Sunday, April 15, 2007

Ode to the Airplane

Blogging about flying doesn't do flying any justice. All I can really do is share my enthusiasm for it. I can't think of anything else that brings together so many of my interests. It feeds the engineer in me, the adventurer... the poet. It polarizes and motivates me in a way few things ever have.
This weekend I can say nearly all of my activities somehow related to flying. I even built an AM radio receiver to pick up aircraft communications in the area. It was a labor of love... I don't think I've soldered that much since college. I had my windows open the entire weekend to get the smell out of my apartment. Anyway, I'm amazed it worked the first time I applied power! I played with it at the airport today.
I also taught myself how to use the circular slide rule flight calculator... that thing is such an amazingly clever device. It is so fiendishly clever! With just the turn of a dial almost any quantity related to flight and flight planning can be "dialed" up. I love it.
Today was beautiful. I flew with Jeff to the practice area and did some ground reference maneuvers at 1000 feet. I can't decide what I like best, the view from high altitude or low. Oh who cares they are equally awesome. Ground ref maneuvers are fun because I'm always peering out the window flying to cues located on the ground. I never realized how many cows there are laying around this place. I even did one of my turns around a cow.
Then we brought it back and I did 4 touch and gos with him in the plane. I nailed them all. I was on today. My hour lesson however was up and we went to the gas tank to fill up. After that Jeff asked if I had a wanted to do a few solo runs. I couldn't resist. I was off and got in two solo landings.
He even told me what I have been waiting to hear. The time has come for me to make my first solo ventures to the practice area and back. I can't stray too far, 25 nautical miles is the legal limit. Still though, this is a great time.

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