Almost a year later I am leaving Vero Beach, FL with my Instrument Rating, Commercial Single Engine and Multi Engine, CFI and CFII. Thanks to many instructors I am now moving on with a career in aviation. I was offered a job to flight instruct with FSA or to do an internship with FlightSafety International. I have decided to take the internship in Atlanta. I have made so many new friends, I really feel fortunate and now I am moving on where I have family and friends. I am looking forward to meeting new people and continuing on in aviation, but I will miss those who will not be in Atlanta as well. I truly have made some wonderful friends and I hope that we stay in touch, if not I know our career choice will force us to run into each other in some airport in the country, who knows maybe outside of the country as well. I will miss everyone in Vero. Enjoy the skies.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
I'm a Flight Instructor
As a kid I saw high school-ers graduating from high school and college students graduating from Universities. At the time I looked up to those students because I had the same goals, I wanted to complete high school and graduate from a university. And although I longed to achieve those degrees, as a kid you never think it will ever really happen, how could I ever be THAT old and have obtained THAT much knowledge? The further I get into my twenties, I realized that I have said the exact same thing for many other accomplishments in my life, in particular the pilot certificates that I have earned in the past five years and I said it again today when I earned my CFI (Certified Flight Instructor). As a student pilot, my hero had become my flight instructor, Brandon; I was in awe of him because he knew EVERYTHING. And, as I did as a high school and college student, I craved to obtain my flight instructor certificate. I learned along the way, as a flight instructor you don’t know everything; you know what you need to get started and have obtained a license to learn. Like everything in life, your knowledge and expertise expands with experience, immersion and continuing education. We all had to start somewhere regardless of what career path we have chosen. So I have graduated in a sense. I have to admit it felt like I was obtaining my masters degree.
I do want to say thank you to all my previous flight instructors: Brandon, Tim, Greg, Nick, Kevin & Jen. Now that I have gone through obtaining my CFI I have that much greater an appreciation for these educators and thank them for passing along their knowledge and expertise.
A special thanks to my CFI instructor, Willis, who turned me into his protégé for this certificate. He literally poured all the knowledge and skills he had into me, helping me perfect briefs on maneuvers and other aviation topics that I will someday teach to my student pilots. I know that he gave me everything he had and then some to accomplish my goal of becoming a CFI and although there were days I would have loved to throw him out of the plane he has become one of my closest friends. Thank you Willis.
Next on my agenda is that I am currently going through the interview process at Flight Safety to possibly work for them as a CFI or enroll in their Business Jet Direct program. I will be starting my CFII at the end of the month and hope to be flight instructing full time by the New Year.
I already have one flight student lined up…anyone else care to take a lesson?
I do want to say thank you to all my previous flight instructors: Brandon, Tim, Greg, Nick, Kevin & Jen. Now that I have gone through obtaining my CFI I have that much greater an appreciation for these educators and thank them for passing along their knowledge and expertise.
A special thanks to my CFI instructor, Willis, who turned me into his protégé for this certificate. He literally poured all the knowledge and skills he had into me, helping me perfect briefs on maneuvers and other aviation topics that I will someday teach to my student pilots. I know that he gave me everything he had and then some to accomplish my goal of becoming a CFI and although there were days I would have loved to throw him out of the plane he has become one of my closest friends. Thank you Willis.
Next on my agenda is that I am currently going through the interview process at Flight Safety to possibly work for them as a CFI or enroll in their Business Jet Direct program. I will be starting my CFII at the end of the month and hope to be flight instructing full time by the New Year.
I already have one flight student lined up…anyone else care to take a lesson?
Monday, October 31, 2005
Hurricane Wilma
I am happy to report that hurricane Wilma did not sweep me or any of the aircraft at Flight Safety out to the Atlantic Ocean as it passed through as a category 2/3 hurricane. I appreciate that many of you called, concerned that I would be in Florida as it passed through. Thankfully I was not.
The craziness began the Wednesday before when discussion of evacuating Flight Safety planes to Lakeland, FL and Dothan, Alabama. It was am immediate reaction, students began to buy tickets to go home, the grocery stores by Thursday evening had only a few bottles of water remaining on their shelves and everyone was preparing for the worst. I went to Orlando with Dave in hopes to dodge Wilma, which was unsuccessful, although I had a great time meeting his parents and a few of his aunts and uncles. I spent Saturday with Dave’s mom and two aunts, during which they enjoyed interrogating me and told me a few incriminating stories about him. Wilma was originally supposed to pass through Florida on Saturday and was now forecasted to pass through Monday morning after it’s previously caused damage to the Yucatan Peninsula. Dave had to return to Atlanta for work, so we flew out together. Wilma struck the following morning. I then flew to Dothan, AL to return home with my flight instructor, Willis and roommate, Melissa. When I showed up, to my surprise Flight Safety needed me to fly a Seminole back home. Melissa and I were thrilled because it would be just the two of us in a multi-engine on a cross-country flight, and the best part about it was that we didn’t have to pay for the 2.4 hours it took us to return…free multi time, a rare thing.
When we returned I understood what fall is in Florida, the amount of branches and trees that were down was amazing; already people had piled the fallen brush at the end of their driveways. No major damage was done thankfully. Our flightline had a few new skylights, and about 50% of the area was without power, but all in all, Wilma was nothing like the hurricanes Central Florida endured the previous year. Going to the grocery store has been an interesting experience all week. The Wednesday that followed Wilma, the shelves were bare with NOTHING in the dairy, meat, or frozen sections. And for the few days that followed, those shelves remained bare, as soon as food came in, its shelf life was so short that it was gone by that evening. But now one week after this natural disaster, things seem to be back to normal. Everyone has power again, the flight line is up and running and I can go to the grocery store and have no problem buying a pint of ice Ben and Jerry’s. As for my life, by the next time you hear from me, I should be a certified flight instructor.
The craziness began the Wednesday before when discussion of evacuating Flight Safety planes to Lakeland, FL and Dothan, Alabama. It was am immediate reaction, students began to buy tickets to go home, the grocery stores by Thursday evening had only a few bottles of water remaining on their shelves and everyone was preparing for the worst. I went to Orlando with Dave in hopes to dodge Wilma, which was unsuccessful, although I had a great time meeting his parents and a few of his aunts and uncles. I spent Saturday with Dave’s mom and two aunts, during which they enjoyed interrogating me and told me a few incriminating stories about him. Wilma was originally supposed to pass through Florida on Saturday and was now forecasted to pass through Monday morning after it’s previously caused damage to the Yucatan Peninsula. Dave had to return to Atlanta for work, so we flew out together. Wilma struck the following morning. I then flew to Dothan, AL to return home with my flight instructor, Willis and roommate, Melissa. When I showed up, to my surprise Flight Safety needed me to fly a Seminole back home. Melissa and I were thrilled because it would be just the two of us in a multi-engine on a cross-country flight, and the best part about it was that we didn’t have to pay for the 2.4 hours it took us to return…free multi time, a rare thing.
When we returned I understood what fall is in Florida, the amount of branches and trees that were down was amazing; already people had piled the fallen brush at the end of their driveways. No major damage was done thankfully. Our flightline had a few new skylights, and about 50% of the area was without power, but all in all, Wilma was nothing like the hurricanes Central Florida endured the previous year. Going to the grocery store has been an interesting experience all week. The Wednesday that followed Wilma, the shelves were bare with NOTHING in the dairy, meat, or frozen sections. And for the few days that followed, those shelves remained bare, as soon as food came in, its shelf life was so short that it was gone by that evening. But now one week after this natural disaster, things seem to be back to normal. Everyone has power again, the flight line is up and running and I can go to the grocery store and have no problem buying a pint of ice Ben and Jerry’s. As for my life, by the next time you hear from me, I should be a certified flight instructor.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Congratulations Mom
All my life, my mother has worked for Northwest Airlines. In fact she worked for Northwest for 33 years. She has lived all over the country from New York to Alaska working for Northwest as in many different positions from air freight, to the counter at the airport, to an international sales agent and city ticket agent. All through the good and the bad of the past 33 years mom worked for Northwest. But this past September, Mom decided to put in for retirement earlier than desired (although two years after she could have) and probably would have continued for many years.
With Mom working for Northwest I was not only allowed to travel all over the country but it influenced my career decisions building a strong desire to work in the travel industry. She had me on a flight when I was 6 months old and flying to see relatives by myself when I was seven. She always figured out my flights, made sure I got to or from where-ever I was going connecting through whatever airport that could possibly get me where I was going. Thank you mom, especially for getting me home today so I could play a part of your demise.
Tonight, in honor of Mom’s retirement, Dad threw her a wonderful surprise retirement party. Many new and old friends, coworkers, and family showed up. Dad did a wonderful job; in a short amount of time he gathered as many numbers out of mom’s cell phone when she wasn’t looking and doing all the planning and preparation sneakily behind her back even though he couldn’t get rid of her (after all she is retired now). Dad even took care of getting her out of the house by using my coming in town for a day as an excuse and that he had a private party at the restaurant so that when we returned from picking me up at the airport she wouldn’t suspect anything. He pulled it off, she had no clue, it was great, and he even made her favorite meal, crawfish etouffe.
Congratulations Mom, enjoy your retirement!
With Mom working for Northwest I was not only allowed to travel all over the country but it influenced my career decisions building a strong desire to work in the travel industry. She had me on a flight when I was 6 months old and flying to see relatives by myself when I was seven. She always figured out my flights, made sure I got to or from where-ever I was going connecting through whatever airport that could possibly get me where I was going. Thank you mom, especially for getting me home today so I could play a part of your demise.
Tonight, in honor of Mom’s retirement, Dad threw her a wonderful surprise retirement party. Many new and old friends, coworkers, and family showed up. Dad did a wonderful job; in a short amount of time he gathered as many numbers out of mom’s cell phone when she wasn’t looking and doing all the planning and preparation sneakily behind her back even though he couldn’t get rid of her (after all she is retired now). Dad even took care of getting her out of the house by using my coming in town for a day as an excuse and that he had a private party at the restaurant so that when we returned from picking me up at the airport she wouldn’t suspect anything. He pulled it off, she had no clue, it was great, and he even made her favorite meal, crawfish etouffe.
Congratulations Mom, enjoy your retirement!
Friday, August 05, 2005
Multi Commercial Rated
It’s final. I can now fly an airplane that has more than one engine. Dad still thinks that I should join the flying circus, he’s probably right about me fitting in just fine. But sorry, to disappoint you dad I am going to continue on with my training (and spend more money) to become a CFI. No, Dad, that does not stand for Clown Flying Instructor, it means I am going to be working towards my certified flight instructor certificate to teach others that are interested in aviation. In fact I already am. Ground school began this past Monday and will be another two and a half weeks and then I will start the flying portion which means I am going to be flying in the right seat instead of the left and I am going to teach an instructor who will be acting like a student. It should be a lot of fun.
