I apologize for the delay in any and all updates. Since my being laid off I have been extremely busy....even more-so than before. Its true what people say about things happening for a reason. My untimely departure from my former emplyer was a tremendous blessing in disguise. I have had the opportunity to work full time at the flight school now, and am extremely happy about it.
So, lets back up. Almost immediately after coming on full time my schedule was filling up. I have 3 new students, not to mention the students I was already working with. I also have 2 commercial students in the arrow, as well as 4 people who are planning on starting up in June. Things have worked out even better than I couldve hoped for, affirming my decision to make this a career. Things just fit too well right now.
Last week saw some good stuff happen. I started the week with some private students. Ive been working with Larry on teaching him to land. If any cfi's out there can give me some tips on teaching the landing id appreciate it. Hes at about 8 hours right now. Then I put Justin under the hood for some stalls and slow flight. Our asst chief attended a conference with a group of local DE's(designated examiners--guys who do the checkrides) and they all stated that the number one thing that private candidates dont do well are stalls and slow flight. So, I have vowed to work on that with my guys. We did a landing at Carroll County and then headed home. Tuesday I did a night flight with a guy from the Royal Navy stationed in DC on govt business. Funny listening to him on the radios. I worked with him in the pattern at Frederick, and then tried to score a landing at Dulles. The controllers wanted no part of us as it was still early and there were still several departures heading off of KIAD. So, back to Leesburg we went for a few more circuits.
Wed evening I re-soloed a guy who had soloed a year ago. I met him in Jan, and subsequently had electrical failure with him in the airplane that same day. He went on a stage check last weekend and had another electrical failure in the airplane with our chief pilot. Its not our planes....it must be him. He did great on the solo, and next up is the long dual x-country flight up to Lancaster and then to New Garden(N57). New Garden is a small little airport west of Philly, just outside the Philly Class Bravo airspace.
Thursday I was charter pilot for a couple who wanted a ride to Bay Bridge airport for lunch. We were wheels up around 1030 and headed northeast. We went direct Gaithersburg, direct to Tipton/Ft Meade, direct to Lee-Annapolis, then east across the Chesapeake Bay landing on runway 29 at Bay Bridge. It was a nice trip. We could see the Washington Capital building, the Washington monument and the runways at National airport. Visibility was greater than 30 miles at 2000 ft. Pretty nice.
I flew two more flights after I got back from Bay Bridge. So, long story short. Ive got 539 total time now, with a ton of dual given. The logbook is filling fast. Ive never had so much fun in my life, and nothing has felt as rewarding. I think Larry's solo will be next. That will be a real solo;The first person I have taught to fly start to finish.
Yesterday I rode back seat in a Beechcraft Baron. What a sweet airplane. My chief was giving some instruction to a new owner in order to meet insurance requirements. We got to altitude, shut down an engine, feathered it, and flew around on one engine for a while. then it was stall time, emergency descent and the localizer approach into Winchester. They dropped me off so i could wait for the Arrow to get out of maintenance. The 5 hours wait for the arrow was worth the ride in the Baron.
I will post some pics tomorrow of the Baron and of my trip to Annapolis.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
ATC
I talk to ATC every day, and most of the time they are very helpful. From time to time though they can have attitudes, and you forget that they are people just like you and I. You forget that they can have bad days, good days, and sometimes they just dont feel like talking. I try to always exchange pleasantries with ATC, and when they do me a favor I always thank them. They perform a service to pilots and passengers alike, and are always appreciated. I found this link on another Blog....it was overheard on an Air Canada flight into Vancouver...I hope you all enjoy.
http://www.futurastudios.com/atc-marry-me.html
http://www.futurastudios.com/atc-marry-me.html
Monday, April 10, 2006
Le Chandelle
Chandelle....a French word meaning a sharp climb or evasive action, or something like that. Chandelle is also a maximum performance maneuver that every commercial pilot candidate must perform. When I say commercial, I mean the commercial rating...not the guy in the front of the airliner taking you to Florida. The FAA has a commercial pilot certificate, requiring a pilot to have 250 hours of total time to include a night requirement, some instrument time, a couple cross country flights and training in specialized maneuvers outlined in the practical test standards.
Tonite's Commercial candidate will endure my wrath while learning to perform the Chandelle. This is a maneuver designed during the early war era of flight in which was used to allow the pilot to reverse course 180 degrees and gain the maximum amount of altitude possible. I think this was used in dogfights early on, and probably came in useful if a pilot became boxed into a canyon or valley.
The maneuver as I teach is is split into two sections. The first section is 0-90 degrees. You roll into a 30 degree bank, apply full power, begin to pitch up. I teach constant bank and changing pitch. The pilot is maintaining the 30 degrees of bank, and is increasing his pitch attitude simultaneously. In the second part (90-180 degrees) the pilot is maintaining the max pitch-up attitude but beginning to roll out of his bank. Ideally you complete the maneuver 180 degrees from where you started, and with your airspeed just above the stall speed. You may get a few indications of an impending stall, but you dont want to stall it. Recovery is simple...maintain your altitude and level off back at cruise airspeed. Piece of cake.
Teaching this maneuver is a blast. I absolutely love teaching in the PA-28R Arrow. The airplane is a hoss, and with 200 hp and a three bladed prop it will really get you somewhere.
Half way
Last night I totaled up a page in my logbook. I officially broke 500 hours in airplanes. I am at 504.1.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
KLNS-v143 mulrr-aml-d->KJyo
Yesterday was very eventful. I was scheduled to do a BFR for a gentleman, then head up to lancaster, PA(klns) with a guy who needed to pick his airplane up from the shop. I was supposed to fly the plane back to Leesburg from KLNS. We were wheels up enroute to KLNS at 410 pm We were enjoying the 35 knot tailwind we had at 3500 ft. The GPs was showing a groundspeed of 147 knots. Not bad for a Cessna 172.
After landing I dropped off Charles and taxied over to get some dinner with a friend at the terminal restaurant. I amused myself while I waited for her by watching the crew of a USAir beech1900 unload the PAx and luggage. I made a quick call to Flight service to file my flight plan and get a briefing. Bad news. Severe weather warning on the DC area for all night. The first briefer told me not to try to come back until noon the following day. I made a second call after dinner and the briefer confirmed that same news. So, I made the prudent decision to spend the night up in Lancaster and leave first thing in the morning to get back in time for my desk shift at the flight school.
