.

"We have something for you," Stan said. "Come with me."

Jeanine and Stan went back outside with Amy and Samantha. They made several trips back into the house carrying books and rolled up maps.

"What is all this?" Dawn asked.

"This is all the materials you need for ground school," Jeanine said now that it was all piled up in the den.

"Oh! Great!"

They all looked over all the books and maps for a few minutes.

"Let's eat first," Dawn said.

We all went to the dining room and ate at the big table.

"Are you three ready to go up tomorrow night?" Jeanine asked.

"Yes!"

"What about you, Amy?" Linda asked.

"I like flying around with you, but I don't have any desire to learn to fly."

"Well, if you change your mind, you can do it, I am sure."

"We have a little treat for tomorrow night," Stan said.

"What?" Dawn asked.

"We are going to use Linda's helicopter. We'll pick you up here after dark," Jeanine said.