But back to my multi-engine completion… I would like to thank my instructor Kevin Bennett for aiding in my completion of this check-ride, which was my first Part 141 ride. We had a lot of fun in the brief time we flew together. We flew to the Keys to have dinner with Nicole and Paul on a long cross-country and had some gorgeous late evening flights that allowed us to see a few beautiful sunsets as we climbed out of the plane on the ramp. But most of all I got to fly a multiengine airplane about half the time in single engine ops. Thanks Kevin for all the fun flying the Seminole and all the knowledge you passed on to me.
But back to my multi-engine completion… I would like to thank my instructor Kevin Bennett for aiding in my completion of this check-ride, which was my first Part 141 ride. We had a lot of fun in the brief time we flew together. We flew to the Keys to have dinner with Nicole and Paul on a long cross-country and had some gorgeous late evening flights that allowed us to see a few beautiful sunsets as we climbed out of the plane on the ramp. But most of all I got to fly a multiengine airplane about half the time in single engine ops. Thanks Kevin for all the fun flying the Seminole and all the knowledge you passed on to me.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Day 7: The Super Cub Pilot
At the crack of dawn I found myself amazingly awake. I knew that today I would fly in a Super Cub. Bill and I had come back down to Anchorage and stayed with Ron and Mary Ann in Anchorage, two close friends of his that took good care of me. We drove up to Palmer to meet Gary Bishop.
Gary is a good friend of both Bill and his son Paul and they arranged this amazing opportunity for me. One of the pictures Bill gave me long ago, that I have never parted with was a picture of a runway that was quickly made so that Gary and his super cub could get Bill back to civilization. But this runway did not look like a runway at all…it looked like a swamp. This is a typical place for Gary to place his little cub. I quickly learned that Gary began his career in aviation in Oklahoma as a crop duster in a super cub and as a beginning pilot was given the opportunity to fly from New York to England to deliver a Cessna 172 with his flight instructor. He now lives on a beautiful little private airstrip outside of Palmer and runs a Part 135 operation.
Gary willingly took me up and showed me everything that a Piper Super Cub could do. We began with steep turns, using the bars as visual reference on the horizon, which was a 60-degree bank turn. He then showed me the advantages of vortex generators and how the cub, as long as it was coordinated would not have the abrupt stall characteristics that most airplanes have and it just oscillates. We then continued on and saw many moose and landed on a few gravel bars and a mountain. There is almost nowhere you can’t put a cub down as long as you are aware of what the wind is doing. As we took off from the mountain, it was sloped down hill and we had a tail wind all of a sudden we ran out of runway and dropped off a cliff about 30 feet and nosed the airplane over to gain airspeed and off we flew through the crevice of the mountains. There is so much more to this flight, but all I can say is anyone that has any interest in aviation should fly in a Super Cub some day.
Once on the ground, Gary told Bill and I a number of aviation stories over a cup of coffee. My favorite was when Gary had experienced 40 knot winds, stepped on the brakes and applied full power and just after the tail of the aircraft had lifted off the ground the cub without moving an inch lifted off the ground and flew.
Unfortunately, it had come time for Bill and I to part ways. He is remaining Alaska for a few more days and I must return to Florida to complete my multi-commercial and begin CFI ground. I already miss traveling with Bill and look forward to meeting up with him and Jojo in the Twin Cities some time soon. As for Alaska, I know that I will be back, hopefully to fly a beaver on floats in Kodiak.
Gary is a good friend of both Bill and his son Paul and they arranged this amazing opportunity for me. One of the pictures Bill gave me long ago, that I have never parted with was a picture of a runway that was quickly made so that Gary and his super cub could get Bill back to civilization. But this runway did not look like a runway at all…it looked like a swamp. This is a typical place for Gary to place his little cub. I quickly learned that Gary began his career in aviation in Oklahoma as a crop duster in a super cub and as a beginning pilot was given the opportunity to fly from New York to England to deliver a Cessna 172 with his flight instructor. He now lives on a beautiful little private airstrip outside of Palmer and runs a Part 135 operation.
Gary willingly took me up and showed me everything that a Piper Super Cub could do. We began with steep turns, using the bars as visual reference on the horizon, which was a 60-degree bank turn. He then showed me the advantages of vortex generators and how the cub, as long as it was coordinated would not have the abrupt stall characteristics that most airplanes have and it just oscillates. We then continued on and saw many moose and landed on a few gravel bars and a mountain. There is almost nowhere you can’t put a cub down as long as you are aware of what the wind is doing. As we took off from the mountain, it was sloped down hill and we had a tail wind all of a sudden we ran out of runway and dropped off a cliff about 30 feet and nosed the airplane over to gain airspeed and off we flew through the crevice of the mountains. There is so much more to this flight, but all I can say is anyone that has any interest in aviation should fly in a Super Cub some day.
Once on the ground, Gary told Bill and I a number of aviation stories over a cup of coffee. My favorite was when Gary had experienced 40 knot winds, stepped on the brakes and applied full power and just after the tail of the aircraft had lifted off the ground the cub without moving an inch lifted off the ground and flew.
Unfortunately, it had come time for Bill and I to part ways. He is remaining Alaska for a few more days and I must return to Florida to complete my multi-commercial and begin CFI ground. I already miss traveling with Bill and look forward to meeting up with him and Jojo in the Twin Cities some time soon. As for Alaska, I know that I will be back, hopefully to fly a beaver on floats in Kodiak.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Day 5: Mt. McKinley
My infatuation with flying has been present since I was a little girl and has only grown stronger in the past four years. And now my infatuation with Alaska flying is so intense that I am already trying to concoct ways to move to Kodiak in a few years to fly a Beaver on floats. I have had a very supportive family along my journey of becoming a pilot, but there has been one very important person in my success as a pilot and that is Bill. When I was about fifteen, I had come home from New England and declared that I wanted to become a pilot when I grow up. Most people told me that I would change my mind a number of times before I decided upon a profession, not Bill. By the end of the evening that I had declared my professional fate, Bill had handed me a book about flying and since then has encouraged and mentored me. When I became a private pilot, Bill was my first passenger and since I began, when I would come home, I would sit across from him and his wonderful wife Jojo and recount my flying tales and update him on my progress. Always enthusiastic about my chosen profession he would share with me some of the bush stories he had heard or experienced and would give me photos of runways that were in reality swamps and books about the bush pilots of Alaska. Bill has not only been a mentor to me, but a dear friend and I look forward to completing my CFI so that he can be my first student and fulfill his dream to fly. Without Bill, this trip to Alaska would not have been possible, and I am tremendously grateful for all the work he has put forth to make sure my wings were spread many times in the Alaskan sky.
But today, on top of meeting Buck and Charlene, Bill and I went for a flight around Mt. McKinley. It was the most majestic flight I have ever experienced. We flew out of Talkeetna with Hudson Air Service in a Cessna 185. Talkeetna is known for being the departure point for climbers to Mt. McKinley’s base camp. Also, Don Sheldon, a famous Alaskan bush pilot, was based out of Talkeetna. We climbed north and eventually reached an altitude of 10,200 feet and began cruising around the many peaks of Mt. McKinley. Dodging clouds and mountains Bill and I saw the beauty of Mt. McKinley and all that surrounded it. It’s greatness makes one feel pretty insignificant. We nearly circled the top of Mt. McKinley, but a cloud prevented us from circumnavigating the entire peak. Instead, our pilot Jacques decided to fly directly toward the south face of the peak, I know it made me slightly nervous because we aimed right for the south face and all there was in front of us was a mass of rock and snow that filled the windscreen. Luckily he turned and we continued on to land on Pika Glacier. As we contacted the glacier traveling up hill, it was a bumpy ride until we came to a stop with the 185 turned down hill. We all climbed out of the 185 and viewed the beauty and massiveness of the mountains that encompassed us. After throwing a few snowballs and making a miniature snowman, I climbed back into the 185, only to return to Talkeetna that much more enthralled with becoming an Alaskan bush pilot.
Bill, I know that I will say this many times, but thank you for giving me my one way ticket to Alaska, I don’t think I will ever really make it home.
But today, on top of meeting Buck and Charlene, Bill and I went for a flight around Mt. McKinley. It was the most majestic flight I have ever experienced. We flew out of Talkeetna with Hudson Air Service in a Cessna 185. Talkeetna is known for being the departure point for climbers to Mt. McKinley’s base camp. Also, Don Sheldon, a famous Alaskan bush pilot, was based out of Talkeetna. We climbed north and eventually reached an altitude of 10,200 feet and began cruising around the many peaks of Mt. McKinley. Dodging clouds and mountains Bill and I saw the beauty of Mt. McKinley and all that surrounded it. It’s greatness makes one feel pretty insignificant. We nearly circled the top of Mt. McKinley, but a cloud prevented us from circumnavigating the entire peak. Instead, our pilot Jacques decided to fly directly toward the south face of the peak, I know it made me slightly nervous because we aimed right for the south face and all there was in front of us was a mass of rock and snow that filled the windscreen. Luckily he turned and we continued on to land on Pika Glacier. As we contacted the glacier traveling up hill, it was a bumpy ride until we came to a stop with the 185 turned down hill. We all climbed out of the 185 and viewed the beauty and massiveness of the mountains that encompassed us. After throwing a few snowballs and making a miniature snowman, I climbed back into the 185, only to return to Talkeetna that much more enthralled with becoming an Alaskan bush pilot.
Bill, I know that I will say this many times, but thank you for giving me my one way ticket to Alaska, I don’t think I will ever really make it home.
Day 5: Buck
I dreaded this morning. I have thus far been spoiled rotten with the aviation experiences I have had and I have met some wonderful people. I have not looked forward to leaving Kodiak because realistically it will be at least a year before I can return. I told Bill as we flew back to Anchorage on a De Havilland Dash-8 that I was upset with him because when I return to Florida to fly, I am going to be bored out of my mind. I have never experienced flying like I had in Kodiak and I already crave more.