I woke up this morning in the Holiday Inn express to low ceilings and moderate rain showers. It looked like I would have my work cut out for me, but at least I had slept in a Holiday Inn Express, right? I called FSS and got the weather for my destination, departure point and enroute...and chose to file an IFR flight plan. Since all my charts were in the airplane I had to come up with something off the top of my head. I proposed a wheels up time of 0630, 6000 ft and a route of klns-westminster vor-martinsburg vor-direct to leesburg. My clearance was quite the opposite. I was told to fly victor airway 143 which runs from lancaster vor to martinsburg vor. I was to stay on that airway until MULRR intersection. I could identify that with a cross radial off the Westminster VOR. then I was to go direct to Armel vor and the direct to JYO. My takeoff clearance was to fly the runway heading and maintain 6000 ft. I was soon up in moderate rain beating on the windscreen. Climbing at 79knots I was soon in the clouds. I didnt break out on top until about 5500. I leveled off at 6000 and was soon given a heading to fly to intercept the airway at delro intersection. I stayed on the airway until MULRR and anticipated a heading to fly to get into Leesburg. I had my ipod in one ear and was jamming out to some music when ATC came on directing me to first fly heading 230 "vectors for the localizer 17 approach"...but quickly ammended that yo fly GPS direct to STILL interesection. That is the Initial approach Fix for the approach...where it all begins. I was soon cleared for the approach and intercepted the localizer inbound. the approach calls for you to maintain 3000 until established and inside STILL. Then descend to 1800 until the Final approach Fix-WARDE Int. after WARDE you can go to 1100 until 3 miles from the runway...and if you have dme you can go down to 820. I didnt need to worry about going that low as i saw the runway around 1100 ft and canceled IFR. I made a normal straight in approach to landing and taxied in, tied down and made a dash for the office. Its a cruddy day here.
After landing I dropped off Charles and taxied over to get some dinner with a friend at the terminal restaurant. I amused myself while I waited for her by watching the crew of a USAir beech1900 unload the PAx and luggage. I made a quick call to Flight service to file my flight plan and get a briefing. Bad news. Severe weather warning on the DC area for all night. The first briefer told me not to try to come back until noon the following day. I made a second call after dinner and the briefer confirmed that same news. So, I made the prudent decision to spend the night up in Lancaster and leave first thing in the morning to get back in time for my desk shift at the flight school.
I woke up this morning in the Holiday Inn express to low ceilings and moderate rain showers. It looked like I would have my work cut out for me, but at least I had slept in a Holiday Inn Express, right? I called FSS and got the weather for my destination, departure point and enroute...and chose to file an IFR flight plan. Since all my charts were in the airplane I had to come up with something off the top of my head. I proposed a wheels up time of 0630, 6000 ft and a route of klns-westminster vor-martinsburg vor-direct to leesburg. My clearance was quite the opposite. I was told to fly victor airway 143 which runs from lancaster vor to martinsburg vor. I was to stay on that airway until MULRR intersection. I could identify that with a cross radial off the Westminster VOR. then I was to go direct to Armel vor and the direct to JYO. My takeoff clearance was to fly the runway heading and maintain 6000 ft. I was soon up in moderate rain beating on the windscreen. Climbing at 79knots I was soon in the clouds. I didnt break out on top until about 5500. I leveled off at 6000 and was soon given a heading to fly to intercept the airway at delro intersection. I stayed on the airway until MULRR and anticipated a heading to fly to get into Leesburg. I had my ipod in one ear and was jamming out to some music when ATC came on directing me to first fly heading 230 "vectors for the localizer 17 approach"...but quickly ammended that yo fly GPS direct to STILL interesection. That is the Initial approach Fix for the approach...where it all begins. I was soon cleared for the approach and intercepted the localizer inbound. the approach calls for you to maintain 3000 until established and inside STILL. Then descend to 1800 until the Final approach Fix-WARDE Int. after WARDE you can go to 1100 until 3 miles from the runway...and if you have dme you can go down to 820. I didnt need to worry about going that low as i saw the runway around 1100 ft and canceled IFR. I made a normal straight in approach to landing and taxied in, tied down and made a dash for the office. Its a cruddy day here.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Chapter 2
So, Last Friday I learned a very valuable life lesson; make sure you know who your friends are...and be wary of those who are out to get you.
Friday's weather was spectacular. The sun was out, it was 70 degrees and I didnt have to work. I was called into the boardroom around 10 am on Friday morning and told that "I had other priorities and that my mind wasnt at the company"....The Branch manager and company VP, along with my dept manager proceded to bring up 4 or 5 small things I'd done in the last few months, and told me my work was unacceptable and that "effective immediately I was terminated". Well, I have to admit this didnt come as any shock to me. The management of George Mason mortgage in Fairfax VA is as bad as it gets, and when they heard that I had plans of pursuing a career in aviation and would be leaving in May, they took it as a threat and looked for a way to get rid of me. They acted very aggressively towards me in the boardroom, as though they expected a fight from me....but i simply and quietly walked out of the room. I packed up my desk and walked outside. I was free!
I spent the rest of the day enjoying the weather. I made a few calls and within an hour I had applied for unemployment and was on the schedule full time at Aviation Adventures in Leesburg, VA. I am not in chapter two of this journey.
May 14 I am hitting the road south and will attend Ari-Ben aviation in Ft Pierce FL for 3 weeks of timebuilding. Ill leave Ft Pierce with 100 hours of time in a multi engine aircraft, and be able to instruct in multi engine aircraft back up north in VA. The magic ticket to the airlines is multi-time. Most require at a minimum 100 hours. By spending this time in FL ill meet those mins. Im very excited.
I am planning trips to key west, FLL, PBI, MCO, Tampa, and as many other small airports as I can squeeze in.
I am still pretty bitter about the whole firing thing.....but I am sure that in a year I will look down from the right seat of the CRJ-900 that I am FO on and laugh at the people still at GMMLLC......the office is a large building sitting under the rigth base for 1R at KIAD. anyone know how to drop blue ice?
