This post is named "true" because technically 2 passengers have already flown with me. The 1st is the good man upstairs. The second is the flight examiner. While being a pilot he is legally a passenger on the checkride flight. If anything happens I was the PIC and he is not at any fault.
I flew my wife to Muncie (MIE) afterwork. It was a textbook VFR flight. I filled my flight plan, opened it up in the air, got radar flight following to MIE and landed perfectly. They have a restaurant on the field called "Kacy J's". It was okay. A little pricey but the service was really nice. They saw us park on the ramp and they came and opened the door for us and offered to close my flight plan for me. Very nice people.
As I did my preflight I saw the sun sinking below the tree line. I new we'd get some awesome shots from the sky. Landing at Eagle Creek (EYE) was nice. Calm winds and the twinkling of the city below. I'll upload some pictures of the flight for you soon. She survived her first flight with the kevster....
WHO"S NEXT!!!!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Next Flight
Many people have asked me "Where are you going for your first flight Captain Kev". Well I'm trying to figure that out myself. It's odd now because I don't have an instructor saying "Plan a flight to Muncie, or Plan a flight to Lafayette". The entire world is literally at my finger tips. Or at least my wallet haha. I'm thinking maybe flying down to southern Indiana and viewing the Ohio River. Or perhaps a short hop up to Muncie and grabbing some lunch. Any suggestions? I'll have my official photographer @nikki0j3 document it for you guys to see
Monday, October 25, 2010
Official Like a Whistle
Well folks. I've done it. I'm a United States Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Authority, Licensed and Registered Private Pilot. This is one of the most exciting moment of my life. The check ride was very intensive. It consisted of an Oral and Practical Exam. The test is given by a Designated Pilot Examiner. This is a guy the FAA appoints to give exams. It's basically someone who has a great reputation in the aviation industry and years of experience. This is a guy that's been in the game so long that he can basically fly a plane blindfolded with one arm.
My big day went like this....
6:30am
I woke up, washed up and headed to the airport.
7:00am
I decided to stop by BK to try out those new pancakes. I got to the hanger and ate the pancakes. They were kind of hard on the outside. I think burger king cooks all there food in the microwave. It wasn't good at all. But it got food in my stomach. I taxied the plane from the hanger to the terminal building to find a good spot. But to my surprise the terminal didn't open until 8am. So I sat in the plane for about 30 minutes killing time.
8:00am
The terminal opened and I went inside to secure a table in the breakroom for my exam. The weather still looked crappy. Isolated thundershowers, gusting winds, icing conditions at the freezing levels, and low level wind shear. Yeah, not very good. The examiner was running a few minutes late and my CFI came to make sure all the paper work was squared away and wish me good luck. The examiner explained the ground rules and how the process would work and began the exam.
The oral was about an hour and half long. He asked me questions about everything I've learned, and stuff that I didn't learn. It was almost like a conversation. We reviewed my flight plan from Eagle Creek to Chicago Midway and discussed different airspaces, restrictions, flight minimums, etc. After we completed the exam he told me to check the weather and see if we could fly.
10:00am
I called Flight Services and got a full weather briefing and determined that the storms were isolated far enough apart that we would be okay. I preflighted the aircraft and we departed. We began flying to Chicago then just north of Lebanon, Indiana what do you know. A simulated engine failure. I performed my checklist by memory then reviewed it to make sure I didn't forget anything. I found a suitable spot to land and prepared the cabin for an emergency landing. Once the examiner saw that I could land the plane safely we climbed back up to a safe altitude. We did some ground reference maneuvers, lost procedures, and the fun part simulated instrument work.
Simulated instrument is when a pilot puts on "foggles" which limit his view from the outside. They look like safety glasses with blinders on them so they can only see the instrument panel and not the outside. We did some unusual attitudes recoveries, and heading changes and altitude changes etc.
Then we headed back to the airport. We performed soft, short field, take off and landings and no flap landings, go arounds etc. Then he told me to perform a normal landing. After I touched down he told me to taxi to the ramp in a serious voice. I got nervous thinking ooo crap. What did I do wrong. Then I parked, shut the engine down. His words were "Okay let's get this paper work filled out, we are done, you passed".
A weight of a thousand lbs lifted off my shoulders. I couldn't believe it. I looked at my clock and was like "WHOA!! Its 12pm lol". We went back into the terminal, found a computer and completed the paper work and he printed out my Temporary Pilot Certificate. He explained to me that my permanent one would come in the mail. He said it could take a week or 6 weeks. It just depends on the feds.
I called my wife and she was more excited than me. She made me a big ol feast. T-Bone steak, mac n cheese, she layed it down.