We arrived safely in Anchorage and stopped at the Hood Lake Aviation Museum before heading towards Talkeetna. Just south of Talkeetna lived a pilot named Buck. Now for those of you that have not seen the video Buck made about flying in Alaska, Bill gave me this video when I began flying and since then have failed to return it to him, but shown it to many other pilots. It is a wonderful video about flying in Alaska, but primarily landing in the bush on beaches, riverbeds and in the brush. Today, I finally met Buck and his wonderful wife Charlene. Yet again, with a very open ear I heard more lore of pilots in Alaska. One of the best stories I heard was when Buck had started flying in Alaska he had been warned never to fly directly over the White Lady, a mountain just outside Anchorage. Well not listening to his elders, he decided to directly over the Sleeping Lady (Susitna Mountain) and as they approached the peak neither he nor his passenger remembers what happened next because they both backed out and when Buck regained consciousness he found the airplane in a descending attitude up side down. Like I said, flying in Alaska is unlike flying anywhere else
We arrived safely in Anchorage and stopped at the Hood Lake Aviation Museum before heading towards Talkeetna. Just south of Talkeetna lived a pilot named Buck. Now for those of you that have not seen the video Buck made about flying in Alaska, Bill gave me this video when I began flying and since then have failed to return it to him, but shown it to many other pilots. It is a wonderful video about flying in Alaska, but primarily landing in the bush on beaches, riverbeds and in the brush. Today, I finally met Buck and his wonderful wife Charlene. Yet again, with a very open ear I heard more lore of pilots in Alaska. One of the best stories I heard was when Buck had started flying in Alaska he had been warned never to fly directly over the White Lady, a mountain just outside Anchorage. Well not listening to his elders, he decided to directly over the Sleeping Lady (Susitna Mountain) and as they approached the peak neither he nor his passenger remembers what happened next because they both backed out and when Buck regained consciousness he found the airplane in a descending attitude up side down. Like I said, flying in Alaska is unlike flying anywhere else
Friday, July 22, 2005
Day 4: Halibut Fishing
The next morning I woke early, just as the sun had risen (yes the sun goes down in the summer in Alaska, well at least for a few hours). Chris and I said good-bye to Jeanne and pushed the Luscombe out into the bay and moments later returned to the air. As we flew back the weather was slightly above IMC, we saw sea lions and a whale. We skidded back into the bay shortly after seven and I found myself drinking a cup of coffee with Bill back at Paul and Angie’s recounting my adventures from the previous day and Bill informed me how the crew had done halibut fishing.
That afternoon, I joined Bill, his son Paul, Hyrum and Cole to the cannery to cash in on the halibut they had caught. It was quite the operation, and being such a huge state for fishing I was glad I had been exposed to this. They have bins of fish waiting to be headed and then gutted by a line of Asians and then tossed into a large wheel barrel, which are then weighted and eventually put into cans to be sold in grocery stores. In the end they had caught a little over two thousand pounds of halibut.
That evening Angie had a wonderful little get together, where she had made homemade pizza and I met more people that lived in Kodiak. Angie and Paul are such sweet people and I really enjoyed meeting them. At this get-together was another young pilot from the Chicago area, named Tyler, whom I spoke with for quite a while, asking him questions about how he is working on moving up to Kodiak to fly amoung other things. Paul told a thrilling story of a crash that he had been involved in 15 years prior in the mountains of Kodiak island, all three men survived without a scratch even though the airplane was a ball of metal in a ravien after hitting a float on the mountain side, spinning around and tearing off the wings. As this story ended, Cole had come to pick me up to take me to the music festival, where I met more pilots and people my age that we living on Kodiak.
That afternoon, I joined Bill, his son Paul, Hyrum and Cole to the cannery to cash in on the halibut they had caught. It was quite the operation, and being such a huge state for fishing I was glad I had been exposed to this. They have bins of fish waiting to be headed and then gutted by a line of Asians and then tossed into a large wheel barrel, which are then weighted and eventually put into cans to be sold in grocery stores. In the end they had caught a little over two thousand pounds of halibut.
That evening Angie had a wonderful little get together, where she had made homemade pizza and I met more people that lived in Kodiak. Angie and Paul are such sweet people and I really enjoyed meeting them. At this get-together was another young pilot from the Chicago area, named Tyler, whom I spoke with for quite a while, asking him questions about how he is working on moving up to Kodiak to fly amoung other things. Paul told a thrilling story of a crash that he had been involved in 15 years prior in the mountains of Kodiak island, all three men survived without a scratch even though the airplane was a ball of metal in a ravien after hitting a float on the mountain side, spinning around and tearing off the wings. As this story ended, Cole had come to pick me up to take me to the music festival, where I met more pilots and people my age that we living on Kodiak.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Day 3: The Candy Pilot
This morning when I awoke, Bill, Paul, Cole and Hyrum had already emptied the yard long before of the boats and fishing equipment that they had prepared for their halibut fishing trip. Other than myself, Angie was still at the house and we took the morning to go up to Abercrombie Fort to walk the dogs. It was beautiful and I got to know a little about Angie as well as learn more about Kodiak. I am already beginning to think about eventually moving up here.
Shortly after lunch, I met up with Chris again and we went up in his Cessna 180. This bright purple plane with Indians painted on the tail was what I would finally experience real flying in. We took off at the small municipal airport called Lily Lake. I wish you could see this runway. It sloped down into Lily Lake; a small narrow lake used by sea planes, and is no wider than a bike path. But we took off and flew to Larson Bay. It was an amazing flight. The entire time we flew at less than 300 feet above the mountain ridges and bays. It may not have been the smartest thing to do, but it was what I have always imagined flying to be. We flew over old fish canneries, Paul’s bear camp and Chris’s house, all of which can only be reached by a very long boat ride or by seaplane. We arrived in Larson Bay and about fifteen of the locals came up to the airstrip to see who flew in. After surveying some land for a hangar, we walked around the little town of Larson Bay and before I knew it we were back in the 180 fifty feet off the ground viewing bears and mountain goats, some which stood higher on the mountain than what we flew. I truly felt like I was flying and I didn’t want it to end when we arrived in Kodiak right as the fog moved in.
Moments after Chris and I got out of the plane I had an invitation to fly with him that evening in his Luscombe to Musch Bay to stay the night at his girl friends’ house. Excited to fly in his Lucombe on floats, it only took a minute for me to decide that I was going. So a few hours later, a cooler full of ice cream and a bag full of candy we flew to Musch Bay.
As I had mentioned, the fog had moved in, and although it had broken by the time we took off Lily Lake Municipal airport, the clouds still hung low among the mountains which forced us to weave around them and fly even lower to the island of Kodiak. On the way to Musch Bay we landed in a mountain lake and made a candy drop at a house that had five children among the mountains of Kodiak. We flew over the house to get the family’s attention and circled back around. With my arm fully extended out the window, there were five children on the deck and beach jumping up and down with excitement when we made the drop. Once again circling back around, we saw that the children had recovered the bag of candy and we flew on our way to Musch Bay.
Upon arriving at Musch Bay we were greeted by Jeanne, Chris’s girlfriend, and she promptly took us out to her beautiful organic garden to pick strawberries to have with the ice cream we had brought out. Her gardens were unlike anything I had ever seen, they were HUGE with everything you could imagine in them. Her house was beautiful too, a homestead that was built in 1921. So the three of us sat up talking until late in the evening about more flying stories as well as their life on the island of Kodiak. Among these stories I learned that Chris was no stranger to dropping things out of his airplane, in fact he had become known as the “Candy Pilot”. Chris had been making drops to people all over the island for years. He not only had dropped candy, but gold earrings, toilet paper, and on Christmas he would string lights on his plane and drop Christmas presents to the children on the island. These stories, among many others touched my heart and although I have always have had a love for aviation, they have made my passion even greater than it has ever been. Since I have arrived in Kodiak I crave to stay here.
Shortly after lunch, I met up with Chris again and we went up in his Cessna 180. This bright purple plane with Indians painted on the tail was what I would finally experience real flying in. We took off at the small municipal airport called Lily Lake. I wish you could see this runway. It sloped down into Lily Lake; a small narrow lake used by sea planes, and is no wider than a bike path. But we took off and flew to Larson Bay. It was an amazing flight. The entire time we flew at less than 300 feet above the mountain ridges and bays. It may not have been the smartest thing to do, but it was what I have always imagined flying to be. We flew over old fish canneries, Paul’s bear camp and Chris’s house, all of which can only be reached by a very long boat ride or by seaplane. We arrived in Larson Bay and about fifteen of the locals came up to the airstrip to see who flew in. After surveying some land for a hangar, we walked around the little town of Larson Bay and before I knew it we were back in the 180 fifty feet off the ground viewing bears and mountain goats, some which stood higher on the mountain than what we flew. I truly felt like I was flying and I didn’t want it to end when we arrived in Kodiak right as the fog moved in.
Moments after Chris and I got out of the plane I had an invitation to fly with him that evening in his Luscombe to Musch Bay to stay the night at his girl friends’ house. Excited to fly in his Lucombe on floats, it only took a minute for me to decide that I was going. So a few hours later, a cooler full of ice cream and a bag full of candy we flew to Musch Bay.
As I had mentioned, the fog had moved in, and although it had broken by the time we took off Lily Lake Municipal airport, the clouds still hung low among the mountains which forced us to weave around them and fly even lower to the island of Kodiak. On the way to Musch Bay we landed in a mountain lake and made a candy drop at a house that had five children among the mountains of Kodiak. We flew over the house to get the family’s attention and circled back around. With my arm fully extended out the window, there were five children on the deck and beach jumping up and down with excitement when we made the drop. Once again circling back around, we saw that the children had recovered the bag of candy and we flew on our way to Musch Bay.
Upon arriving at Musch Bay we were greeted by Jeanne, Chris’s girlfriend, and she promptly took us out to her beautiful organic garden to pick strawberries to have with the ice cream we had brought out. Her gardens were unlike anything I had ever seen, they were HUGE with everything you could imagine in them. Her house was beautiful too, a homestead that was built in 1921. So the three of us sat up talking until late in the evening about more flying stories as well as their life on the island of Kodiak. Among these stories I learned that Chris was no stranger to dropping things out of his airplane, in fact he had become known as the “Candy Pilot”. Chris had been making drops to people all over the island for years. He not only had dropped candy, but gold earrings, toilet paper, and on Christmas he would string lights on his plane and drop Christmas presents to the children on the island. These stories, among many others touched my heart and although I have always have had a love for aviation, they have made my passion even greater than it has ever been. Since I have arrived in Kodiak I crave to stay here.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Day 2: Kodiak
Words cannot describe the day I have had. When I woke up this morning I never would have imagined what I was about to experience or the airplanes I would fly in. I took the people mover (Anchorage’s Bus) to the airport and got on a De Havilland Dash-8 to Kodiak. It was a beautiful flight along the Alaskan Mountain Range and arrived at State Airport in Kodiak. When I arrived I was in awe of the beauty that this little island holds and the huge mountain known as Barometer that sits at the end of the primary arrival runway. Bill and Angie met me at the airport and immediately took me to a seaplane base to see a few Beavers. Before I knew it I was in one of those Beavers with Josh flying to Katmai. It was an amazing flight. We had cargo on board and when we got to our destination we unloaded and took on passengers to go back to Kodiak.
