When I first moved off campus in about 1990, I lived with the Paleceks in Atherton. The boys, David, Misha and Tommy were like my younger brothers, and I remember helping David with some of his college admissions essays. There used to be a glider port called Skysailing Airport across the bay in Fremont those days, on Christy, near what's now Auto Mall Parkway. One day when I was going to Skysailing I asked David if he wanted to go for a flight, and, of course, the answer was YES!!! Hana was OK with that, so off we went. I understand that that was not only David's first flight in a sailplane, but perhaps his first flight in a small general aviation aircraft altogether. One invariably indexes the "intensity" of a ride to what the passenger wants, with sedate rides for those who might have queasy stomachs, and something more for adventurous types. Well, David was off-the-scale adventurous, if anything, and a total enthusiast. According to my logbook, we got an aero-tow to 4700 feet in an aerobatic Grob 103 sailplane, tail number N4113G. We released over the Calaveras Reservoir, did some clearing turns, and then some steeper turns to give David a taste of mild G-forces. Most passengers have had enough by the time one is at 45 or fifty degrees of bank, but not David. I do believe we might have busted the regs in standing the glider on its wingtip to summon up 2+Gs, since we were not wearing parachutes, but David's glee sure made it worth it; he just wouldn't quit asking for more. David flew the glider for most of the rest of the flight. He was a natural at it. I took it briefly to work some thermal lift, and for a couple of "recovery from unusual attitudes" maneuvers to please my passenger, and then we were back. Total flight time thirty minutes. I gathered that that flight had something to do with David's interest in aviation, a field of endeavor in which he excelled as an instrument-rated, multi-engine pilot with a commercial license. When he and Melissa got married, I gave him a subscription to Aviation Safety "...to help keep him safe" for his family; he reminded me of that when we met Christmas 2008. David was so full of life, so warm-hearted and gentle, and embraced adventures with such gusto... it feels unreal to me that he has passed away at such a young age. My thoughts and prayers are with Melissa and the kids, Peter and Hana, Misha and Tommy, and all of David's extended "community of care" - he is greatly missed by so many people whom he touched with such grace and love. Tailwinds to you, David... how I wish there could have been a safe "landing" from your illness, so that you might still be with us. -- Inder