The weirdest thing now is the feeling of "Wow, I did it. I'm done". But really the journey has just begun. In the spring I hope to start my instrument training which is just as intense as the private license. Instrument flying allows me to fly in less than perfect visibility, in the clouds, etc. It's how all the airliners fly. But for now I'm going to take a much needed break from training and enjoy all that my Private Pilot Certificate has to offer.
My big day went like this....
6:30am
I woke up, washed up and headed to the airport.
7:00am
I decided to stop by BK to try out those new pancakes. I got to the hanger and ate the pancakes. They were kind of hard on the outside. I think burger king cooks all there food in the microwave. It wasn't good at all. But it got food in my stomach. I taxied the plane from the hanger to the terminal building to find a good spot. But to my surprise the terminal didn't open until 8am. So I sat in the plane for about 30 minutes killing time.
8:00am
The terminal opened and I went inside to secure a table in the breakroom for my exam. The weather still looked crappy. Isolated thundershowers, gusting winds, icing conditions at the freezing levels, and low level wind shear. Yeah, not very good. The examiner was running a few minutes late and my CFI came to make sure all the paper work was squared away and wish me good luck. The examiner explained the ground rules and how the process would work and began the exam.
The oral was about an hour and half long. He asked me questions about everything I've learned, and stuff that I didn't learn. It was almost like a conversation. We reviewed my flight plan from Eagle Creek to Chicago Midway and discussed different airspaces, restrictions, flight minimums, etc. After we completed the exam he told me to check the weather and see if we could fly.
10:00am
I called Flight Services and got a full weather briefing and determined that the storms were isolated far enough apart that we would be okay. I preflighted the aircraft and we departed. We began flying to Chicago then just north of Lebanon, Indiana what do you know. A simulated engine failure. I performed my checklist by memory then reviewed it to make sure I didn't forget anything. I found a suitable spot to land and prepared the cabin for an emergency landing. Once the examiner saw that I could land the plane safely we climbed back up to a safe altitude. We did some ground reference maneuvers, lost procedures, and the fun part simulated instrument work.
Simulated instrument is when a pilot puts on "foggles" which limit his view from the outside. They look like safety glasses with blinders on them so they can only see the instrument panel and not the outside. We did some unusual attitudes recoveries, and heading changes and altitude changes etc.
Then we headed back to the airport. We performed soft, short field, take off and landings and no flap landings, go arounds etc. Then he told me to perform a normal landing. After I touched down he told me to taxi to the ramp in a serious voice. I got nervous thinking ooo crap. What did I do wrong. Then I parked, shut the engine down. His words were "Okay let's get this paper work filled out, we are done, you passed".
A weight of a thousand lbs lifted off my shoulders. I couldn't believe it. I looked at my clock and was like "WHOA!! Its 12pm lol". We went back into the terminal, found a computer and completed the paper work and he printed out my Temporary Pilot Certificate. He explained to me that my permanent one would come in the mail. He said it could take a week or 6 weeks. It just depends on the feds.
I called my wife and she was more excited than me. She made me a big ol feast. T-Bone steak, mac n cheese, she layed it down.
The weirdest thing now is the feeling of "Wow, I did it. I'm done". But really the journey has just begun. In the spring I hope to start my instrument training which is just as intense as the private license. Instrument flying allows me to fly in less than perfect visibility, in the clouds, etc. It's how all the airliners fly. But for now I'm going to take a much needed break from training and enjoy all that my Private Pilot Certificate has to offer.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Paper Work
The paper work has been completed!! My endorsements have been made in my log book. Its about to go DOWN!!! Now I need everyone to cross there fingers and pray for good weather. By good weather I want the winds to be 5 knots or less at a heading of 030 or coming out the NE, 15 miles or great visibility, and few to no clouds :) .
To be honest with you I'm more nervous about the oral part of the checkride. It can be anywhere between 1-2hrs I've heard and the examiner will throw all kinds of questions at you. Hopefully I'll do well because if I don't make it past that part we won't even get into the plane lol.
Stay tuned folks.....
To be honest with you I'm more nervous about the oral part of the checkride. It can be anywhere between 1-2hrs I've heard and the examiner will throw all kinds of questions at you. Hopefully I'll do well because if I don't make it past that part we won't even get into the plane lol.
Stay tuned folks.....
Saturday, October 16, 2010
As the big day approaches I take a look back at how far i've come....
Wow...it's been an extrememly long journey. I remember back when I was 8 years old. I went to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL) with my uncle. It was a typical Saturday afternoon. We went through security (without an airline ticket) and went to the international terminal. This was where all the big planes were. There we walked up to the windows and watched the big 747's come in and pull into the gate. While random people and kids waived their loved ones goodbye. It was an awesome site for an 8 year old. Then after the 3 story tall airplane pushed back from the gate we walked to the end of the terminal to watch it take off. From that day forward I new that I wanted to learn to fly.
