Happy Holidays!

View of Arlington National Cemetery

Primary flight training is progressing at an amazing pace. This week I began basic instrument training, and it’s certainly the most challenging thing that I’ve done lately. Flying by instruments allows the pilot to maneuver the airplane without the aide of a visible horizon. In other words, it means airplanes can fly in inclement weather and through clouds (where the pilot can’t see the ground or use the horizon as a positional reference). Conditions like these force the pilot to rely solely on the airplane’s instruments to determine aircraft orientation. After a week full of simulator events it looks like I have only one left before I go fly instruments “for real” in the plane. This involves using the infamous “hood” over my head so I can’t cheat and see anything other than the instrument panel. As you might imagine, instrument flying requires a certain amount of skill and finesse which I (unfortunately) do not yet possess. The simulators are incredibly sensitive to control inputs, so I end up flying with just my thumb and forefinger on the controls. I'm certainly hoping Santa brings me some instrument flying skills this year to make the next few flights a little easier for me! On an unrelated note, congratulations are in order for my friend Sergio on the occasion of successful completion of Naval Flight Officer Primary Flight Training this week. Hope everyone enjoys the Holidays!