Friday's weather was spectacular. The sun was out, it was 70 degrees and I didnt have to work. I was called into the boardroom around 10 am on Friday morning and told that "I had other priorities and that my mind wasnt at the company"....The Branch manager and company VP, along with my dept manager proceded to bring up 4 or 5 small things I'd done in the last few months, and told me my work was unacceptable and that "effective immediately I was terminated". Well, I have to admit this didnt come as any shock to me. The management of George Mason mortgage in Fairfax VA is as bad as it gets, and when they heard that I had plans of pursuing a career in aviation and would be leaving in May, they took it as a threat and looked for a way to get rid of me. They acted very aggressively towards me in the boardroom, as though they expected a fight from me....but i simply and quietly walked out of the room. I packed up my desk and walked outside. I was free!
I spent the rest of the day enjoying the weather. I made a few calls and within an hour I had applied for unemployment and was on the schedule full time at Aviation Adventures in Leesburg, VA. I am not in chapter two of this journey.
May 14 I am hitting the road south and will attend Ari-Ben aviation in Ft Pierce FL for 3 weeks of timebuilding. Ill leave Ft Pierce with 100 hours of time in a multi engine aircraft, and be able to instruct in multi engine aircraft back up north in VA. The magic ticket to the airlines is multi-time. Most require at a minimum 100 hours. By spending this time in FL ill meet those mins. Im very excited.
I am planning trips to key west, FLL, PBI, MCO, Tampa, and as many other small airports as I can squeeze in.
I am still pretty bitter about the whole firing thing.....but I am sure that in a year I will look down from the right seat of the CRJ-900 that I am FO on and laugh at the people still at GMMLLC......the office is a large building sitting under the rigth base for 1R at KIAD. anyone know how to drop blue ice?
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Ten miles.....not necessarily in the air either
So todays been a pretty good day so far. I started the morning off with a ten mile run in downtown Washington DC. The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Miler was organized to benefit the childrens miracle network, and with over 10000 strong in the race it was a huge success. This weekend was the peak of the blossoms, so downtown was packed with tourists, but we managed to run a ten mile course weaving through the streets of dc and over the memorial bridge, and then back down rock creek parkway to finish up along side the Potomac River. I finished at a respectable 1 hour 53 minutes. Not bad for a "clydesdale".....
I am at the airport now killing time before my afternoon flight. The weather is absolutely gorgeous and the winds are light. Its going to be a great day to fly. I have my jamaican buddy scheduled for some airwork and landings so we will see how it goes.
This morning i kept myself amused while running by watching the jets depart from DCA. They were in a north operation and were climbing out right overhead, while keeping the east bank of the potomac to their right. Prohibited areas over the capitol, mall, and white house make it an interesting departure for most airliners out of DCA. The arrival into national is even better from the north. In good weather the jets will fly the River Visual to rwy 19. Some of the smaller RJ's or turboprops might take a straight in to rwy 15 or 22. I highly suggest stopping by gravelly point and checking it out sometime. For aviation buffs its a good time.
I am at the airport now killing time before my afternoon flight. The weather is absolutely gorgeous and the winds are light. Its going to be a great day to fly. I have my jamaican buddy scheduled for some airwork and landings so we will see how it goes.
This morning i kept myself amused while running by watching the jets depart from DCA. They were in a north operation and were climbing out right overhead, while keeping the east bank of the potomac to their right. Prohibited areas over the capitol, mall, and white house make it an interesting departure for most airliners out of DCA. The arrival into national is even better from the north. In good weather the jets will fly the River Visual to rwy 19. Some of the smaller RJ's or turboprops might take a straight in to rwy 15 or 22. I highly suggest stopping by gravelly point and checking it out sometime. For aviation buffs its a good time.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
First timers
So I guess spring is supposed to be here by now huh? Well, Mother Nature is having second thoughts on that I guess. The forecast for the weekend is for rain and snow tomorrow. And possibly on Sunday as well. It is pretty annoying when you are only able to fly with students on the weekends and the weather consistently does not cooperate. Whether it is the wind, the clouds, or now precip and freezing temps….its enough to make a guy like myself want to move to Florida. I think I can handle thunderstorms and hurricanes better than I can deal with a winter full of gusty crosswinds and ice filled clouds. But I digress.
The weekend is slated to be a good one, if the weather cooperates. I am scheduled to work the dispatch desk on Sat morning until around noon. I’ve got one of my better students lined up for a flight to tune him up for his re-solo. He’s new to town and needs a new solo endorsement from myself. Easy flight. Late afternoon I have a new student who has about 30 hours, but wants to finish his license. This should be an interesting flight. Flying with new people always keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Speaking of new pilots, I took my friend Chris and Jami up in the airplane last night. We loaded up the c-172 and headed west towards Front royal and Winchester. We were headed into Winchester (kokv) for a touch and go and I asked Jami if she wanted to try a landing. She was excited so I said I would handle the rudders and the power, she could do the flare. I carefully watched her and coached her every movement. As we came over the grass I said, keep bringing us down; we crossed the threshold at a beautiful height and I explained that ill being the power back and I wanted her to level off, then I told her to keep the airplane at this height and not let it sink. She started to instinctively flare the airplane. I was in utter amazement. Granted she did not have to worry about maintaining airspeed on final, or putting in flaps or steering on the ground after touchdown, but she still did a whole lot better than a lot of students I’ve seen. I think we might have a new student on our hands. I gave her a logbook with her first 1.5 in it.
It was great to get back in the left seat and I enjoyed being the sole manipulator of the controls for a change…..
We took our friend Dave flying as well. We had a picture of him on my clipboard propped up on the instrument panel in cruise flight. As his girlfriend sat next to me I watched as she held the picture in her hands. Dave had been flying with me once before, and he wanted me to take him flying back in January. I guess he finally got to go back up with me again.
The weekend is slated to be a good one, if the weather cooperates. I am scheduled to work the dispatch desk on Sat morning until around noon. I’ve got one of my better students lined up for a flight to tune him up for his re-solo. He’s new to town and needs a new solo endorsement from myself. Easy flight. Late afternoon I have a new student who has about 30 hours, but wants to finish his license. This should be an interesting flight. Flying with new people always keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Speaking of new pilots, I took my friend Chris and Jami up in the airplane last night. We loaded up the c-172 and headed west towards Front royal and Winchester. We were headed into Winchester (kokv) for a touch and go and I asked Jami if she wanted to try a landing. She was excited so I said I would handle the rudders and the power, she could do the flare. I carefully watched her and coached her every movement. As we came over the grass I said, keep bringing us down; we crossed the threshold at a beautiful height and I explained that ill being the power back and I wanted her to level off, then I told her to keep the airplane at this height and not let it sink. She started to instinctively flare the airplane. I was in utter amazement. Granted she did not have to worry about maintaining airspeed on final, or putting in flaps or steering on the ground after touchdown, but she still did a whole lot better than a lot of students I’ve seen. I think we might have a new student on our hands. I gave her a logbook with her first 1.5 in it.
