Fun time is over

Is been almost 16 months since my first solo flight back in December 2009. That was the happiest moment of my aviation life. No matter how far up the ladder a pilot is, whether he is captain k or Neil Armstrong himself, a pilots solo day is equivalent to his birthday in importance. It's a day he never forgets.

I remember my solo like it was yesterday. After I did my 4 take off and landing with my CFI watching me with the radio in hand from the terminal I felt like I was king of the world. I told everyone in the world that I was officially a pilot. At the time I did not have my private pilots license obviously but what I did have was just as good. It was a signed logbook endorsement which gave me the freedom of flight.

I say all this because aviation is a never ending journey of learning. I am indeed a licensed, current, private pilot. I can fly any single engine aircraft anywhere I want. To many that is there ultimate goal. They achieve there license and put things on cruise control and enjoy the privileges that there certificate offers. But for me I have further dreams and ambitions.

As some of you may know I have been interviewing instructors the past month or so and building up x-country time for my instrument rating. The basic requirements for an instrument rating are 50 pic x-country hours, 40 simulated or actual instrument flight hours, with at least 15 of them with a certified flight instructor instrument (CFII). Currently I only have about 3 or 4 hours so I have a long road ahead.

My next blog posts in the future won't have as many cool pictures because I'll be wearing foggles. These look like safety glasses with a view limiter on them so that I can only see my instruments.

I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous about instrument flying. It's completely different from the way I fly now. But it will make me a better pilot and be very rewarding. I'm looking forward to the day when I take off into a 400 foot overcast and bust through a 200 foot overcast at minimums and land at a new foreign location.... I'll try to find some good video clips to show you what it looks like to land a plane through the clouds and pop out at minimums and land.