Out with the Old, In with the New

year, that is. In my end-of-year post I'll put a few quick thoughts (all I have time for, anyway).

1 - Christmas was a nice time, pretty decent gifts all around. Number One Daughter got clothes, most all from Victoria Secrets, picked out by herself, approved by me (yeah, she's twenty-one, but if I'm paying for 'em they still have to pass by me). Number One Son got a Playstation III though he had to finish off paying for it (over the limit). To me it doesn't seem all that Christmasy when the kids pick their own gifts and get them ahead of time but, then again, I did the same. I got an IFR instructional video set (instrument flying) and some yokes and rudder peddles to practice approaches. (No, it's not a game, it's simulated flying. Really. I'm not playing, I'm studying.) SWMBO got banjo lessons to go with the banjo she got for Christmas last year. Then we also got nice stuff from extended family members, so a nice haul all around. Honestly, and sadly, we spent little time recognizing what Christmas is all about; need to do better on that score next year. It really just never seemed really like Christmas at all this year. Heck, ignoring the religious aspects of Christmas, I didn't even see A Christmas Story or It's a Wonderful Life, so until Christmas Eve it just seemed like any other time of year. Work, eat, sleep, back to work, catch up on around-the-house stuff on the weekend. I'm planning on taking over Christmas preparation next year, and we're having Christmas.

For New Year's Resolutions this year, I'll just scratch 2006 out on last year's resolutions and put "2007" on the top. Saves time.

Flying is still a blast. The biannual flight review is signed off, but I'll probably stick to instructional IFR flights right now as I've got limited budget money for flying and will use the money for some instructional flights. I've got to raise that budget number higher, but some major stuff is coming out right now along with the start of the year resetting the deductible numbers, so limited funds, limited flying. Number One Son has started taking lessons, and I'm covering the instructor, he's covering the plane. Renting the plane I use (Skyhawk II) is $110/hour, the one Number One Son gets (152) is $80/hour. Calm One charges $30/hour, but is generous with the ground school time. All in all, lots of fun but relatively expensive.

The new job is going great. The fellow I'm replacing will be finishing his time there on January 5th, so it'll be a bit more pressure. I'm spending something like 50+ hours a week there and it may go up after Jan 5th, but isn't unexpected. The three hour round trip to work is the killer. I hope Number One Son appreciates my making that drive so he can finish school where he started school. Sixteen months to go.

That's all for now. I've a long honey-do list, we have plans tonight (New Year's Eve, ya know), so need to get going.

Merry Christmas, Everyone! And have a safe, prosperous New Year!

Back in the (very small) Saddle

Yesterday, after 1,652 days of not doing so, I went flying. I don't mean riding in the back of a commercial airplane, by the way -- I've done that within that time span, but that's not flying. I mean hands on the controls, take 'er up and bring 'er down flying.

A tad bit of history is that I began working on getting a pilot's certificate back in November of 2000, and finished up on April 6th of 2002, but only flew a few times after that prior to stopping. Lots of things caused the interruption, primarily an absence of folding money, but I've missed flying a lot. But along with -- and in large part, thanks to -- the encouragement of SWMBO, I get the medical renewed and called up Calm One.

Calm One is my flight instructor, and I call him this from his behavior during my early flights. S-turns, turns around a point, climbs, descents -- these were probably screwy enough but were done with much distance betwixt ourselves and the ground. However, those early landings where I was coming in and the runway seemed to sway from high up on the left to high up on the right, the ground was kind of right there. I would glance over at Calm One, expecting the Oh My God We're Gonna Die shout to come forth but, instead, he'd just spit into his spit cup (Skoal) and say "A little left rudder." Calm.

Turns out, I did end up nailing those landings, and wound up with a certificate. I'll probably reminisce about some of the flying from back then occasionally, but for now I'll just say the rust was there after four years. Everything went pretty well, though I felt behind the plane the entire time. Things were happening faster than I needed them to, and the ease I remember I had achieved had evaporated. But it'll come back, and I'm looking forward to the next time up. I'll be working with Calm One on an IFR rating, and it'll probably take a couple of years to accomplish. But SWMBO and I have already begun planning some get-aways while I'm working on it. When you travel in a straight line at 150 MPH, lunch out on Saturday can take place much farther away.

Oh, and one other thing: I'd forgotten how small a small-plane cockpit is. When you're my size, getting in and out is half the battle. But once in, it's a blast!