It was great to get back in the left seat and I enjoyed being the sole manipulator of the controls for a change…..
We took our friend Dave flying as well. We had a picture of him on my clipboard propped up on the instrument panel in cruise flight. As his girlfriend sat next to me I watched as she held the picture in her hands. Dave had been flying with me once before, and he wanted me to take him flying back in January. I guess he finally got to go back up with me again.
Monday, March 20, 2006
things that go bump in the day
Wheels up and back in the sky once again. Right on schedule, the weekend arrived and the winds fired up. Saturday saw the worst of the weather pass through. Winds on the surface were gusting once again to 27. But more dangerous were the winds aloft. Moderate to severe turbulence below 8000 ft all over the region, and a mountain wave that, according to a pirep, was quite severe. A driver of a Cessna 172 reported a descent over 500 fpm while trying to cross the ridge. He had full power and was pitching the aircraft for Vx…or best angle of climb. Not sure how he got out of it, but that alone was enough for most of the instructors, myself included to cancel our flights.
Sunday was forecast to be better, however the forecast changed and those winds hung around. The severe turbulence was gone, and the mountain wave wasn’t as vicious so I decided to give it a shot. My first flight of the morning paired me with a private pilot….from Jamaica….that hadn’t flown in 4 years. No problem. I told him it would be bumpy but if he didn’t mind a few bumps we could go. So we headed out and I showed him the preflight. We hopped in the airplane and departed off runway 35. I requested a vfr climb to 3000 and a class bravo clearance, and Potomac departure was able to accommodate. I wanted to get out of the low level bumps as soon as I could. It worked, sort of. We headed over to Winchester and flew around. Let him get used to the airplane, as all his ppl training was done in a Cessna 150. He came to me with .8 of an hour in a 172. We did an hour in the practice area and headed back. I briefed him on the landing, and asked if he wanted to try to land it. We agreed that I would help him on the controls as it was a pretty gusty crosswind. To be exact I wrote down the winds…280@16knots gusting to 27. The wind was 70 degrees off the runway heading(350) and nearly exceeded our xwind capability of the aircraft. We were almost test pilots. He did a great job on final until over the grass. We went below the trees and lost our wind. He had let us get slow and the windshear bit us. I felt the sink, called for some power, he didn’t respond so I took controls, went full power and got out of there. he asked me to do the landing the next time around and I totally greased it. My biggest fear was botching another landing with a student, for the second week in a row.
My second student is a guy that ive been trying to fly with for a while now. We first flew together back when we had the electrical failure, and have only had one other flight in the pattern between then and now. So we headed out into the wind. Nice takeoff and climb out. Headed west via rt 7 and used some pilotage to have him find Winchester airport for me. We did a few maneuvers in the area and then headed over for a couple landings at Winchester(kokv). Winds were 16 knots but right down the runway. Made it nice and easy for him to have good landings. Made my job easier too. We departed the airport back to Leesburg and I wanted him to learn how to enter and exit the ADIZ. He made his intial call up to Potomac and we were rudely dismissed. As we circled outside the ADIZ we watched the airliners entering the downwind for rwy 1L at KIAD. The controllers were busy. One large jet after another, and no sqwawk code for us. So I tried two more freqs before we finally got a code. So, my teaching moment was kinda ruined and I had to kinda ad-lib to get us back home. But at least got to see what to do when that happens. I will say it again, the ADIZ is a good thing for national security, but damn it’s a pain in my a$$ every day that I fly. Nine times out of ten it’s a piece of cake with no problems. But that tenth time it really bugs the crap out of you. Some controllers act as though they are god…..and treat smaller GA aircraft as though they aren’t worth their time. Ok, end rant.
So we ended the flight with a pretty wild time on final, and a pretty long touchdown. But it was a safe landing on the centerline and the plane will fly again.
Overall not the best weekend of flying, but I did get some time in the logbook. Broke 490 total time, so I am slowly getting closer to the elusive 1000 hrs. I have a pretty good feeling that once I start teaching full time I will fill the pages in my logbook pretty fast.
Total time=490.7 Multi time 9.8 1hr PIC multi. That is soon to change.
Sunday was forecast to be better, however the forecast changed and those winds hung around. The severe turbulence was gone, and the mountain wave wasn’t as vicious so I decided to give it a shot. My first flight of the morning paired me with a private pilot….from Jamaica….that hadn’t flown in 4 years. No problem. I told him it would be bumpy but if he didn’t mind a few bumps we could go. So we headed out and I showed him the preflight. We hopped in the airplane and departed off runway 35. I requested a vfr climb to 3000 and a class bravo clearance, and Potomac departure was able to accommodate. I wanted to get out of the low level bumps as soon as I could. It worked, sort of. We headed over to Winchester and flew around. Let him get used to the airplane, as all his ppl training was done in a Cessna 150. He came to me with .8 of an hour in a 172. We did an hour in the practice area and headed back. I briefed him on the landing, and asked if he wanted to try to land it. We agreed that I would help him on the controls as it was a pretty gusty crosswind. To be exact I wrote down the winds…280@16knots gusting to 27. The wind was 70 degrees off the runway heading(350) and nearly exceeded our xwind capability of the aircraft. We were almost test pilots. He did a great job on final until over the grass. We went below the trees and lost our wind. He had let us get slow and the windshear bit us. I felt the sink, called for some power, he didn’t respond so I took controls, went full power and got out of there. he asked me to do the landing the next time around and I totally greased it. My biggest fear was botching another landing with a student, for the second week in a row.
