ET's Info-Stew

Today is the first time I've flown in nearly three weeks, and it shows. I had planned a flight to Fresno, but my checkpoints were weak and we didn't have that kind of time anyway so I quickly planned a flight to Modesto and we flew that. I didn't even plan the return flight. The plan worked out pretty well but there were a couple mishaps. One, my radio didn't seem to be working well and some of the controllers couldn't hear me, so Nick had to do much of the talking. Two, I had more trouble seeing my airport checkpoints than I expected and Nick had to help point them out.

Today was my first time soloing REALLY alone. Nick was probably still asleep. I got in at 8:00am and the winds were 310 at 3...perfect!

Today Nick and I did three patterns, then I let him out and did my first circuit solo! Woo hoo!

Well, one more test down. I passed today's stage check with the cheif CFI at KHWD, though it didn't go down without a couple hitches. My biggest mistake was to neglect to raise flaps before I lifted off after a touch-and-go, and then I retracted them fully after I just got airborne. Yikes that was scary! It was a mistake that came out of nowhere, but it was a good lesson learned, I suppose. I don't know what the next step is, and I'm not even sure I'm cleared to solo yet. Still, I'm that much closer to being a pilot now.

Today's lesson went very well. Nick went over my pre-solo exams, and his corrections were very instructive. We started off in the pattern and I executed four decent landings. Then we headed east to work on some maneuvers. Nick then demonstrated a spin, which was totally awesome but somewhat freaky. Before a fully developed spin the plane was actually partially inverted and during the spin the plane was pointing nearly straight down. Explanations in books don't give it justice! I executed another decent landing on 28R at the end of the flight.

Since my last blog entry I took the plunge and started flying lessons. My instructor is Nick at California Airways in KHWD. I currently have 7.6 hours under my belt and am quickly approaching approval for soloing. I've demonstrated descent skills in maneuvers and knowledge in general aviation. Right now my main focus is on pattern work. Landing is a bit trickier than I thought and a lot different than on the flight simulator. Out of 20 logged landings I really had only three decent ones, and those came during the last session. This shows that I'm making improvement, at least.

After I obtain my private pilot certificate, the first thing I'll probably do is upgrade to a more powerful plane. Let's face it, I'm not exactly a light person. More power means I can take up other people. I want to share my experience with others and introduce them to flight. I think I will be happy for a while like this. I might try other planes, but really I think I'll just enjoy flying in good weather and cheaper planes for a while. I would like to go places I haven't gone and see things from a perspective I've never seen.

I began flight training in April of 2007 and the experience is wonderful. I have had my ups and downs and things are going foward as hoped. If I'm lucky, I will finish my flight training right around the 40-hour mark.

Flight Training Blog

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 endeavor that I've wanted to enjoy since I was 14 is to be a pilot. Until the spring of 2007 it had always been out of reach. School and money were the biggest limiting factors. But in 2007 I realized that no time would be better to get my flying career started, so I took the plunge. It was one of the best decisions of my life.

Aviation Photos