Upon arriving back in Kodiak, Bill was waiting to sweep me away to State Airport again for a ride in a Steerman. Chris, a long time Kodiak pilot owns three aircraft: a Steerman, a Cessna 180 and a Luscombe on floats. He has thousands of hours flying in Alaska and has knowledge of weather and mountain flying that I hope someday to gain. Bill, Chris and I pulled up to his wooden hanger on State Airport and inside was a beautiful yellow Steerman. Bill and I felt like little kids on Christmas morning, it was so exciting. We pulled the Steerman out of the hanger and Chris pre-flighted and after doing a little work on one of the starters (that he pulled out of the airplane), Chris and I climbed in. Aviators cap, goggles and all we took off in the beautiful 1942 Steerman. We flew right over Pyramid Mountain and over the town of Kodiak; we even did a few loops. It was amazing to be in an open cockpit bi-plane. Like all good things the flight came to an end and Bill was up next. I watched them take off and head towards Barometer Mountain. Chris and Bill circled the mountain a few times at the top and came back in to State Airport. We all pushed the Steerman back into its wooden hanger and called it a night for our wings.
Bill and I returned to Paul (Bill’s son) and Angie’s house to help them bait hooks in preparation for the big halibut fishing trip Bill, Paul, Cole and Hyrum would be going on tomorrow. Although this was a very fishy, and at first very disgusting job, I had fun putting octopi, haring, salmon and other bait on hooks to help get the job done.
What an amazing day. I have fallen in love with Kodiak. Of all my travels this just may be the most beautiful. But I suppose that I am biased because of my love affair with aviation. I cannot imagine what tomorrow may bring, regardless my trip to Alaska has already been worth it a hundred times over, even if I don’t get to fly again.
Upon arriving back in Kodiak, Bill was waiting to sweep me away to State Airport again for a ride in a Steerman. Chris, a long time Kodiak pilot owns three aircraft: a Steerman, a Cessna 180 and a Luscombe on floats. He has thousands of hours flying in Alaska and has knowledge of weather and mountain flying that I hope someday to gain. Bill, Chris and I pulled up to his wooden hanger on State Airport and inside was a beautiful yellow Steerman. Bill and I felt like little kids on Christmas morning, it was so exciting. We pulled the Steerman out of the hanger and Chris pre-flighted and after doing a little work on one of the starters (that he pulled out of the airplane), Chris and I climbed in. Aviators cap, goggles and all we took off in the beautiful 1942 Steerman. We flew right over Pyramid Mountain and over the town of Kodiak; we even did a few loops. It was amazing to be in an open cockpit bi-plane. Like all good things the flight came to an end and Bill was up next. I watched them take off and head towards Barometer Mountain. Chris and Bill circled the mountain a few times at the top and came back in to State Airport. We all pushed the Steerman back into its wooden hanger and called it a night for our wings.
Bill and I returned to Paul (Bill’s son) and Angie’s house to help them bait hooks in preparation for the big halibut fishing trip Bill, Paul, Cole and Hyrum would be going on tomorrow. Although this was a very fishy, and at first very disgusting job, I had fun putting octopi, haring, salmon and other bait on hooks to help get the job done.
What an amazing day. I have fallen in love with Kodiak. Of all my travels this just may be the most beautiful. But I suppose that I am biased because of my love affair with aviation. I cannot imagine what tomorrow may bring, regardless my trip to Alaska has already been worth it a hundred times over, even if I don’t get to fly again.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Day 1: Arriving in Anchorage
This morning I woke up and headed to the Minneapolis airport, courtesy of aunt Shelly’s airport taxi service (she has been wonderful about taking me to and from MSP). My attempt to catch the first plane failed miserably and I caught the 11:25. Fortunately, as luck will have it, I met another pilot while waiting named Matt who is a sophomore at UND. His father is a B-747 captain for Northwest Airlines and is based out of Anchorage. We both were flying stand-by and although we weren’t sitting next to each other we visited one another and played hangman and the dot game while talking about aviation making the six-hour flight fly by.
Once I arrived in Anchorage, Brad, Matt’s dad offered to take me to the Anchorage Guest House where I was staying and extended a dinner invitation for dinner at F Street, which is well known by pilots in the Anchorage area. At F Street the three of us had Halibut and talked shop. After dinner, Matt and I found a driving range at the base of a mountain and enjoyed the beautiful weather and sunlight. But for now it is time to get some rest and catch a flight to Kodiak to meet up with Bill tomorrow.
Once I arrived in Anchorage, Brad, Matt’s dad offered to take me to the Anchorage Guest House where I was staying and extended a dinner invitation for dinner at F Street, which is well known by pilots in the Anchorage area. At F Street the three of us had Halibut and talked shop. After dinner, Matt and I found a driving range at the base of a mountain and enjoyed the beautiful weather and sunlight. But for now it is time to get some rest and catch a flight to Kodiak to meet up with Bill tomorrow.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Key West
Promptly after forth of July weekend I began working on my multi-engine commercial add-on. While I was in Europe, Jen, my instrument/single-engine commercial instructor, was hired by Sun Aviation in Vero Beach flying a Beech jet. And although I was thrilled she got a great job, I was bummed that she would no longer be my instructor. Thankfully, I got Kevin, another awesome instructor. So in the past few weeks Kevin and I have been knocking out lessons in a Piper Seminole. The humorous thing about flying the multi is that most of my flight time in the Seminole is done single engine. But last night I had one of the most amazing flights. I decided to put my two cross-country lessons together to fly down to Key West. Nicole and Paul came along for the ride, always have to make it a party. As we flew south we could see massive thunderstorms. The picture attached is just one of the many thunderheads we flew by. I wish we could have captured the lightening that was in these storms. But it was an amazing flight. Once we arrived all four of us climbed into a taxi and had dinner at the Conch Republic, a good seafood restaurant on a wharf. Unfortunately we had decided we didn’t have time to change out of our uniforms and while at dinner were pegged as cruise ship workers. We just smiled and nodded. Dinner was all we had time for in Key West and we then returned home. The light show over Florida was beautiful that evening, the storms were so large and massive and at night they seemed that much bigger and scarier. Without the sun it was difficult to judge how close we were to them. Shortly after mid-night we made it home safely from yet again another adventure. Next on the list: flying the skies of Alaska and landing in all kinds of crazy places.
Monday, July 04, 2005
St. Augustine
It has been very quiet around Vero Beach this weekend. Everyone emptied out for the holiday weekend flying to Atlanta or Key West. Paul and I found ourselves alone on flight safety’s campus. I stuck around Vero because I need a bit of a break from traveling. I am craving to sleep in the same bed for seven straight nights. But despite the initial urge to sit still for a few days Paul and I decided we needed so go somewhere for at least one day. So we figured since everyone else was renting an aircraft to go somewhere, we decided we deserved to as well. Besides we could justify the flight. It was a needed flight because Paul has his CFI check ride this coming week in the Arrow and I had not flown since before I had left for Europe. And with two extra seats in the back, we invited Nicole and Jay to come along too (Which if you haven’t checked out their blog, you should, it is on my links list). Our destination was St. Augustine.
St. Augustine is a cute, Spanish influenced town and it happens to be the oldest city in the United States. In order for both Paul and I to log the time I went under the hood and he was my safety pilot, but the weather was beautiful on the way up and Paul, Nicole and Jay got a good view of NASA’s space shuttle on Cape Canaveral and Florida’s eastern coast. After playing around in St. Augustine for most of the day, it was time to return home. The weather was a bit of a different story. We flew through thunderstorm after thunderstorm, it was the first time I had ever been in hard IMC (Instrument Metrological Conditions). It was raining hard and at one point we were in a cloud for a solid twelve minutes. I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous, but it was a blast. As we approached Melbourne the weather cleared up and the four of us returned home safely. I’m sure there will be another adventure around the corner.
St. Augustine is a cute, Spanish influenced town and it happens to be the oldest city in the United States. In order for both Paul and I to log the time I went under the hood and he was my safety pilot, but the weather was beautiful on the way up and Paul, Nicole and Jay got a good view of NASA’s space shuttle on Cape Canaveral and Florida’s eastern coast. After playing around in St. Augustine for most of the day, it was time to return home. The weather was a bit of a different story. We flew through thunderstorm after thunderstorm, it was the first time I had ever been in hard IMC (Instrument Metrological Conditions). It was raining hard and at one point we were in a cloud for a solid twelve minutes. I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous, but it was a blast. As we approached Melbourne the weather cleared up and the four of us returned home safely. I’m sure there will be another adventure around the corner.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Trans Atlantic Train
While I was in Paris there were huge billboards in the Metro advertising a train that traveled from Paris to New York in 8 hours. I have to admit this baffled me, how in the world could there be a train that goes under the Atlantic Ocean? Is it remotely possible? Well I was curious, and I did some research online and this is what I found:
http://www.atlantictunnel.com/
Now I would suggest you all go check out this site. I was in shock. A trans Atlantic train, it all seems like such a hoax. The history behind the tunnel is amazing. How could we not have heard of this? How many of our tax dollars have gone into this? And look at the prices of a round trip ticket! They are cheaper than ANY airline. Naturally, as a pilot, I could not disagree more with the crazy idea of taking a train under the water for 3,261 miles, not to mention it would not be good for the airline industry. But would people actually take this train and would it be profitable? The Chunnel is even in the process of going bankrupt. Would anyone consider taking this mode of transportation? It will be available in 2009.
Another website to look at: http://www.transatlantys.com/
http://www.atlantictunnel.com/
Now I would suggest you all go check out this site. I was in shock. A trans Atlantic train, it all seems like such a hoax. The history behind the tunnel is amazing. How could we not have heard of this? How many of our tax dollars have gone into this? And look at the prices of a round trip ticket! They are cheaper than ANY airline. Naturally, as a pilot, I could not disagree more with the crazy idea of taking a train under the water for 3,261 miles, not to mention it would not be good for the airline industry. But would people actually take this train and would it be profitable? The Chunnel is even in the process of going bankrupt. Would anyone consider taking this mode of transportation? It will be available in 2009.
