I’m sitting in the pilot’s lounge in Hagerstown, Maryland right now, while my IFR student has a mechanic check something on his airplane. The short flight here from Fort Meade was beautiful this morning, with crystal clear visibility and smooth, cool air. After a very hot and humid start to the summer, this is quite [...]
Posts from ‘June, 2010’
Free bird (again).
I knew he was ready three flights ago, but the weather just hasn’t been cooperating. This morning, it finally did, and so with a light breeze blowing across Runway 34, Scott took to the sky by himself while I watched from the shade of a big corporate hangar. He soloed last summer but hasn’t flown [...]
The power of positive energy.
I could have titled this post, “A new rating” or “Passing a check ride,” but that’s not really what happened yesterday. Yes, it is true that I did fly a Piper Seminole with an FAA designated examiner, and I passed the required practical test to earn a new multiengine rating on my commercial pilot’s certificate. [...]
Perspective on proficiency.
People often use the phrase “it’s just like riding a bike” to describe a skill that does not tend to atrophy with time. So when I saddled up on a recumbent bicycle yesterday, I thought to myself, how difficult can this possibly be? It’s just another two-wheeled land vehicle. My friend who owns the bike [...]
Another one leaves the nest.
Today was a very special day for my student, Mike, who passed his Private Pilot check ride in the Cessna 182 he bought a little over a year ago. His son, Adam, also learned to fly in that airplane with me in the right seat. They are part of a family of pilots, including Mike’s [...]