ET's Info-Stew

My step-brother Paul was a major influence in my life, though he probably didn't know it. He was the person who first got me interested in a career in computers. He is also the one who got me interested in aviation. I heard that he was building a kit plane, and all the sudden the aviation opened up to me as a possibility. At some point I had acquired Microsoft Flight Simulator 4 (maybe my Dad already had it). I saw it as just another video game and I flew the plane and landed at various SF Bay Area airports. One summer in my early high-school years we were in Arkansas at a trailer campground and there was a mall only a mile walk away. I went into the mall's bookstore and saw this book with large writing on the spine, How to Become a Pilot. At that time I didn't have a job or any money, so a few times a week I would go to the mall, pick up the book and read it right there in the store for a couple hours. A couple years later after I did have the money I got the book. I learned more about flying and how the instruments worked and from there I was hooked. Of course, my only outlet was flight simulation. I got Flight Simulator 5, and Flight Simulator 95. Later I got Flight Simulator 2000, 2002, and now 2004. The simulators are getting much better, as are the controls.

To my young mind, getting the pilot's license seemed way out of reach. But at some point in college my interest went beyond the computer simulator and I looked into real aviation. I picked up a brochure and bought a textbook and some tools, specifically charts, a flight computer, and some navigation sheets. I learned that getting the license took a serious commitment of time as well as money (at least $5,000). Though the financial aspect was a little out of reach, I decided that I would be able to devote a serious time commitment. I studied the book and learned a lot. Many would think that doing all this study might make aviation less interesting, similar to a person delving into magic, only to get bored because the tricks themselves are so mundane once you know how they work. For me it was the opposite. The more I learned, the more I thought about and looked forward to the feelings, sights, and places I could experience with a small airplane. Much of what I learned I tried to use in the flight simulators, but they don't really get the job done. Flight simulators have many limitations, but they also have many advantages. The two biggest advantages I can see are that they help you learn to use the various instruments, and that they help you develop the appropriate reflexes for various conditions. For example, the simulator has taught my body to react to a stall by lowering the nose and applying power. It has also taught me to steer the plane on the ground with the rudder pedals. From what I read, these types of counterintuitive reactions are difficult for new student pilots to learn.

In addition to using the flight simulator, was doing a serious study of aviation, just as a student pilot would do. I read the Jeppessen text book as well as some others, like Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook. Despite having gone over all the material a few times, I didn't retain everything I needed even for the written test. This meant that I need to do a serious study of the subject as well as periodic refreshers. When I was out of school, I was willing to devote some time to this study. I would have loved to become an expert in the private pilot level material before I embarked on actual flight school. I believed this would give me a leg up and may reduce the amount of time and money needed to complete the course.

In March of 2007 I finally came to realize that Jenny was going to be making money soon and that life was about to get "interesting". Things were going to change and I wouldn't have much time to take flight lessons. So I decided to dive in and start right away.

As of right now, I've passed the written test and am well into the flight instruction portion. It is everything I've ever dreamed of, though probably a little more challenging than I expected.