Another website to look at: http://www.transatlantys.com/
Monday, June 20, 2005
London
My backpacking adventure has come to an end. I arrived in London and I spent the afternoon meeting more Aussie’s. Of course I did an open bus tour on a double-decker bus and saw Big Ben, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace and many other places. That afternoon I was taught how cricket was played and saw the greatest upset in cricket history, Bangladesh (the worst team) beat Australia (the best). That night I went to a very proper English party. We showed up comfortably in jeans and t-shirts, everyone else was dressed to the nines, needless to say the Brits were wondering where the Aussies and the American came from. The next day I went to the Imperial War Museum. It is a free museum and I would recommend it highly to anyone traveling to London. It not only has great exhibits on the expected subjects on World War I and II, but you can walk through what the trenches would have been like, or the blitz, just to name a few. But I couldn’t spend the entire afternoon inside because it was 75 degrees and sunny outside, so I went back to the Aussi's where there was a group of people in the backyard watching Australia lose to England in cricket and then a group of us went to Clapham Common to play footie and drink more. I am sure I could have seem more in London, but I am done with traveling now, I am in the mind set that I am going home. I am on my way to Orlando and then I am going back to Minnesota and Wisconsin to see my family. I wish that I could stay a few more months traveling in Europe, but I am looking forward to seeing friends and family in the Midwest, and I miss friends and flying in Florida. I will forever love to travel, and this was just the beginning but there’s no place like home.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Reus to London
Once again I am disappointed in Ryan Air. My flight did not leave from Barcelona like I had expected but from a city called Reus. Reus is nowhere near Barcelona. I took an hour and a half train ride to Reus and then a 17 Euro taxi to the airport only to find out that I couldn’t sleep in the airport because it closed at eleven. Once again, no trains or buses arrived in Reus to make my flight; so I assumed it would be a repeat of Glasgow. My attempt to depart early from Reus was a failure. I tried to take that evening’s flight to London instead of the next day, and although it was wide open and I had a ticket for the next flight it was going to cost me 300 Euro (about $550). So I took another 17 Euro taxi ride to town, stayed in a sketchy hotel for 14 Euro and in the morning took another 17 Euro taxi back to the airport. I guess for those of you that are traveling to Europe and plan to take Ryan Air, don’t fly before eleven in the morning, transportation will be easier.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Barcelona
My plans have already changed many times while backpacking around Europe, so a last minute decision not to go to Marseille was not a big deal. I opted against spending a few days in Marseille dew to the stories I had heard about people getting robbed while there or passing through. And so far along my journey I have been fortunate enough to have kept all my belongings, credit cards, and identification. So on a whim, I decided to head directly to Barcelona and spend four days there before heading to Reus and then to London.
Barcelona is very different than any other city. I don’t mean that in a bad way because it is a great party city and Gaudi is found everywhere in churches (Sagrada Familia), houses, parks (Park Guell), apartments and many other places. Needless to say I saw a lot of his artwork. I also went to the Picasso Museum and decided to be a bum one day and go to the beach (I had already lost my Florida tan). But one of the best things about Barcelona was the market. They had everything and anything at the market that dealt with food. Piles of fruits, vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, fresh fish, homemade candy, eggs and so much more. They laid it out so that the entire market looked like one big rainbow of color and it was gorgeous.
I also met a few people while staying in Plaza Real’s hostal: The Kabul. A few girls from Maryland, Sara and Beth, with whom I went and had a four and a half hour dinner one night that consisted of four courses, a huge pitcher of sangria, and Irish coffee, that only cost us at the end of the night 21 Euro. But I also met some more Aussi’s, a few Kiwi’s, some Canadian’s that had been in Verena’s and my canyoning group, and a few English guys. I would highly suggest to those traveling Europe to stop in Barcelona for a few nights if only to experience Guadi and the nightlife.
Barcelona is very different than any other city. I don’t mean that in a bad way because it is a great party city and Gaudi is found everywhere in churches (Sagrada Familia), houses, parks (Park Guell), apartments and many other places. Needless to say I saw a lot of his artwork. I also went to the Picasso Museum and decided to be a bum one day and go to the beach (I had already lost my Florida tan). But one of the best things about Barcelona was the market. They had everything and anything at the market that dealt with food. Piles of fruits, vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, fresh fish, homemade candy, eggs and so much more. They laid it out so that the entire market looked like one big rainbow of color and it was gorgeous.
I also met a few people while staying in Plaza Real’s hostal: The Kabul. A few girls from Maryland, Sara and Beth, with whom I went and had a four and a half hour dinner one night that consisted of four courses, a huge pitcher of sangria, and Irish coffee, that only cost us at the end of the night 21 Euro. But I also met some more Aussi’s, a few Kiwi’s, some Canadian’s that had been in Verena’s and my canyoning group, and a few English guys. I would highly suggest to those traveling Europe to stop in Barcelona for a few nights if only to experience Guadi and the nightlife.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Interlaken
On Tuesday morning, Verena and I left by train for Interlaken. We traveled though Zurich and Bern, finally arriving at Interlaken, a Swiss town deep inside sky reaching mountains. Easily one of the most breath taking views I have ever seen. Verena and I stayed at the very American, very rambunctious hostel known as Balmers. This hostel was one of a kind. Bathroom showers were open to the hall way, some rooms had doors that were only 5 feet in height, and bunk beds were placed right next to one another so that you may be sleeping next to a complete stranger. I was fortunate to have this experience, the first guy was a South Korean that seemed very nice and taught me how to recognize a fake Louis Vetton bag and the next night I had the pleasure of sleeping next to a Yankee that strongly disliked the Minnesota Twins. But regardless of this crazy atmosphere, Verena and I met a number of people. In fact, I even ran into the girls from Oklahoma that I had met in Paris, and yet again another one of the girls had been robbed and they were down to one girl’s credit cards.
The best part about Interlaken was canyoning. What is canyoning? It is the craziest thing I have ever done. What you do is put on a full body wet suit and climb into a canyon full of glacier water. Once you are in you belay down waterfalls, slide down rocks, jump off racks and down waterfalls. It was a blast; I have never had so much fun and been so scared in my life. I have to admit that I am glad that V was with me.
Now Verena and I are in Geneva, visiting V’s friend Carine, who is a sweetheart. Tomorrow we are returning to Germany together to go to Matt’s family fest. Matt’s parents are the nicest people and I am looking forward to spending a little more time with Verena, Matt and his family.
The best part about Interlaken was canyoning. What is canyoning? It is the craziest thing I have ever done. What you do is put on a full body wet suit and climb into a canyon full of glacier water. Once you are in you belay down waterfalls, slide down rocks, jump off racks and down waterfalls. It was a blast; I have never had so much fun and been so scared in my life. I have to admit that I am glad that V was with me.
Now Verena and I are in Geneva, visiting V’s friend Carine, who is a sweetheart. Tomorrow we are returning to Germany together to go to Matt’s family fest. Matt’s parents are the nicest people and I am looking forward to spending a little more time with Verena, Matt and his family.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Stuttgard
Stuttgart, Germany. This is a place that took me off guard. It is beautiful here and I am fortunate to have two wonderful friends to stay with: Matt and Verena. In the past few days I have been to a German BBQ that included a wonderful helicopter ride with Matt as the Captain, gone shopping at the grocery and beverage stores, kayaked on the Nectar River and hiked at a beautiful state park called Sieben Eichen (Seven Oaks). The BBQ was for Matt’s company, ECMS, at which Verena and I had a blast attempting to play volleyball with a bad mitten net, while drinking beer and the helicopter ride gave a spectacular view of the area outside Stuttgart. Kayaking was fun; although I think Verena was secretly seeing how much water she could splash on me. It has been great to see Verena and Matt and I will be returning after Switzerland, which Verena and I will be departing for tomorrow.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Paris
Where can I begin with Paris? It is most definitely one of the most beautiful cities I have even seen. And despite what most tourists say about the Parisians being crabby, this city was full of romance.
I spent a week in Paris and it was not nearly long enough. I met a few people, some girls from Oklahoma and a few others from Pensacola, but my friend Nick, who I had met in Edinburgh, decided to join me in Paris and we spent the week sight seeing in Paris together. We were the typical tourists going to Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Le Louvre, the Arc de Triumph and the Champ Elysee. We even took a boat tour on the Seine.
The food was wonderful, the architecture took my breath away and the weather was gorgeous. I think I had such a good experience because I spoke French (or at least attempted to). But it is a city that I would love to return to and spend more time, because you need a month just to see the entire Louvre!
I spent a week in Paris and it was not nearly long enough. I met a few people, some girls from Oklahoma and a few others from Pensacola, but my friend Nick, who I had met in Edinburgh, decided to join me in Paris and we spent the week sight seeing in Paris together. We were the typical tourists going to Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Le Louvre, the Arc de Triumph and the Champ Elysee. We even took a boat tour on the Seine.
The food was wonderful, the architecture took my breath away and the weather was gorgeous. I think I had such a good experience because I spoke French (or at least attempted to). But it is a city that I would love to return to and spend more time, because you need a month just to see the entire Louvre!
Monday, May 30, 2005
Ryan Air: Glasgow to Paris
When researching for this trip, I decided to throw in a few cheap flights and Ryan Air had some great deals. I mean how can you beat twenty American dollars total to fly from Barcelona to London? You can’t. So for this trip I have booked two Ryan Air flights. One from Glasgow to Paris and the other from Barcelona to London. Thus far I am a little upset with myself for booking these flights. As I have previous mentioned, I spent the night in the airport in order to catch my flight to Paris from Glasgow. I had no other option than to do this because the airport was no where near a hotel/hostel and none of the trains would bring me from downtown Glasgow to the airport in time to catch my flight. So myself and about fifty other Ryan Air customers staked their place for the night in the Glasgow airport where little sleep was had because of load janitors and freezing cold temperatures, I am pretty sure they turned the heat off for the evening. The icing on the cake was that flying into Paris was not flying INTO Paris, it was flying outside of Paris by an hour, of which they took advantage of charging a relatively pricy bus ticket to the city. Thus far, there is one thumb down out of two from this backpacking girl. They should really inform their foreign passengers of the location and possible inconvince of using their flights.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Edinburgh
Once arriving in London, I went directly by train up to Edinburgh. I was supposed to stay in York that night, and I am not sure what changed my mind to continue on, but I am glad that I did because the people that I met that night will forever be dear to me. I think the reason I continued on that train through York is because I was still trying to figure out where I would be sleeping that night. I had visions of myself sleeping on a park bench or in a train station. Needless to say I was a scared first time traveler in Europe. I didn’t know what to expect or what was around the corner, as much I was excited for the unknown, I was very much afraid of it.
Between York and Edinburgh I decided upon a Hostel called Brodies. I mainly picked it because it was cheap and it had free Internet. When I stepped out of the train station, I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting a city of that size in front of me. I honestly don’t know what kept me from having a melt down right then and there. I remember thinking that I could call mom and dad and they would have me on the next plane home. Well obviously that didn’t happen. I wanted this trip too badly for too long.
