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!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
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.
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