I had a flying lesson tonight. I felt like I did better on some stuff, but there is something always to add. Pile it on. It takes time and effort. Reading really helps maximize a lesson. One of the fundementals I really have to work on is a good checklist mentality. I am the first to recognize that a pure checklist mentality may not be optimal for finding new things, but there is considerable merit in checklists. In fact, I have a list everyday, every week, and throughout the year for work. Staying on the list is a required discipline. I need to be able to be in checklist mode and, when I need to, be out of checklist mode.
When I came in for a landing tonight there were some folks watching. I went up to them after we landed and they asked "Was that a student landing?", "Why yes it was", was the reply. "It looked really smooth" he said and he showed me the camcorder in which he had it recorded. "It didn't feel very smooth to me.", I replied. The conversation made me feel good. In addition to the ride being a little less smooth, the heat is also always higher and the mouth a little drier in the left seat of a training aircraft as well. I have a long way to go, but there is considerable progress. The ground comes up pretty fast and there is a lot to do and check and "feel". Flying is a great cross discipline of technology and art.
This is a picture of us getting fuel over at Sidney NY (N23), a 10 minute flight from the grass strip over at Greene. It has a right-hand pattern on runway 25 (because of terrain) and a paved runway on headings of 250/70 that is 4200 ft long. It has a AWOS (Automatic Weather Observation System) on 118.27 MHz. We use a traffic frequency of 122.8 MHz for both Greene and Sidney.
It has been a while since I last posted. The nice weather and what-not takes priority.
Here a couple of interesting clips I found on youtube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhUO4pdGCf8
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyMGLjo6Ojo
Greg Mills was down for the last three days. We got the fence all set. It was a lot of work but it looks good. Here are pics of Ultima hanging out in the pasture under the fruit trees.
I had another productive flying lesson tonight. The weather was perfect. No wind, 10 miles + visibility and low winds aloft up to 6000 ft. That means that the pilot is the one creating the turbulence, if any. I had some excellent landings and some excellent takeoffs. I also had to abort one of my landings and I bounced quite a bit on another one (which freaked me out a bit). My instructor said when I turned final on my last landing, "That is a beautiful sight". It really is. When everything is lined up, the green of the runway, the trees, the sun thinking about going down. It really is quite a picture. To know that you are the one that is transitioning the aircraft to become a land vehicle, is satisfying. The camera is not practical at this stage, but hopefully, you get the idea.
The plane goes in for its FAA required annual inspection in a couple of weeks. I will be helping with that. It is fun learning at Greene 4N7. The annual is done right there since we have a great mechanic right there and the grass strip doesn't have all the barbed wire and all that. You can walk down to the landing threshold to watch a landing nice and closeup.
Another week begins. I had another great flying lesson Friday. I have another Tuesday. Landings are becoming a lot less intimidating, but I have a long way to go. There is so much to learn. We have been getting the red truck ready for sale and working on farm work. My tractor tire seems to finally be holding air after years of cursing and attempted repairs. I hope I just didn't jinx it. Bonnie and I went to the scrap yard and the dump Saturday. Then we were off to breakfast with the net proceeds. The barn is in a lot better shape now. Scrap prices sure are up.
If I were headed back to Antarctica this year I would be in Wilderness Survial school this summer as well as Microwave Landing System (MLS) school. Both would have been fun.
This is a picture of me in the 1956 Beaver seaplane out in Idaho.
It is actually kind of hot out today, and in.
I am trying to prioritize items worthy of endeavor. There is a lot of stuff to do no doubt about it. I will have a regret when I leave this world. It will be I couldn't do more. It is what it is.
I bought a new truck, shown below. I pick it up Wednesday. It is a basic truck and last years model, but it will do me just fine. The diesel was a bit of an extravagance with all the features it had, but I got a great deal in 1997. I bought my first Chevy truck in 1984. I traded it in for a 1985 and had the 1985 one until I bought the red one in 1997. I am selling the red one myself just like I sold the blue 1985 one. They sell fast. "Pre-enjoyed" is what they say. I used most of the enjoyment up on both of them. The blue one had about 105,000 miles on it when (as my brother says) went to truck island and the red one has a low-low 154,000 on it. It has been said that the diesels don't run right until they have 150,000 miles on them.
Bonnie and I have agreed we need to get rid of "stuff". I think it is more than the usual spring cleaning. I will be selling stuff to be sure.
I went up in the C-172 below yesterday in the right seat with my mentor for some take offs and landings. "Around the Patch" they call it. Greene Airport (public 4N7) is pretty much a "patch" from the air. It looks like just another grid of agriculture. That and it is in a valley so finding it is pretty tough to begin with. We use landmarks on the hilltops to find the airport. There are no runway markings at all (besides the overgrown trees on the approach on the only sensible runway (25)). There are two windsocks and some mason jar covered lights deamarking the 200 foot wide runway. 4 clicks on the radio key and the lights turn on for 15 minutes. It is a cool place to learn how to fly. It is all about flying.
Here is a picture I took on February 19th when I was snowshoeing on the farm just after getting back from Antarctica. There is so much life in this picture. It was pretty amazing to me to see that Winter in Upstate NY is teeming with life compared to Antarctica. It was (is) like a dense jungle in comparison. One of the biggest misconceptions about Antarctica is that there is all this wildlife. Outside of the sea there is no life, wild or not. The sea harbors life very nicely because the sea ice seems to protect a lot of species from predators for at least part of the year. But outside of the sea it is incredibly lifeless. It is hard to describe how lifeless, because I have nothing to compare it to. There are no aromas.
I have been in touch with my friends I made on the ice. It is interesting to see who is going back this year and all the other related stories. I have several projects still going on related to the ice.
This weekend I have been doing farm work including skidding, cutting, and splitting logs for firewood. My Holder tractor has a new seat and has been lubed and washed.
I went and looked at new trucks yesterday. I will be buying a new truck this week (almost for sure). I am looking at Toyotas and Chevys. I realized I have been driving Chevy trucks for 24 years. I miss the Diesel already.
I am looking forward to my flying lesson this week. I feel most of it is now a matter of practice. It will be a great thrill when I solo. It will be a great personal achivement. I have to buy a few more aviation books today.
I had a great flying lesson last night. My instructor is great. He was laughing at me because one of my takeoffs was so bad. That is how *I* learn. He understands that. He said I am ahead of the game. What a great experience. My mouth was getting pretty dry at times. There is an awful lot of information to process. It is challenging.
My training plane is for sale (1966 Cessna 172G) here.
Today we are going horseback riding. Yesterday, Bonnie got her first ride in a small plane. The most interesting aspects of her first ride in a small plane were that it was a Cessna 206 Seaplane, I was in the left seat flying it, and it was pretty bumpy. It was fantastic fun. We both had a great time.