So I hiked it up what felt like a trillion stairs to High Street and searched for Brodies. I arrived reeking of sweat and feeling heavier than ever with my backpack strapped to me. I hadn’t slept since leaving Orlando, so it had been a good 36 hours. My goal was to find something to eat and crash for the night. As I was leaving Brodies, a guy and girl were standing in the common area of the hostel discussing where they were going to eat. This is when I met Victoria (Tor) and Jared, two Australians that quickly became close friends. I went to grab a bit to eat with them and the next thing I knew I was calling Mom and Dad and telling them I was already having the time of my life and that evening I went to a comedy club with Tor and Jared as well as another Aussi, Nick and two Americans, Daniel and Alex. Over the next few days in Edinburgh I hung out with Tor and Jared, going to Edinburgh Castle, the Museum of Scotland, and not to mention the many bars. Sadly, I left yesterday evening to catch the train to Glasgow where I had the pleasant experience of sleeping in the airport in order to catch a Ryan Air flight to Paris.
Between York and Edinburgh I decided upon a Hostel called Brodies. I mainly picked it because it was cheap and it had free Internet. When I stepped out of the train station, I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting a city of that size in front of me. I honestly don’t know what kept me from having a melt down right then and there. I remember thinking that I could call mom and dad and they would have me on the next plane home. Well obviously that didn’t happen. I wanted this trip too badly for too long.
So I hiked it up what felt like a trillion stairs to High Street and searched for Brodies. I arrived reeking of sweat and feeling heavier than ever with my backpack strapped to me. I hadn’t slept since leaving Orlando, so it had been a good 36 hours. My goal was to find something to eat and crash for the night. As I was leaving Brodies, a guy and girl were standing in the common area of the hostel discussing where they were going to eat. This is when I met Victoria (Tor) and Jared, two Australians that quickly became close friends. I went to grab a bit to eat with them and the next thing I knew I was calling Mom and Dad and telling them I was already having the time of my life and that evening I went to a comedy club with Tor and Jared as well as another Aussi, Nick and two Americans, Daniel and Alex. Over the next few days in Edinburgh I hung out with Tor and Jared, going to Edinburgh Castle, the Museum of Scotland, and not to mention the many bars. Sadly, I left yesterday evening to catch the train to Glasgow where I had the pleasant experience of sleeping in the airport in order to catch a Ryan Air flight to Paris.
Monday, May 23, 2005
I’m Joining the Flying Circus!
This past Friday I became a commercial pilot. Dad asked me “Afton, what can this commercial certificate do for you?” In response I began to cite the FAR’s telling him I could crop dust, tow banners, do pipeline patrol…pretty much not act like an air carrier, yet get paid for my services as a pilot. Now my father, being the loving, harassing dad that he is, said “Well I guess that means you can get a job with the Flying Circus, because that’s where you belong!” So now I’m not only IFR rated (I Fly Roads); but I can be (or to my father, I already am) a flying clown.
Many other’s this week completed certificates. Bobby and Paul completed their commercial multiengine and sadly Bobby returned to LA, he will be missed. And Mike and Alex completed their CFI. To celebrate everyone got together to play volleyball and grill out. Congrats Paul, Bobby, Mike and Alex.
Next on my agenda is to complete my multiengine commercial rating…but that’s when I get back from Europe.
Many other’s this week completed certificates. Bobby and Paul completed their commercial multiengine and sadly Bobby returned to LA, he will be missed. And Mike and Alex completed their CFI. To celebrate everyone got together to play volleyball and grill out. Congrats Paul, Bobby, Mike and Alex.
Next on my agenda is to complete my multiengine commercial rating…but that’s when I get back from Europe.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Kayaking Pilots
Yesterday, 29 pilots went kayaking on the Indian River on the Treasure Coast of Florida. Now, being aviators and navigators, you would think that we could handle high winds and other obstacles that were thrown our way. Little did we know that the fluid of liquid is much different than the fluid of air. We could not paddle in a straight line to save our lives. I’d like to say that we purposely paddled in a zigzagged manor to avoid the alligators that were along our path, but the reality of it was, that we can all crab into the wind no problem with an aircraft, but could we do it in a boat…hells NO. Regardless, it was a fun adventure that began with the organization of everyone, followed by seeing manatees, and then finally getting everyone in boats to paddle against winds and alligators (okay I’ll admit we only saw one) to an island on the Indian River to have lunch and turn around and face the elements once again. Going back to the beginning was no better, you know that story that your grandparents told you about walking up hill in the snow and sleet both ways to school…well we experienced that in a sense on both the way to and from the island. No free ride on a tail wind for us, headwind all the way. I have to admit it was a much different paddling experience than on the Mississippi. It made me respect the ocean water more and appreciate the Mississippi River back home.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Instrument Rated
Today I became an instrument rated pilot. I can hardly contain myself I am so excited. I want to thank all of you that said a prayer for me, taught me the things I know today (both aviation and non-aviation related), helped me study, lent a listening ear and told me words of wisdom and advice when I have needed to hear it most. Like many of the things I have done in life thus far, I could not have done it without all of you that have been amazing friends or without the unbelievable support you have provided me.
A little about my check-ride: My check-airman’s man was Cindy Bourne. She was really cool. I had a 2-hour oral exam with her, which went really well. Then I had the check ride and wow 2.4 hours under the hood will kill anyone. We flew out of Vero and went to ECKOS intersection to hold; then arced north on an 8 mile DME ARC off of VRB VOR, did unusual attitudes, shot the full VOR approach at Melbourne (MLB) and did a circle to land. We then came back around to shoot the ILS back into MLB when Daytona Approach’s radar went out and they no longer were accepting practice approaches into MLB. That stunk. So I flew south to Fort Pierce (FPR) and shot the ILS there, went missed and shot the FPR NDB partial panel and went home.
So you ask me “now what?” I am already in the Commercial ground school and will be flying in the Arrow by the end of the week. I am really looking forward to getting back in the airplane with Jen, she is so much fun to fly with!
Again, thank you to everyone that aided me with earning the rating!
A little about my check-ride: My check-airman’s man was Cindy Bourne. She was really cool. I had a 2-hour oral exam with her, which went really well. Then I had the check ride and wow 2.4 hours under the hood will kill anyone. We flew out of Vero and went to ECKOS intersection to hold; then arced north on an 8 mile DME ARC off of VRB VOR, did unusual attitudes, shot the full VOR approach at Melbourne (MLB) and did a circle to land. We then came back around to shoot the ILS back into MLB when Daytona Approach’s radar went out and they no longer were accepting practice approaches into MLB. That stunk. So I flew south to Fort Pierce (FPR) and shot the ILS there, went missed and shot the FPR NDB partial panel and went home.
So you ask me “now what?” I am already in the Commercial ground school and will be flying in the Arrow by the end of the week. I am really looking forward to getting back in the airplane with Jen, she is so much fun to fly with!
Again, thank you to everyone that aided me with earning the rating!
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Sun'n Fun Airshow
The best way to go to an air show is to fly there. So a group of us decided to fly into the United State’s second largest air show in Lakeland, Florida; Sun’N Fun. The picture is all of us that flew there in an Arrow and a Seminole. From left to right there is B-Rad, Mike, Kev, Paul, Paul, Pete, and Clint. The controller was great with the traffic flow and Kevin had an excellent crosswind landing in the Arrow on the taxiway that had been transformed into a runway for the week. We walked around for hours looking at the latest glass cockpits and we all drooled over our favorite airplanes. And once we had gathered as much free stuff that was available to us, we headed out to the field to watch the air show. The P-51 and the F-16 stole the show. It was a great place to take a nap, watch airplanes spin and do loops and play football. When it was over we climbed back into the Arrow. Like any large event there is traffic, even when taxiing an aircraft. So after being in ground traffic for a little over 20 minutes we took off for home in Vero Beach.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Rush of Blood to the Head
Sadly I had my last flight in the Zlin today. One full hour of loops, spins and pulling G’s. Five and a half was the maximum G’s that I pulled. Dave was gladly my cameraman, snapping pictures and videos with my camera. I don’t think any one maneuver took precedence of being my favorite. I even enjoyed recovering from a spin once I did one or two. The crazy thing about spin recovery is that you give full opposite rudder and push the stick forward and the spin increases in speed and if you don’t neutralize the rudders you’ll end up spinning in the other direction or if you push the stick too far forward then you’ll actually end up in a flat spin (neither of which is a good result and I came close to doing). But once I got the recovery down, spin recovery was actually a lot of fun. Over the course of the last three flights I did more than spins and loops, I did hammerhead stalls, snap spins, half Cuban eights, four point turns and four leaf clovers. The great thing about flying in the Zlin is that I was laughing the entire time. Lately flying has been very serious and intense because I am wrapping up my instrument rating, being under the hood and concentrating on shooting approaches and adjusting to the craziness of Miami Center/Daytona Approach. So it has been nice to lighten the mood with some inverted flying and make all the blood rush to my head.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
To The Moon!!!
…Okay, no…To Kennedy Space Center. Paul and I decided to go up and check out the space center together. I knew that it would be an informational trip and receive a great tour, but what I didn’t realize was how amazing the experience would be. We got there and immediately saw this fun and informative 3D IMAX film on the International Space Station that many countries have joined together to build. After that you get on a tour bus which shuttles you around 140,000 acres of land that surrounds the space facilities. And believe it or not NASA only uses a small fraction of this land; the remainder is a wildlife reserve that is the home to thousands of animals. They take you to different locations and tell you brain bursting amounts of information. Such as, did you know that the shuttle landing facility is 3 miles long? Or did you know that the Russian’s were the first country to put a man in space and that America failed miserably for many years until we finally had our first man in space? Or that when landing on the moon things went terribly wrong with the Lunar Module, but America still successfully put the first man on the moon? The Space Center does a great job of sharing the history of both good and bad (embarrassing) events NASA encountered and shows that it is very much part of our lives today not only as American citizens but how the International Space Station has united many countries. I would strongly suggest if anyone comes to Florida and is in the Orlando area, consider going on the tour, it is better than Disney. I do want to clarify that as amazing and appealing as becoming an astronaut is, I think I will remain on earth as a pilot…I have so much to explore here in my airplane.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Loops and Spins and Barrel Rolls...Oh My!