My second student is a guy that ive been trying to fly with for a while now. We first flew together back when we had the electrical failure, and have only had one other flight in the pattern between then and now. So we headed out into the wind. Nice takeoff and climb out. Headed west via rt 7 and used some pilotage to have him find Winchester airport for me. We did a few maneuvers in the area and then headed over for a couple landings at Winchester(kokv). Winds were 16 knots but right down the runway. Made it nice and easy for him to have good landings. Made my job easier too. We departed the airport back to Leesburg and I wanted him to learn how to enter and exit the ADIZ. He made his intial call up to Potomac and we were rudely dismissed. As we circled outside the ADIZ we watched the airliners entering the downwind for rwy 1L at KIAD. The controllers were busy. One large jet after another, and no sqwawk code for us. So I tried two more freqs before we finally got a code. So, my teaching moment was kinda ruined and I had to kinda ad-lib to get us back home. But at least got to see what to do when that happens. I will say it again, the ADIZ is a good thing for national security, but damn it’s a pain in my a$$ every day that I fly. Nine times out of ten it’s a piece of cake with no problems. But that tenth time it really bugs the crap out of you. Some controllers act as though they are god…..and treat smaller GA aircraft as though they aren’t worth their time. Ok, end rant.
So we ended the flight with a pretty wild time on final, and a pretty long touchdown. But it was a safe landing on the centerline and the plane will fly again.
Overall not the best weekend of flying, but I did get some time in the logbook. Broke 490 total time, so I am slowly getting closer to the elusive 1000 hrs. I have a pretty good feeling that once I start teaching full time I will fill the pages in my logbook pretty fast.
Total time=490.7 Multi time 9.8 1hr PIC multi. That is soon to change.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Arrow Time
It’s been a pretty crazy couple of weeks for me, but I think the dust has settled and we are all moving forward. There is definitely something to be said for having someone on your side upstairs. This past weekend was tremendous for me as far as the flying goes. Sat morning I made my way out to the airport for a 10 am show with a student who was signed up for his first lesson ever. Huge responsibility for me. My first student from scratch. He was excited, motivated, and ready to fly. I took him out, showed him the Cessna we would be flying, and we started in on the preflight. I had him read the checklist item and I showed him what we were looking at. After the preflight, we climbed in and I taxied us out of parking. Once on the main taxiway headed out to runway 35 I let him take the controls. I showed him how to taxi using the rudder petals to steer and to keep us on centerline. We did the run-up and then we took the runway. I had briefed him on the takeoff. I kept us going straight with my feet and kept an eye on the airspeed. When we hit 60 knots I had Ahmed gently pull back on the yoke. Before he knew it we were airborne. He was really pumped. I let him fly us west staying under the Dulles class B airspace, and had him climb us out up to 3000 as soon as we could. Once clear of the ridge and the ADIZ boundaries, we went up to about 4000 to get above the thermals. Nice smooth air for his first flight. We did some turns, climbs, descents…..he had a huge grin on his face. After about an hour we headed back to Leesburg. After a brief delay getting back into the ADIZ we got our code and I had him descent us down to around 1500. He was a little unnerved by the thermal activity as it was a nice warm day in the DC area. I took over a mile outside the pattern and landed us on runway 35. He complimented me on the landing…..glad he didn’t know otherwise. I had a little bounce to it. I guess its all good right? So he’s signed up for his second lesson. He’s all set to get started. I am as well.
My afternoon was a checkout in the arrow. The PA28R-200. Retractable gear, constant speed prop. We headed off on a x-c he had planned up to Chambersburg PA—N68. A nice little skydiving strip. We landed, taxied in, and right before departure back out we were bombarded by about 6 parachuters. Pretty cool to see. After departure, we headed over for a landing at Hagerstown (khgr) and then a landing at Frederick (kfdk). Full stops at each. Then we headed home for a nice smooth landing back at Leesburg. As usual, a gorgeous sunset on the way back southwest bound. Something I have really found enjoyment in. Nothing better than a nice sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains at the end of a long afternoon of flight instructing.
Sunday was the morning of my 8k race in DC. St Patty’s day 8k to benefit the Special Olympics. I used the opportunity to raise money for the family of my friend who had just recently passed. I was very successful, and thank all those that helped me with my effort. I also had an excellent run, finishing at my best time to date.
The afternoon I spent with my commercial student. We went up in the Cessna to get him back in the saddle. It’s been a while since he’s flown so we went through the PTS and did all the maneuvers he would need to know. For not having flown in a while he did exceptional. After the airwork I told him to take us to Winchester (kokv) for some landings. We were on the edge of some weather and it was moving in. On about a 3 mile left base for runway 32 at Winchester I asked him what he thought about the weather. He said “Let’s go back to Leesburg”. I concurred. I told him that’s exactly what I am looking for him to do with his commercial training. Start making good decisions based on experience and knowledge that he has….no longer relying as much on a cfi for guidance. Growing exponentially as a pilot, and eventually a CFI. We are going to get into the Arrow next time. I am excited to teach him about the gear and the constant speed prop. It’ll be a real experience for me.
My afternoon was a checkout in the arrow. The PA28R-200. Retractable gear, constant speed prop. We headed off on a x-c he had planned up to Chambersburg PA—N68. A nice little skydiving strip. We landed, taxied in, and right before departure back out we were bombarded by about 6 parachuters. Pretty cool to see. After departure, we headed over for a landing at Hagerstown (khgr) and then a landing at Frederick (kfdk). Full stops at each. Then we headed home for a nice smooth landing back at Leesburg. As usual, a gorgeous sunset on the way back southwest bound. Something I have really found enjoyment in. Nothing better than a nice sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains at the end of a long afternoon of flight instructing.
Sunday was the morning of my 8k race in DC. St Patty’s day 8k to benefit the Special Olympics. I used the opportunity to raise money for the family of my friend who had just recently passed. I was very successful, and thank all those that helped me with my effort. I also had an excellent run, finishing at my best time to date.
The afternoon I spent with my commercial student. We went up in the Cessna to get him back in the saddle. It’s been a while since he’s flown so we went through the PTS and did all the maneuvers he would need to know. For not having flown in a while he did exceptional. After the airwork I told him to take us to Winchester (kokv) for some landings. We were on the edge of some weather and it was moving in. On about a 3 mile left base for runway 32 at Winchester I asked him what he thought about the weather. He said “Let’s go back to Leesburg”. I concurred. I told him that’s exactly what I am looking for him to do with his commercial training. Start making good decisions based on experience and knowledge that he has….no longer relying as much on a cfi for guidance. Growing exponentially as a pilot, and eventually a CFI. We are going to get into the Arrow next time. I am excited to teach him about the gear and the constant speed prop. It’ll be a real experience for me.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
the morning after......
