The difficult decision of what-or whom—to sacrifice is called Sophie's Choice. The expression comes from the book by William Styron and movie of the same name about a woman who must choose which of her two children are to die at the hands of the Nazis. So what does Sophies Choice have to do with flying? There I was at 10,000 feet ... well, actually, I was at 4,500 feet heading down to Orlando for the NBAA convention when it became obvious I was battling more of a headwind than my preflight briefing indicated. The reduction in my groundspeed began to be a factor in whether I could make it to my planned fuel stop in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and enjoy a two-leg trip to Florida, or if I would have to re-fuel at Richmond, Virginia, which would mean the trip would be a three-legger.
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