Scheduling flights in is proving to be a major headache. I haven’t flown in the month of October. I intended to take a week-long break, but it’s turning into permanent retirement.

When I called my instructor on Wednesday morning, he said the earliest he could get me in was Friday at 4pm. It’s Friday around noon, and the OKC Terminal Aerodrome Forecast isn’t pretty. In fact, just to annoy Sydney, I think I’ll subject you guys to it.

TEMPO 2024 3SM TSRA BR OVC020CB

That means that from 3pm-7pm they’re predicting 3 miles visibility, thunderstorms and rain, mist and an overcast layer of cumulonimbus clouds at 2,000ft. So I don’t think I’m going anywhere today.

I’m on the schedule for tomorrow at noon, and possibly Sunday as well.

All these flights are solos. Ought to be fun since I haven’t flown in several weeks, and have only flown solo once in the last 3 months or so.

All I’m really worried about is getting lost. I don’t know why, but finding my way around just by looking at a sectional in the middle of Oklahoma scares me. It all looks the same.

I think that tomorrow I’ll fly to Stillwater, which is north of OKC, so I’ll be in fairly populated areas which means lots of landmarks. The tricky thing about that is that I have no idea how OKC approach will route me since the direct course goes right over Tinker AFB. And in the middle of the day, that’s not usually permitted, at least not at 5,000 feet or so.

There’s a VFR corridor through the OKC/Tinker airspace, but you have to remain below 2,500ft in it. And there are 2,000 ft towers at the end of it. I don’t much like being that close to big scary-looking towers.

It’s funny, I’m an instrument rated private pilot and a big baby when it comes to VFR navigation. Instrument flying is so nice because I don’t have any trouble knowing where I am. Most people are actually just the opposite– they’re leery of instrument navigation but have no problem looking at a collection of buildings that looks just like every other collection of buildings and saying, “That’s the town of Dibble.”

I’m also annoyed that I sit at home all day while wifey works, and it seems like the only time I can fly is when she’s home.