With the passing of a good friend, come many mixed feelings that each personal interprets and processes differently. I experienced a whole spectrum of feelings. It started with doubt and disbelief. How could the lord take someone so young and strong so quickly? It didn’t seem fair, and certainly could not be true. It was as though we were all waiting for Dave to walk into the party at any minute. Then those feelings of disbelief and shock blended into feelings of sorrow and grief. We realized that he was not coming back and it was a hard thing to deal with. But, but the grace of god we were all blessed with a large group of friends and a family to lean on. We cried, we laughed, we told Dave what a punk he was…..and at the end of the day it made us feel better. Now that the wake and the funeral have passed we can move on with the mourning process and move forward. This is my first death of someone so close to me as an adult, and it was very difficult. But seeing a church filled with close to 1000 people, from as far away as Korea, it really touched my heart. My feelings are slowly turning now to a mixed feeling of great joy in knowing that Dave is with the lord in an awesome place, but very sad in that we will never live with him on this earth again.
In my attempt at gaining some assemblance of normalcy, I went out to the airport Saturday morning to work my dispatch shift. A guy called looking for a flight review. I offered to do it for him in his own aircraft. He flew a TB-20….a Trinidad. A very nice aircraft that would’ve been a joy to fly if it were a hair bigger. But I enjoyed messing with the avionics and letting him show me how to operate the autopilot. His BFR consisted of the standard ADIZ departure. Once over Winchester we did some stalls, slow flight, steep turns. Being an obvious master of his own airplane, I decided to shift gears and see if this guy really knew how to use his avionics. What a blast. 6 miles south of the Martinsburg VOR we set up the radios to fly the ILS approach to runway 26. We crossed the Initial approach fix and turned outbound before making the procedure turn inbound and intercepting the localizer. The winds were strong and you could see the autopilot was crabbing the nose of the airplane quite a bit to the right to maintain on the center of the localizer. We reached mins and cut off the autopilot and put the bird down in a fabulous x-wind landing. Dip the right wing to maintain runway centerline, but straighten the nose with left rudder and land on the right wheel. A complex yet graceful maneuver when done with finesse.
The second time down the localizer was a real treat. The Martinsburg airport lies in between the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are ridges to the east and west of the airport. Field elevation is 700ft, and the tops of the ridge reach about 2k. Not the Rocky Mountains but big enough to set the scene for a great sunset. As we came down the final to the west runway, the orange ball of sun sat teetering upon the ridge waiting to set. As soon as the sun dips below it is only a matter of seconds before it disappears behind the horizon. The absolutely gorgeous sunset and the chance to fly in the plane reminded me how luck I am to be alive and to be able to chase my dream. The setting sun was somewhat metaphorical in symbolizing the end of Dave’s life, and the eventually beginning of our lives anew. Bringing with us the strength, wisdom and inspiration that Dave left us with. His 29 years of life allowed him to see and do much more than many people see or do in a lifetime. I anticipate spending my next 30 years in much the same way. And when we meet again, I will tell him about all the great places I have flown and foreign lands I have seen. And how he inspired me to be a better person. For this I am thankful.
In my attempt at gaining some assemblance of normalcy, I went out to the airport Saturday morning to work my dispatch shift. A guy called looking for a flight review. I offered to do it for him in his own aircraft. He flew a TB-20….a Trinidad. A very nice aircraft that would’ve been a joy to fly if it were a hair bigger. But I enjoyed messing with the avionics and letting him show me how to operate the autopilot. His BFR consisted of the standard ADIZ departure. Once over Winchester we did some stalls, slow flight, steep turns. Being an obvious master of his own airplane, I decided to shift gears and see if this guy really knew how to use his avionics. What a blast. 6 miles south of the Martinsburg VOR we set up the radios to fly the ILS approach to runway 26. We crossed the Initial approach fix and turned outbound before making the procedure turn inbound and intercepting the localizer. The winds were strong and you could see the autopilot was crabbing the nose of the airplane quite a bit to the right to maintain on the center of the localizer. We reached mins and cut off the autopilot and put the bird down in a fabulous x-wind landing. Dip the right wing to maintain runway centerline, but straighten the nose with left rudder and land on the right wheel. A complex yet graceful maneuver when done with finesse.
The second time down the localizer was a real treat. The Martinsburg airport lies in between the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are ridges to the east and west of the airport. Field elevation is 700ft, and the tops of the ridge reach about 2k. Not the Rocky Mountains but big enough to set the scene for a great sunset. As we came down the final to the west runway, the orange ball of sun sat teetering upon the ridge waiting to set. As soon as the sun dips below it is only a matter of seconds before it disappears behind the horizon. The absolutely gorgeous sunset and the chance to fly in the plane reminded me how luck I am to be alive and to be able to chase my dream. The setting sun was somewhat metaphorical in symbolizing the end of Dave’s life, and the eventually beginning of our lives anew. Bringing with us the strength, wisdom and inspiration that Dave left us with. His 29 years of life allowed him to see and do much more than many people see or do in a lifetime. I anticipate spending my next 30 years in much the same way. And when we meet again, I will tell him about all the great places I have flown and foreign lands I have seen. And how he inspired me to be a better person. For this I am thankful.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
UPDATES
Its been a couple of weeks since I last posted on here, and I apologize for that. There isnt too much to report. I am axiously awaiting my last day at my job(may 12) so that I can head down to Ft Pierce Florida to fly a be-76 beech duchess around for 100 hours. When I get back I will be a full time CFI and probably be working at the Outback again to make ends meet. I was a cook there in college. Its decent money and I do alright at it, and nothing lasts forever right? Why is northern VA so damn expensive. Ive been weathered out quite a bit in the last few weeks due to winds, but I did get a chance to take my student into KIAD-dulles international a few weeks ago one late weekend night. the tower let us land and taxi back on rwy 1R. Huge thrill for my student. Had an A320 land while we were taxiing back. Pretty cool to be that close.
Anyways, not too much new to report in the world of aviation for me.....but I do have some rather sad news to report to my friends here. A very good and longtime friend of mine, Dave, passed away Friday March 3 at around 630 in the evening.
Dave had been living in Korea and was exposed to TB. When he returned to the states he went for a physical and the strain was detected using one of those TB tests noone ever thinks is worthwhile. No big deal right? Give him some antibiotics and the strain would die off before ever developing into full blown TB. So, the DR gave him some meds and said, hey, be careful this hurts x percent of patients livers. Great news doc, but it might help to tell him that he needs to have blood drawn every month to check for liver enymes(damage).