I think every pilot has that memory of when they knew they wanted to make that dream come true. That "bug" that bites them. The opportunity to learn to fly did not come until after I graduated from college. I was at the Mount Comfort Indianapolis Air Show back in June 2008. The local FBO (Fixed Based Operator) had a tent set up and some of there aircraft on display. A friend encouraged me to go sit in the plane and play with the controls. I didn't want to be a groupie or anything so I said "naw I'm good". But my friend peer pressured me into sitting in it. So I jumped into the Cessna 172 and a feeling took over me. I new this time was for real and I had to do it.
So I scheduled a discovery flight and took a test flight. I'll never forget that day. It was the strangest feeling. I was defying gravity. I felt the vibration from the engine, I felt my weight of gravity increase as I was thrust back into the seat. Then I felt the wind. I thought to myself wow this is a surreal feeling. We flew north of the city and over my apartment complex and even got to see Ron Artest's former house. He has his name boldly plastered across his tennis court in his back yard. Cool stuff. We then climbed to about 2,000 feet above the ground and the instructor let me take the controls. It felt oddly familiar. It felt JUST like flight simulator. I had probably logged over a thousand Flight Sim hours having have had it since Fs98. I felt like I was a natural at it. But before I knew it my 45 minute discovery flight was coming to an end. We headed back to Mount Comfort and made a smooth and safe landing and taxied back.
After we landed the CFI (Certified flight instructor) gave his typical spill and sales pitch. I had sticker shock. This would not be cheap!!! But by then the bug had hit me and I knew this was something to do. Rather than dive into something blind I did some research and networking. I met some local guys at Eagle Creek Airport. They introduced me to one of the top CFI's in the city. He was a former professor and an experienced aviation professional. He took me through the ground school that is required and prepared me for my written exam. After 6 months of studying I took my written exam and passed with flying colors (pun intended).
The next step was to get some flight time. I joined a local flight club with a Piper Warrior II (PA-128-161). I had the intitial impression that it would take me about 4-6 months to get my required hours. However like most pilots know "Life Happens". 1 year and 4 months later here I am today. On the eve of making my dream come true....
But you know what. Without some very important people I would not have made it this far. Those people are number 1 my faith in God, 2 my lovely Wife, and 3 my praying and loving family and friends...
Stayed tuned for more. This will be the official spot to find information about my flying adventures...
I think every pilot has that memory of when they knew they wanted to make that dream come true. That "bug" that bites them. The opportunity to learn to fly did not come until after I graduated from college. I was at the Mount Comfort Indianapolis Air Show back in June 2008. The local FBO (Fixed Based Operator) had a tent set up and some of there aircraft on display. A friend encouraged me to go sit in the plane and play with the controls. I didn't want to be a groupie or anything so I said "naw I'm good". But my friend peer pressured me into sitting in it. So I jumped into the Cessna 172 and a feeling took over me. I new this time was for real and I had to do it.
So I scheduled a discovery flight and took a test flight. I'll never forget that day. It was the strangest feeling. I was defying gravity. I felt the vibration from the engine, I felt my weight of gravity increase as I was thrust back into the seat. Then I felt the wind. I thought to myself wow this is a surreal feeling. We flew north of the city and over my apartment complex and even got to see Ron Artest's former house. He has his name boldly plastered across his tennis court in his back yard. Cool stuff. We then climbed to about 2,000 feet above the ground and the instructor let me take the controls. It felt oddly familiar. It felt JUST like flight simulator. I had probably logged over a thousand Flight Sim hours having have had it since Fs98. I felt like I was a natural at it. But before I knew it my 45 minute discovery flight was coming to an end. We headed back to Mount Comfort and made a smooth and safe landing and taxied back.
After we landed the CFI (Certified flight instructor) gave his typical spill and sales pitch. I had sticker shock. This would not be cheap!!! But by then the bug had hit me and I knew this was something to do. Rather than dive into something blind I did some research and networking. I met some local guys at Eagle Creek Airport. They introduced me to one of the top CFI's in the city. He was a former professor and an experienced aviation professional. He took me through the ground school that is required and prepared me for my written exam. After 6 months of studying I took my written exam and passed with flying colors (pun intended).
The next step was to get some flight time. I joined a local flight club with a Piper Warrior II (PA-128-161). I had the intitial impression that it would take me about 4-6 months to get my required hours. However like most pilots know "Life Happens". 1 year and 4 months later here I am today. On the eve of making my dream come true....
But you know what. Without some very important people I would not have made it this far. Those people are number 1 my faith in God, 2 my lovely Wife, and 3 my praying and loving family and friends...
Stayed tuned for more. This will be the official spot to find information about my flying adventures...
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