Last weekend of freedom

Hello everyone! This will probably be my last post for a while. I officially start Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API) tomorrow morning. This is the Navy’s version of ground school and is a very intense mixture of academics and physical training that should last about six weeks. The academic portion is about four weeks long and consists of classes covering aerodynamics, weather, aircraft engines and systems, air navigation, flight rules and regulations, and aviation physiology. The physical portion consists of swimming (lots of it) and various other water survival exercises. Needless to say, I fully expect this school to be a challenge. That being said, I did try to enjoy my last weekend of freedom before I pretty much live aviation for the next six weeks. Friday evening I was able to do a little indoor rock climbing. I'm actually still a little sore from that! I woke up Saturday morning and ran a charity 5K race through downtown Pensacola that was hosted by the Marine Corps Aviation Association and The Marine Corps League. I spent the evening at my friend Bryan’s house for a barbeque in celebration of his completion of helicopter flight training. Today I was over at Brandon and Megan’s house where I finished building a new gate on their fence. Thanks for not working me too hard! Oh yeah, and I did get to play some golf earlier this week with my dance instructor Femeya. That was a lot of fun! In any case, I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks, but I’d rather get it over with so I can get back to flying!

Happy anniversary!

Yesterday was a busy day for me – I had four flights, and I successfully completed the Navy's Introductory Flight Screening (IFS) syllabus! One of those flights was a cross-country solo to Andalusia, Alabama yesterday afternoon. It’s pretty amazing that someone trusts me enough to take an airplane by myself and navigate to another airport fifty miles away, land there, and return to the original airport. My last flight yesterday was a night flight with my instructor. We ended up going to Pensacola Beach and practicing maneuvers followed by several landings and departures at Pensacola Regional Airport. There's nothing like performing stalls, steep turns, and a simulated emergency landing on the beach at night! Flying at night is just awesome – the air was much cooler and the ride was exceptionally smooth. We actually opened the windows and were flying with our arms hanging out for a while! Anyway, the best part of the flight was returning to Milton because we had to buzz the field to scare away any deer that might be out there. I wish I had a video camera for that ride! Well, I’m going to try to take some leave on Monday morning, but there’s a nasty rumor going around that I’m supposed to start Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API) on Friday. API is the Navy’s version of ground school that lasts about six weeks. So it looks like my flying time is over for now. Can't wait to start flying T-34's during Primary Flight Training in Milton. Oh yeah, and today is my ninth anniversary of Naval service! Also, my friend Bryan finished the helicopter training pipeline and will be "winged" as a Naval Aviator on September 28th - Congrats!

Back in the saddle

I just got home from another solo flight around the airport in Milton. The winds were variable, which was perfect to practice crosswind takeoffs and landings. These are a little more difficult because the wind pushes you off to the side of the runway while you’re trying to takeoff and land. I’m glad I got to practice these, because I still don’t have the technique down. Let’s see, I spent the Labor Day weekend in Gainesville, Florida visiting my friends Barry and Melanie. We ended up watching the Florida Gators game (they won) and went tubing down a spring fed river at Ichetucknee Springs State Park. That was a great time, and the water was amazingly clear (and cold)! Last Thursday I flew solo over to Pensacola Beach to practice maneuvers and stuff. There were a lot of other planes in the area, and it was a pain in the butt being directed around by air traffic control, but everything worked out OK and I had fun. Sometimes I can’t believe they pay me to do this stuff! My instructor and I didn’t make it to Andalusia, Alabama last Friday because of the weather, so it looks like we’ll be heading over there tomorrow morning.