Two weeks ago Dave's liver began to fail. He got very ill and went to the hospital. The ER docs sent him home with some medication, thinking he had the flu. A few days later he was incoherent, delirious, and his urine was dirt-brown. Dave was in some trouble. He was quickly sent to the ICU and a plan was devised. He improved with some meds, and the idea was to try to regain some liver function using mass amounts of IV fluids. Two days after being sent to the general hospital floor, he was back in the ICU. This time he was out of consciousness. He had moments with his eyes open, but his pain was so severe the doctors chose to sedate him, verses giving him pain meds as to avoid further liver damage. Dave needed a liver, in a bad way.
He would never even get a a chance to accept one.
Last night we all stood vigil outside ICU 1 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. His parents, relatives, church people, friends, rugby team, and girlfriend were there praying beyond belief that he would pull through. Around 5pm Daves fever shot up to 106. His breathing was labored. He needed to be put on a ventilator. The cause of the fever was his brain squeezing under tremendous swelling out the bottom of the skull. This was the end for Dave. At 6 pm EST, March 3 Dave was removed from the ventilator to determine if he could breath on his own. He was pronounced brain dead.
Dave was 28, in excellent physical shape. He was an excellent rugby player, a smart kid, a friend to all, a great boyfriend, and a better son than his parents could have ever asked for.
More than all that though Dave was our friend. We all shared special moments with the guy in the last 15years, and we will miss him so very much.
Dave's parents, his sister and her husband and their newborn and 14 month old, and Dave's girlfriend were so thankful that we were all there for them. They had no idea that Dave had so many people that loved him. He is in a better place now..........
................We will miss you buddy.
We celebrated Dave's life like he would've wanted us to.....we toasted a pint in his memory last night.
Anyways, not too much new to report in the world of aviation for me.....but I do have some rather sad news to report to my friends here. A very good and longtime friend of mine, Dave, passed away Friday March 3 at around 630 in the evening.
Dave had been living in Korea and was exposed to TB. When he returned to the states he went for a physical and the strain was detected using one of those TB tests noone ever thinks is worthwhile. No big deal right? Give him some antibiotics and the strain would die off before ever developing into full blown TB. So, the DR gave him some meds and said, hey, be careful this hurts x percent of patients livers. Great news doc, but it might help to tell him that he needs to have blood drawn every month to check for liver enymes(damage).
Two weeks ago Dave's liver began to fail. He got very ill and went to the hospital. The ER docs sent him home with some medication, thinking he had the flu. A few days later he was incoherent, delirious, and his urine was dirt-brown. Dave was in some trouble. He was quickly sent to the ICU and a plan was devised. He improved with some meds, and the idea was to try to regain some liver function using mass amounts of IV fluids. Two days after being sent to the general hospital floor, he was back in the ICU. This time he was out of consciousness. He had moments with his eyes open, but his pain was so severe the doctors chose to sedate him, verses giving him pain meds as to avoid further liver damage. Dave needed a liver, in a bad way.
He would never even get a a chance to accept one.
Last night we all stood vigil outside ICU 1 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. His parents, relatives, church people, friends, rugby team, and girlfriend were there praying beyond belief that he would pull through. Around 5pm Daves fever shot up to 106. His breathing was labored. He needed to be put on a ventilator. The cause of the fever was his brain squeezing under tremendous swelling out the bottom of the skull. This was the end for Dave. At 6 pm EST, March 3 Dave was removed from the ventilator to determine if he could breath on his own. He was pronounced brain dead.
Dave was 28, in excellent physical shape. He was an excellent rugby player, a smart kid, a friend to all, a great boyfriend, and a better son than his parents could have ever asked for.
More than all that though Dave was our friend. We all shared special moments with the guy in the last 15years, and we will miss him so very much.
Dave's parents, his sister and her husband and their newborn and 14 month old, and Dave's girlfriend were so thankful that we were all there for them. They had no idea that Dave had so many people that loved him. He is in a better place now..........
................We will miss you buddy.
We celebrated Dave's life like he would've wanted us to.....we toasted a pint in his memory last night.
Dave Bailey 12/24/76 - 3/3/06
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Arctic Blast
Yesterday saw a FROPA- or frontal passage and the obligatory winds and dropping temps. Wed and thurs last week were gorgeous. Warm temps, sunny skies. I didnt even need a jacket when I left my house that morning. Yesterday was a standard saturday for Feb in Northern VA. The wind from the backside of the coldfront, and the dropping temps made it very unappealing to our customers to go fly. This morning I was greeted with a metar that read something like this....m11/m18. In plain English this means temperature minus 11, dewpoint minus 18. It was damn cold. I showed up for a 9 am student around 830. I knew we would need to preheat so i left instructions for my student to meet me at the plane and I headed out to do the dirty work. Today was the first day we needed the preheater(to warm the engine oil and engine block to help start easier). So, I had to go look around the hangar till i found it. I eventualy did and it was a miracle that it worked. So, I got the preheat operations rolling on the line while the first wave of students headed out. We headed out to do our thing for an hour or so.
I am starting to get bored of watching stalls, slow flight and steep turns. my students just need practice and thats what I am here to help with.
Tomorrow morning I am taking my mom and two cousins up in the airplane for a scenic. Its going to be fun to actually get to fly the airplane for a change.
I absolutely love to fly, and without a doubt am enjoying every single second that I spend out here at the airport. to alot of people this is a hobby, but to me this is home. I am pretty sure some of you who read this will concur and feel the same way.........why else would I have been out here on a sunday morning freezing my a$$ off just to go in an airplane. Sometimes I feel as though Im the luckiest guy around.
I am starting to get bored of watching stalls, slow flight and steep turns. my students just need practice and thats what I am here to help with.
Tomorrow morning I am taking my mom and two cousins up in the airplane for a scenic. Its going to be fun to actually get to fly the airplane for a change.
