I just got my Airplane Single Engine rating on my Flight Instructor certificate. I was a nervous wreck during my checkride, but my examiner said I did really well anyway. I asked if the flight school was going to be needing any flight instructors in the near future and he said, “Well, I’m actually trying to get a rid of a few right now.” So that doesn’t look terribly promising. I talked to Zach about my multi-engine rating, and he told me to plan on Monday. That should really only take a couple of days, and it’s pretty easy and…
A cold front did indeed come through Norman at about 5pm yesterday. It was about 65 degrees this morning. Considering it was about 80 inside the apartment, Joanna opened a window in what must have been a fit of excitement before she left. I was scheduled to fly at 4pm, the tail end of the hottest part of the day. It was somewhere around 84 degrees, but it felt amazingly cool. I was astonished at the clarity of the air and lamented the fact that I was stuck in the pattern. I bet you could see the Washita mountains today.…
July is almost gone, I’m still “two weeks” from being finished. I showed up for my 2pm flight with Ed a little before 2pm. One of the designated examiner’s in the area had just completed a CFI check ride for two students. I checked the weather. A little cloudy with a cold front that was supposed to come through at 5pm, possibly bringing thunderstorms with it. Ed was finally ready to fly at about 3pm after sitting through the debriefing of his two students. We spent an hour in the pattern, working on my power off accuracy landings. I think…
I passed my oral without much trouble, unfortunately I probably shouldn’t have elected to take the flight test with the current weather conditions. He asked me to do the maneuver I find the most difficult first, which never helps things out. After takeoff, he had me remain in the pattern. I performed a takeoff, and then he asked for a power-off accuracy landing. I wound up stupidly high and performed a go-around. Then he asked for a short field. I wound up low, and performed a go around, even though I might have been able to save it. He asked…
Berck’s instructor let me come flying today! I prepared by not eating anything, taking a ginger capsule, and drinking a ginger ale on the way to the flight school. We took off and headed south, looped back north to over Lake Thunderbird, climbing the entire way. It gets COLD at 8,000 MSL! And Berck had his window open, blowing straight on me. I really didn’t mind, though. All of Norman was apparently racing around in speed boats on Lake Thunderbird. All I could see from so far up in the air was white trails swimming around in the water. Berck…