Today I flew up side down. Yes, up side down. I did loops, barrel rolls and spun the Zlin. You would think that one would be nervous about performing such maneuvers, but the truth is, I was so excited! This was exactly what flying is all about, and I get three more hours in this toy airplane! The reason behind the aerobatic flying I did today is that Flight safety has students fly four hours in the Zlin for upset recovery and spin training. This is primarily so that as pilots we will know what to do if ever put in a spin condition and then on the side we get to have some fun and pull a few G’s. I had my first of four lessons today in which we did chandelles, lazy 8’s, Crazy 8’s and wingovers. These maneuvers gently increases in bank and pitch, easing us into more unusual attitude of flying. Chandelles introduced 30-45 degrees of bank in a high pitch attitude and by the time I was doing a wing over, with 90 degrees of bank, I was ready for a full fledge loop – which I promptly did again and again and again, until Dave, my instructor, told me it was time to stall spin the aircraft. We did that a few times, it happened so quickly, it was amazing that in an instant I had lost a thousand feet of altitude. I was like a little kid in a candy shop, which Dave saw and introduced me to barrel rolls. I could have done those all the way back to the airport. Then he wanted to know if I wanted to fly inverted – HELLS YA I WANTED TO! So he took the controls and flipped us up side down and we just cruised along for a while. The G’s I felt on my body as we pulled out of that was intense. I’m flying in the Zlin again tomorrow and I am shaking with excitement. More barrel rolls, loops and spinning!!! The accompanying picture was taken by Dave while up side down during one of my loops – look in the upper right hand corner and you can see the ground. Other than that, all is well with me, unfortunately my Apple is sick and has been sent to see Dr. Mac.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Take Me Out to the Ball Game...
This past weekend was a fun, but long, weekend. I say this because I got sick for the first time in Florida, ended up on antibiotics and about three other drugs. Despite my ears refusing to equal out I still went to my GATs training last Thursday and Friday. GAT training is a spatial disorientation type training where they put you in a C182 motion simulation and put you in different attitudes and illusions. Some of these included up- and down-sloping runways, false horizons, wider and narrower runways than what a pilot is normally used to and the Coriolis effect. I know there were others but I can’t think of them right now. The Coriolis effect was the only one that really made me dizzy and forced me to concentrate. But needless to say that this did not make me feel any better last week. However, somehow I felt better long enough to enjoy going to the Vero Beach Air show and then to Port St. Lucie to Tradition Field to see the Dodgers play the Mets. It was a beautiful great day. I went to the game with Melissa, Katie, Josh and Paul. I recently met Josh and Paul through Katie. These two guys came here Rochester, New York and are a lot of fun. I am hoping to go to a lot more spring training games with these guys. The following day, the same group of people, adding Jamie, went to a beach party thrown by another girl who is going to Flight Safety through NOAA. She was a sweetheart and we had a blast at her place on the beach. Oh…one other thing…I finally began my instrument training! I only have nine lessons total and then, well I have my check-ride. I will be sure to keep everyone updated on that, but it’s going to happen fast.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Girls Weekend In Atlanta
So what did everyone do this weekend? Honesty, I would love to hear what everyone has been up to. As for my recent endeavors…I just completed another ground school last week, which was essentially a workshop called CRM (Cockpit Resource Management). It was a great workshop, and being the only female, I was put on the spot numerous times and asked to share my “female viewpoint.” Mr. McAleenan was the wonderful ex-military pilot who ran the workshop by sharing stories, showing movies about accidents and had small group activities. Great workshop, I was only disappointed to find out that Mr. McAleenan only taught that one workshop. Other than that, I have been flying; I had a great flight last Thursday night in which I did some maneuvers to commercial PTS standards. Although, I had a few mistakes here and there (I am still a little rusty) my maneuvers were awesome and I was greasing my landings left and right (all thanks to the PFD I sat on to see over the cowling).
As for my weekend; Melissa, Katie and I piled into my little Honda Civic (which passed the 200,000 mile marker on the way home) and drove eight and a half hours to Atlanta. We met up with a bunch of Melissa’s great friends, went running at Piedmont Park, had a great brunch at the Flying Biscuit, went dancing at Rendezvous until two in the morning, and went on the most amazing Helicopter ride over the city of Atlanta. Okay, so about the helicopter ride…some day I will solo in a helicopter! It is the most amazing experience, it is indescribable and every fixed wing pilot should experience flying in a helicopter at least once. Melissa, Katie and I flew in a Robinson 44 over the beautiful skyline of downtown Atlanta at night. We flew over downtown Atlanta, Turner Field, Piedmont Park, Buckhead & directly between the King and Queen buildings, all at 700 feet above the ground. I will encourage all of you to someday, whether you are a pilot or not, to go to an airport near a major metropolis and go for an evening helicopter ride – go with friends or family, maybe even a date because it is a breath taking experience that you will always have with those people (or person). For me those people are Melissa and Katie, and I feel very luck that I have such wonderful friends.
As for my weekend; Melissa, Katie and I piled into my little Honda Civic (which passed the 200,000 mile marker on the way home) and drove eight and a half hours to Atlanta. We met up with a bunch of Melissa’s great friends, went running at Piedmont Park, had a great brunch at the Flying Biscuit, went dancing at Rendezvous until two in the morning, and went on the most amazing Helicopter ride over the city of Atlanta. Okay, so about the helicopter ride…some day I will solo in a helicopter! It is the most amazing experience, it is indescribable and every fixed wing pilot should experience flying in a helicopter at least once. Melissa, Katie and I flew in a Robinson 44 over the beautiful skyline of downtown Atlanta at night. We flew over downtown Atlanta, Turner Field, Piedmont Park, Buckhead & directly between the King and Queen buildings, all at 700 feet above the ground. I will encourage all of you to someday, whether you are a pilot or not, to go to an airport near a major metropolis and go for an evening helicopter ride – go with friends or family, maybe even a date because it is a breath taking experience that you will always have with those people (or person). For me those people are Melissa and Katie, and I feel very luck that I have such wonderful friends.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Flight Safety Guys
I just want to introduce everyone to my male friends at Flight Safety, since I have already introduced you to Melissa and Katie. You have all met Dave already, he is the one to the right of me in the picture who got his instrument rating a few weeks ago and since then has completed his multi-engine and single-engine commercial and left us to move back to Northern California. Waylan is to the left of me; his Dad is currently over in Iraq and also works for Flight Safety in West Palm Beach. Perry is on the other side of Davey. Perry tried to teach me how to surf the first weekend I came to Vero. We haven’t attempted since, but hopefully he will be teaching me again soon. He is working on his CFI right now. And Jamie is next Perry. Jamie is from London, is working on his Instrument rating, and has been a great person to study with so that we both can prepare for the instrument oral exam. So those are my Flight Safety guys – I love them all dearly and I am glad to introduce you all to them.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Girls at South Beach
First of all Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! Some exciting news; we finally got sun this weekend! I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce my new roommate Katie. Katie, as I said is from EVERYWHERE and she is in the private audit with me for the next week. She’s working on time building and then will begin her commercial. Katie, Melissa and I have been having a blast together for the past week – I love these girls to death! We do practically everything together and I feel so lucky to live with such great female pilots that have quickly become such close friends. Also, this past weekend I had a three-hour cross-country to Ormond Beach, which is just north of Daytona Beach. It was a night flight, tracked a few VOR’s up the coast, did a few touch-and-goes and saw The Daytona 500 all lit up from the sky. I attempted to take a picture but movement and taking pictures of lights is not a good combo – it looked like a firework show. I hope that everyone is doing well and that even though Valentine’s Day is superficial holiday, that everyone talked to or got dropped a line by a friend or someone they love. Thank you to all of you (friends & family) that were my Valentine’s this year.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Flight Safety Moms
Much like everyone needs a home away from home…everyone needs a mom away from home…and I have two! Meet Janice and Marlene, Flight Safety’s mothers. These two wonderful women work in the pilot supply store and I get the pleasure of seeing them almost everyday. They truly are the sweetest ladies. They know all the students by first name and take a genuine interest in how every single one of us is doing. They don’t hesitate to laugh with us (or at us) and they always make sure we’re taken care of. It is because of wonderful people who work at FSI, like Janice and Marlene, that my experience at Flight Safety thus far has been so enjoyable. Even the ground instructors joke around with us inside and outside the classroom helping us make all this aviation knowledge stick in our heads. I couldn’t ask for more…not only do I get to pursue what I love, but I have also met so many amazing people in the aviation industry –Vero Beach has quickly become my home away from home.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
First Flight Safety Flight
Today, almost four weeks after arriving in Vero Beach, I finally had my first flight. I flew in a Cadet from Vero Beach on a cross country to West Palm Beach. As you all know I love to beat myself up and over criticize myself as well, so in my eyes I did not perform up to my standards, but my instructor (Nick Hall) thought I did a really good job considering I haven’t flown since the 14th of June (the math: 7 months ago). The first thing that is taking some adjustment for me is that the checklists are so unbelievably different from what I know, so trying to block out the procedures that have been drilled into my head and spit out the correct checklists was a bit of a challenge. Another challenge is that Winona (ONA) was a non-towered airport, where as Vero Beach (VRB) is Class D and is towered and I flew 61 NM to West Palm (PBI) which is Class C airspace, also towered. Therefore, my communications were a little rusty – but on a positive note, my radio communications were great in PBI and I tracked the VOR’s perfectly. I flew my flight plan to exact amounts on planned heading, time and fuel, almost down to the second – which their method of flight planning is foreign to me as well. All these differences! I think the strangest transition so far is the checklists and that they pitch to Vy of 79 knots (which is about 6 degrees nose up in climb and I am used to 2 ½) after rotation until 500 feet above the runway and then pitch to cruise climb of 87. It felt really good to be in the plane again and I am excited to be at Flight Safety. I have no doubt that in a few flights I will have all of this under and all will be well.
On another note, I have a new roommate named Katie (don’t worry Melissa is still my roommate, I just have two now) and she is from EVERYWHERE. Most recently she came from Colorado but she has also lived in Hawaii in the past year and the Bay Area and is originally from Texas. She’s cool – her and I are auditing the Private Pilot course together. Last week I completed the Instrument Ground and took all the FAA Exams that go with that (IRA, FII & IGI), including the ground final – trust me, it is way too many tests to take in 4 days.
