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Flying the Meridian
Sam Remcho has climbed through several levels of aviation. As he explained, he first started flying as a child with his dad, al-
though Sam did not pursue aviation until his early twenties.
After deciding that he wanted to learn to fly, Remcho casually pursued the goal for nearly ten years. It wasn’t until after he moved to Idaho from his longtime home of California that his train- ing began to take flight. He received his private pilot’s license in 2009 and his instrument rating only five months later.
He has since ascended from learning to fly and renting planes to owning aircraft. Owning an airplane has been a whole new level of avia- tion, he explained.
“In 2014, I struck a deal with the owner of a 2007 G1000-equipped Cessna T182T. I made a deal with him to lease the aircraft with the option to purchase it later. Then after a year, I was able to buy it. Purchasing opens a whole new world of freedom in aviation because now you more or less operate the aircraft at your whim. I was no longer restricted to being part of a club and bringing the airplane back by a certain day. And I didn’t have to worry about other people flying it. That aircraft purchase is what really opened up the world of aviation for me, as well as the [western half of the United States].”
The high elevation of his geographical operating area demonstrated to Remcho a few limitations of the aircraft. One trip, in particular, prompted him to move up into turbine ownership.
“I flew about a thousand hours in the Turbo 182. In 2021, I was flying out to Aspen for a meeting. I was up at 17,500 [feet] with cannulas in. It was a long flight, and I was get- ting beat up with headwinds and turbulence while trying to stay clear of the clouds, which had icing potential. I landed at Aspen, exhausted, before going into my meeting. That was no way to do business. It was not a way to operate ef- ficiently and stay sharp.”
“That night, I went on Controller, and the second plane I saw was [N]62LT, which I own today!” Remcho enthusi- astically reported.
This move came quicker than anticipated, besting his planned ownership timeline by at least a decade. But he
4 • TWIN & TURBINE / October 2023
Sam Remcho in the cockpit of his 2001 Meridian, which he acquired in 2021.
had long dreamed of getting into turbine ownership, and it was the opportune time to do so, he recalled.
“I had not seen the plane before making a deal on it. When I first laid my eyes on this Meridian, it was amaz- ing. It was a dream come true, as I had always dreamed of owning a turbine and flying up in the flight levels with de-icing equipment and pressurization. I always knew that was the next level of aviation that I wanted to get to. And I had a picture of a Pilatus PC-12 on my desk since 2010, so that was always my motivation in work and business.”
Remcho reported that the PA-46-500TP is the perfect air- craft for his mission, predominantly covering the western half of the United States.