I absolutely love to fly, and without a doubt am enjoying every single second that I spend out here at the airport. to alot of people this is a hobby, but to me this is home. I am pretty sure some of you who read this will concur and feel the same way.........why else would I have been out here on a sunday morning freezing my a$$ off just to go in an airplane. Sometimes I feel as though Im the luckiest guy around.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
My Office
Ive been seeing alot of office talk on various blogs so I thought I would give you all some insight as to what my office looks like. A couple pics of the flight line and some snow, the view from desk duty, and the cockpit of my favorite bird to give instruction in. Enjoy!
SNOW!!
Ok, so I am not going to complain.....but we have about 10 inches on the ground right now. This winter has been very kind to us thus far so I am not the least bit irritated. It sure looks nice..all white and pretty....but I am sitting at the dispatch desk of the flight school with nothing to do. no flying, no customers...and worst of all no students for me to fly with. I am watching the snow removal crew do a full working over of the runway and taxiways from my desk here. The airport is still closed, as are most of the GA airports in the area. KHEF-Manassas is only open with 15 min prior approval, and Dulles is alternating runways for snow removal and treatment. On my way in to work this morning I was eavesdropping on the approach control freq. and heard a controller tell someone that everyone(all arrivals) was going to land on RWY 1R. And funniest of all was that she had a line of about 15 aircraft inbound. Awesome.
Temps right now are just above freezing and the sun is partially out, so mother nature is helping with the snow removal. I am lucky enough to be indoors while the rest of the gang is outside cleaning planes, although I kinda feel as though Id rather be out there. Most of the cessnas on the field are sitting with several inches of snow and ice on the wings and tail. this is making them all look at though they are taildraggers with a nosewheel. The added weight on the tail is causing the nose wheel to lift off and the tail to touch the ground. It looks kinda funny, but certainly cant be good for the plane. The ironic thing about all this is that John over at http://freightdogtales.blogspot.com was just ranting about the golf tourny biz-jets and the great weather he was having. Glad you were enjoying it. I, my friend, was digging my car out of several inches of snow this morning.
So, the airport is back open. The aircraft are clean and operations have began again here at the Leesburg airport. Its one of those nuisances that come with winter flying in the mid atlantic states. They way I look at it, I could be up in New England where they were predicting a blizzard. At least I got to make a few bucks working the desk, and Ill get to fly the sim before I leave here tonite. Good stuff.
Temps right now are just above freezing and the sun is partially out, so mother nature is helping with the snow removal. I am lucky enough to be indoors while the rest of the gang is outside cleaning planes, although I kinda feel as though Id rather be out there. Most of the cessnas on the field are sitting with several inches of snow and ice on the wings and tail. this is making them all look at though they are taildraggers with a nosewheel. The added weight on the tail is causing the nose wheel to lift off and the tail to touch the ground. It looks kinda funny, but certainly cant be good for the plane. The ironic thing about all this is that John over at http://freightdogtales.blogspot.com was just ranting about the golf tourny biz-jets and the great weather he was having. Glad you were enjoying it. I, my friend, was digging my car out of several inches of snow this morning.
So, the airport is back open. The aircraft are clean and operations have began again here at the Leesburg airport. Its one of those nuisances that come with winter flying in the mid atlantic states. They way I look at it, I could be up in New England where they were predicting a blizzard. At least I got to make a few bucks working the desk, and Ill get to fly the sim before I leave here tonite. Good stuff.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Checkride Prep
The winds that had been pummeling us for the last couple days had subsided enough for me to get out with a student last night. We had a really deep seated low pass over us Saturday leaving us without even the option to do instrument training. Ceilings and Vis were about 300 overcast and ½ mile. Sunday, as the front passed by, gave way to clear skies but horrendous winds. As is the norm where I fly, when the winds blow they blow across the runway. For some reason the airport was designed perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. Oh well. Just another part of flying in Leesburg-KJYO.
So, we departed runway 35 at Leesburg for what was to be part of the three hours of training with a CFI in preparation for the Private Pilot practical test. The FAA requires that all candidates for the PPL practical spend 3 hours within 60 days with a CFI in preparation. For the student that flies regularly this isn’t usually a big deal and happens by default. But for the individual who likes to drag his heels this can be a legitimate concern.
My student also needed some hood work, or flight under simulated instrument conditions. The FAA requires 3 hours of basic instrument instruction for the private license. That’s also time for the CFI to have some fun doing unusual attitude recovery. This allows the CFI to get as close to aerobatic flight as permissible then leave the controls in an unusual attitude, either nose low bank or nose high bank with varying power settings. It is the student’s job to look up and recover the aircraft. Good learning tool for the student and CFI.
The FAA states that a student also must have 3 hours of night flight. If you ask me that’s just barely enough for a low time pilot to get into trouble. But, that’s the regs so Ill abide by them. Night landings are tough to master, even for the seasoned pilot. For the second time with as many students we went around on the first approach back home. Not that a go-around is bad…in fact I teach my students when in doubt to go around and give it another shot. There is no shame in a go-around…only shame in bent metal.
So, hopefully Ill have this kid ready for his test in the next month or so. He will be my first sign off, even though I didn’t do most of the dirty work. I will still get the signoff and, hopefully, a “passed test on the first try” result on my record.
So, we departed runway 35 at Leesburg for what was to be part of the three hours of training with a CFI in preparation for the Private Pilot practical test. The FAA requires that all candidates for the PPL practical spend 3 hours within 60 days with a CFI in preparation. For the student that flies regularly this isn’t usually a big deal and happens by default. But for the individual who likes to drag his heels this can be a legitimate concern.
My student also needed some hood work, or flight under simulated instrument conditions. The FAA requires 3 hours of basic instrument instruction for the private license. That’s also time for the CFI to have some fun doing unusual attitude recovery. This allows the CFI to get as close to aerobatic flight as permissible then leave the controls in an unusual attitude, either nose low bank or nose high bank with varying power settings. It is the student’s job to look up and recover the aircraft. Good learning tool for the student and CFI.
The FAA states that a student also must have 3 hours of night flight. If you ask me that’s just barely enough for a low time pilot to get into trouble. But, that’s the regs so Ill abide by them. Night landings are tough to master, even for the seasoned pilot. For the second time with as many students we went around on the first approach back home. Not that a go-around is bad…in fact I teach my students when in doubt to go around and give it another shot. There is no shame in a go-around…only shame in bent metal.
So, hopefully Ill have this kid ready for his test in the next month or so. He will be my first sign off, even though I didn’t do most of the dirty work. I will still get the signoff and, hopefully, a “passed test on the first try” result on my record.
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