You know you're a pilot when...
any small plane crash or off airport landing that makes the evening news within 100 miles of your home results in panicked texts, emails and FaceBook posts from your family and friends.
you have an intense desire to ask the passenger in the right seat of the car to take the controls if you have to adjust your seat, read a map or do other more intensive tasks.
partially sunny is not a detailed enough forecast, you want to know if the clouds are few, scattered or broken and how high they are.
you can tell a stranger in town what the typical temperature, cloud cover and winds are for your home area morning, noon and afternoon, summer, winter, spring and fall.
you think of the cost of an item or activity in terms of hours of flying (e.g. my husband wanted to buy a pump for the hot tub for $399 and my first thought was "That's three hours of flying!").
every time a plane of any size flies within ear shot you stop and look for it.
you critique the landings of the pilots on commercial flights (OK everybody does this but not as well as other pilots).
you actually enjoy spending hour after hour in an always noisy, sometimes smelly, usually hot, 30 year old piece of machinery flying and learning and flying and learning.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
My Way
I said to my CFI once, "There's a right way, a wrong way, and my way, which is usually neither of the two."
Tonight I raise my glass to my CFI, Scott... Once again you are right, sir. Once again I had to bang my head on a wall for a couple weeks/months before I finally figure out, my way, what you've been telling me for months.
Don't know what it is about me that I can hear something a dozen or more times, understand intellectually, but not actually understand and implement until I "figure it out" myself. I would have certainly saved myself thousands of dollars in flight time and training time if I could just do what Scott says the first or second or fifth time he tells me. But, I have to do it my way. I suppose that's OK. It means once I learn something this way it stays learned.
So today I figured out if I keep flying the plane and focus on the end of the runway, not only are landings smoother, I am able to maintain directional control (in other words, keep the plane going straight after landing). If only my CFI told me that.. but wait, he did! *laugh*
Oh well, I can be upset that it takes me extra long to really learn some times, or I can be happy that I DID learn and I'm that much closer to my license. I choose happy. Another step on my way to becoming a pilot. If you are an aspiring pilot, listen, really listen, to what your CFI says. He/she can save you a lot of time and money if you do. Or you can be like me and do it your way... either way, it works as long as you never, ever, give up.
Keep on flying!
Tonight I raise my glass to my CFI, Scott... Once again you are right, sir. Once again I had to bang my head on a wall for a couple weeks/months before I finally figure out, my way, what you've been telling me for months.
Don't know what it is about me that I can hear something a dozen or more times, understand intellectually, but not actually understand and implement until I "figure it out" myself. I would have certainly saved myself thousands of dollars in flight time and training time if I could just do what Scott says the first or second or fifth time he tells me. But, I have to do it my way. I suppose that's OK. It means once I learn something this way it stays learned.
So today I figured out if I keep flying the plane and focus on the end of the runway, not only are landings smoother, I am able to maintain directional control (in other words, keep the plane going straight after landing). If only my CFI told me that.. but wait, he did! *laugh*
Oh well, I can be upset that it takes me extra long to really learn some times, or I can be happy that I DID learn and I'm that much closer to my license. I choose happy. Another step on my way to becoming a pilot. If you are an aspiring pilot, listen, really listen, to what your CFI says. He/she can save you a lot of time and money if you do. Or you can be like me and do it your way... either way, it works as long as you never, ever, give up.
Keep on flying!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Dreaming of Flying with the Big Boys
My husband and I flew from San Jose to Ft. Lauderdale last weekend... commercial. On Southwest Airlines to be specific :) We had a stop over in Phoenix both directions of course. While there I chatted with a Southwest Airlines pilot for a bit. He was a friendly guy, he seemed surprised to have a stranger walk up and talk flying, but happy to talk.
I talked to him about preparing for my check ride and asked if he had any tips. He said to get a good night's sleep. *smile* He also said, in his opinion, the Private check ride was the hardest just because everything is so new. He asked what I was going to do with my license and I told him my plans. I also told him how I'd love to fly jets but I figured I must be too old to get started now. He actually told me they just hired a pilot who was 53. Yes, you need a thousand hours of turbine time before they'd hire you, but I could get that in 12 years! (OK, maybe I'm dreaming *grin*)
He asked where I fly and I said Reid-Hillview right next to San Jose Airport. Then he said he was going to be flying into San Jose on Sunday. I asked if he has ever been on approach from the south over the Santa Cruz mountains and had maneuvering traffic below him pointed out by ATC when he was at about 6000 feet between South County and Watsonville. He said, "Yeah". Then I said, "That could be me!" I always want to wave to the jets when ATC lets them know I'm down there, practicing PTS maneuvers when they fly above on approach to San Jose.
I get the greatest thrill when I'm interacting with other planes in some way or other. When I'm communicating with ATC, acknowledging and spotting traffic, when I hear ATC call me out to other planes. When I look out the window of my little plane and see a big plane in the distance, but perhaps at the same altitude or just a little higher. Or when ATC calls out a pair of jets and a DC-10 as I fly through Travis airspace. I love being up there with the big boys and even with other little fish like me.
I talked to him about preparing for my check ride and asked if he had any tips. He said to get a good night's sleep. *smile* He also said, in his opinion, the Private check ride was the hardest just because everything is so new. He asked what I was going to do with my license and I told him my plans. I also told him how I'd love to fly jets but I figured I must be too old to get started now. He actually told me they just hired a pilot who was 53. Yes, you need a thousand hours of turbine time before they'd hire you, but I could get that in 12 years! (OK, maybe I'm dreaming *grin*)
He asked where I fly and I said Reid-Hillview right next to San Jose Airport. Then he said he was going to be flying into San Jose on Sunday. I asked if he has ever been on approach from the south over the Santa Cruz mountains and had maneuvering traffic below him pointed out by ATC when he was at about 6000 feet between South County and Watsonville. He said, "Yeah". Then I said, "That could be me!" I always want to wave to the jets when ATC lets them know I'm down there, practicing PTS maneuvers when they fly above on approach to San Jose.
I get the greatest thrill when I'm interacting with other planes in some way or other. When I'm communicating with ATC, acknowledging and spotting traffic, when I hear ATC call me out to other planes. When I look out the window of my little plane and see a big plane in the distance, but perhaps at the same altitude or just a little higher. Or when ATC calls out a pair of jets and a DC-10 as I fly through Travis airspace. I love being up there with the big boys and even with other little fish like me.
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