On another note, I have a new roommate named Katie (don’t worry Melissa is still my roommate, I just have two now) and she is from EVERYWHERE. Most recently she came from Colorado but she has also lived in Hawaii in the past year and the Bay Area and is originally from Texas. She’s cool – her and I are auditing the Private Pilot course together. Last week I completed the Instrument Ground and took all the FAA Exams that go with that (IRA, FII & IGI), including the ground final – trust me, it is way too many tests to take in 4 days.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Never Trust A Cookie Box By It's Cover
For those of you that don’t know, I recently discovered that I MAY have celiac’s disease. For those of you that don’t know what celica’s disease is, it is usually hereditary and causes a person to have an intolerance to gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, oats, and other grains. It has different side effects for different people, headaches being one of them. I say that I “may” have it because I have not yet been officially tested, but it is a common disease in my family and since mom and I road-tripped down here and found out headaches are a symptom from my Aunt Lyn in Atlanta, I have stopped eating gluten products all together and therefore my headaches have stopped as well. To test my theory a week ago I decided to eat wheat and see if it would cause a headache... and as I expected, it did. Since then what I can eat is limited and therefore I have been on the prall for gluten free products…so when I saw this box of chocolate chip cookies (picture shown) I was so excited that I couldn’t contain myself. I mean, yum, big yummy chocolate chip cookie…or so I thought. To my dismay, I opened the package in great anticipation, only to discover a little brown ball that resembled something that didn’t even look as good as the pre-made frozen cookie dough you can buy from the Schwan’s man. So immediately I searched the packaging for cooking instructions thinking they would need to be baked (which would be unfortunate as well because I don’t have an oven). Well, they didn’t need to be baked…but it suggests warming them in the microwave and eating them with a cold glass of milk – trust me I tried that experiment later that day and that didn’t help the foul what could be a cookie flavor in my mouth. So again I looked at the packaging and if you will please notice the small white print above the BIG YUMMY looking cookie it says “extreme close-up” – talk about advertisement fraud! I guess this is just an example of why people say to “never trust a book by its cover” – ERRRRRR.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Dave's Instrument Celebration
Never a dull moment around here...and that's just the way I like it! Melissa and I have been in Vero Beach 2 weeks and we are still having a blast.
Besides the eventful day I had of homework, class, and gemini-ing; Dave, a new friend of mine from northern California passed his instrument check-ride. In celebration of such a feat, Melissa and I took him out to dinner to a great Japanese-Thai restaurant. We had a great time and I think I already found a restaurant to take my dad to when he comes to visit!
I mentioned that I gemini-ed today, so I should probably explain what that is. Gemini-ing at Flight Safety is where you sit as a passenger in another student's flight lesson, usually in a similar lesson that you will soon be experiencing. I went up directly after class and I finally saw Vero Beach from the sky for the first time - WOW, flying never ceases to make my heart ache for more. There really is something about soaring through the sky during a sunset while the fog rolls in over the ocean and becomes MVFR. It is such a rush to know that these skies are now my playground.
Besides the eventful day I had of homework, class, and gemini-ing; Dave, a new friend of mine from northern California passed his instrument check-ride. In celebration of such a feat, Melissa and I took him out to dinner to a great Japanese-Thai restaurant. We had a great time and I think I already found a restaurant to take my dad to when he comes to visit!
I mentioned that I gemini-ed today, so I should probably explain what that is. Gemini-ing at Flight Safety is where you sit as a passenger in another student's flight lesson, usually in a similar lesson that you will soon be experiencing. I went up directly after class and I finally saw Vero Beach from the sky for the first time - WOW, flying never ceases to make my heart ache for more. There really is something about soaring through the sky during a sunset while the fog rolls in over the ocean and becomes MVFR. It is such a rush to know that these skies are now my playground.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Melissa & I
I want to introduce everyone to my wonderfully awesome roommate Melissa, who is currently making fun of me for enlarging her ego by paying her a compliment. She's an incredibly fun person and we hit it off from day one, in fact, many people ask us if we came here together because we seem to know one another so well. She's originally from Queens, but is currently living outside of Atlanta. Melissa came here with her private certificate and instrument rating and she just completed her multi- engine ground school. She's been helping me study for my instrument and on the 7th of February commercial ground school begins and we will be in that course together (that's going to be trouble). Anyway, this is the two of us in uniform - the uniform that we both love so much. Uniforms are just so serious and well, the two of us really aren't. But in the next few months I am sure that there will be many more pictures and stories.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Road Trip 2005
I have completed my first day of class at flight safety. I won't lie, I felt like a little kid who was anxious for their first day of school in September. I probably would have had my outfit picked out if it hadn't already been determined for me (which I have to say the uniforms in the aviation world do not have an ounce of femininity).
Mom and I made it alive. We left Sunday the 9th of January and while listening to the Vikings beat the Packers on many random AM radio stations and after driving ten hours we ALMOST made it through the HUGE state of Illinois, stopping to stay the night in Marion. The following day we got up early and headed for Atlanta and eight hours later found ourselves in Alpharetta, GA at my aunt and uncle's beautiful home. Uncle Kent and Aunt Lyn were very hospitable and great to see. My cousins Kendal and Kyle have gotten so big and reminded me that I am glad I don't have to deal with the drama that occurs at that age again. My other cousin Elizabeth was doing great, she's dating a great guy who ended up making sure that Aunt Lyn, Elizabeth, Mom and I got the royal treatment at Emril's the following day for lunch (Thank you again Lyn for the wonderful lunch). Before Mom and I knew it, it was Tuesday night and we planned for an early departure through Atlanta the next morning. We got up at 5:30 and were on Highway 400 by six O'clock, the traffic even THEN was bad! Our plan was to make it all the way to Vero Beach, which we accomplished with only one bump in the road. An accident happened just as we got south of Jacksonville which resulted in us being held up in traffic for about half an hour. That's where the picture Mom took comes into play. This is the trucker that saw we were from WI and pulled up besides us and asked us where in WI we were coming from. Mom told him and we then found out that he was from Milwaukee and that he would do anything to move back there. It was humorous. But before we knew it we were in Vero Beach eating lobster with Howard (who is a close friend of my moms and been very supportive of my career in aviation).
Obviously, I have made it safe and sound to Vero Beach. Mom helped me get all set up and she went on her way back home. I have a great roomie named Melissa who is originally from Queens and we get a long great; they seriously could not have matched us better!! I also have met a lot of other really great people who have already taken me surfing (definitely looking forward to more of that). Although don't worry, this lady pilot is not going to be distracted, already I have spent a lot of time studying, but it feels great to have everything centered around aviation and to know that I am on my way.
Mom and I made it alive. We left Sunday the 9th of January and while listening to the Vikings beat the Packers on many random AM radio stations and after driving ten hours we ALMOST made it through the HUGE state of Illinois, stopping to stay the night in Marion. The following day we got up early and headed for Atlanta and eight hours later found ourselves in Alpharetta, GA at my aunt and uncle's beautiful home. Uncle Kent and Aunt Lyn were very hospitable and great to see. My cousins Kendal and Kyle have gotten so big and reminded me that I am glad I don't have to deal with the drama that occurs at that age again. My other cousin Elizabeth was doing great, she's dating a great guy who ended up making sure that Aunt Lyn, Elizabeth, Mom and I got the royal treatment at Emril's the following day for lunch (Thank you again Lyn for the wonderful lunch). Before Mom and I knew it, it was Tuesday night and we planned for an early departure through Atlanta the next morning. We got up at 5:30 and were on Highway 400 by six O'clock, the traffic even THEN was bad! Our plan was to make it all the way to Vero Beach, which we accomplished with only one bump in the road. An accident happened just as we got south of Jacksonville which resulted in us being held up in traffic for about half an hour. That's where the picture Mom took comes into play. This is the trucker that saw we were from WI and pulled up besides us and asked us where in WI we were coming from. Mom told him and we then found out that he was from Milwaukee and that he would do anything to move back there. It was humorous. But before we knew it we were in Vero Beach eating lobster with Howard (who is a close friend of my moms and been very supportive of my career in aviation).
Obviously, I have made it safe and sound to Vero Beach. Mom helped me get all set up and she went on her way back home. I have a great roomie named Melissa who is originally from Queens and we get a long great; they seriously could not have matched us better!! I also have met a lot of other really great people who have already taken me surfing (definitely looking forward to more of that). Although don't worry, this lady pilot is not going to be distracted, already I have spent a lot of time studying, but it feels great to have everything centered around aviation and to know that I am on my way.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
The Mugby Gang 2004
I would like to thank the Lakins and the Hallacks for the wonderful Mugby Junction employee party that they threw for us in December and for the past year of fun and enjoyable employment as a Barista; I formed some wonderful friendships with both co-workers and customers.
I am sad to say that I am no longer working at Mugby in order to become a professional pilot, but I am very excited to continue on with my career goals. I hope to stay in touch with everyone and remain the coffee snob they transformed me into. Best of wishes to everyone in the New Year.
I am sad to say that I am no longer working at Mugby in order to become a professional pilot, but I am very excited to continue on with my career goals. I hope to stay in touch with everyone and remain the coffee snob they transformed me into. Best of wishes to everyone in the New Year.
Mom and I on graduation day
Well, I am officially a college graduate. Winona State University was a good choice for me. On Friday the 17th of December I graduate Magna Cum Laude with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Aviation/Airway Sciences.
My future plans are to move to Vero Beach, Florida where I will attend The Flight Safety Academy, which for me is definitely grad school. I was proud to earn my private certificate through Winona's flying club and look forward to a new flying experience in Florida. There I will complete the remainder of my flight training so that my dream of becoming a pilot comes true. I begin at the academy on the 17th of January and plan to train for seven months, which will then be followed by a year as a flight instructor. After that...is after that...and I'll update you when it happens.
Over the past four years, I have become knowledgeable not only academically, but have also learned from numerous life experiences. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend a summer in Nantucket, explore the natural beauties of the Mississippi River V alley, travel the New England area, and have met some fantastic people along the way. It is you that have made these years memorable whether it be by sending me a gift basket or a card to cheer me up. Many of you trusted me to watch your kids or trusted me with your life as I flew you through the air. Some of you put a roof over my head and others made sure I ate a hot homemade meal. A few of you proof-read my papers while some of you taught me how to write them. I would not be where I am without all of your support. I thank you all for being in my life.
My future plans are to move to Vero Beach, Florida where I will attend The Flight Safety Academy, which for me is definitely grad school. I was proud to earn my private certificate through Winona's flying club and look forward to a new flying experience in Florida. There I will complete the remainder of my flight training so that my dream of becoming a pilot comes true. I begin at the academy on the 17th of January and plan to train for seven months, which will then be followed by a year as a flight instructor. After that...is after that...and I'll update you when it happens.
Over the past four years, I have become knowledgeable not only academically, but have also learned from numerous life experiences. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend a summer in Nantucket, explore the natural beauties of the Mississippi River V alley, travel the New England area, and have met some fantastic people along the way. It is you that have made these years memorable whether it be by sending me a gift basket or a card to cheer me up. Many of you trusted me to watch your kids or trusted me with your life as I flew you through the air. Some of you put a roof over my head and others made sure I ate a hot homemade meal. A few of you proof-read my papers while some of you taught me how to write them. I would not be where I am without all of your support. I thank you all for being in my life.
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