January 15, 2002 - FIRST SOLO CROSS COUNTRY!
Holy smokes! I'm a pilot! Yep, I
finally did the solo cross country. I flew down to the Industry VOR (South) and then headed over to 88R) Spicewood, which is a little 30' wide
strip on Lake Travis on the west side of Austin. It was great! I landed there, tanked up and got a fellow in
the hangar to sign my logbook with his aircraft identifier to prove I went there. I didn't delay too long
and took off to my next leg stop, T74) Taylor.
Landed and got someone else to sign my logbook. What a blast - this is great. I had no problems finding
things and navigating. I can't wait to do it again. Now, I have a total of 36.9 total hours after getting
1.8 for the Spicewood leg and 1.5 for the Taylor then CLL leg.
January 12, 2002
Well, played chase again today with JohnW and we flew over
to (KLHB) Hearne. Had a great time. Practiced
some steep turns and touch and go's. Got another 1.4 hours in for a total of 33.6 total.
January 8, 2002 - New Year starts!
Ouch, I haven't been flying lately - trying to save money from Christmas. This is the longest period I have
been since the Sept. 11 attacks and not flown. I just wanted to get in the plane and "practice" today. I
flew out to (KRWV) Caldwell playing chase with
JohnW again. Had a great time. I only wish that the club
would fix N48785's radio. I had some problems coming back into Easterwood's airspace and talking to the
tower. I "lost" radio contact for about 10 minutes. Not fun! Anyway, practiced some full stops and got
another .9 hours on the book. Brings the total up to 32.2.
December 13, 2001
More stabilzed approaches at night and flew once again to (CFD) Coulter Field. Got another 1.1 hours for a total of
31.3.
December 10, 2001
Well, I just buzzed around tonight doing some Night VFR and practiced my stabilized approaches. I did fly
the 172, N5400J though. Went over to (CFD)
Coulter Field tonight. Not too much going on. Got another .8 hours for a total of 30.2 (Finally over 30
hours!)
November 30, 2001 - FIRST CROSS COUNTRY !!!
What a long day its been! We (JohnW, Andy and myself) all
went on our first cross-country together. We took out the club's modified 172-180hp Cessna 172 to fly a big polygon
around Texas. 
We flew from College Station - Easterwood (CLL) to Kerrville (ERV) to Portland, Texas - Hunt AirField (9R5) then to Lake Jackson - Brazoria County (LBX) and then finally back to College Station
- Easterwood (CLL). The first two legs were
flown during the day and the last two legs were flown at night.
JohnW flew the first leg from CLL to ERV, then I took over
and flew from ERV to 9R5. This first half of the leg was pretty fun and went by very very quickly. We all
headed about an hour before noon. It was beautiful flying all the way to Kerrville and I loved just looking
around from the back seat. What a blast - no stress - just fun. The flight seem to last just a few short
minutes, but in reality, it was about an hour and a half. Since it was around lunch time, we decided to go
ahead and tank up the plane and "borrow" the courtesy car to check out the town of Kerrville. We found a
nice place to eat and I highly recommend it to anyone flying into there. The BBQ restaurant was called
ChooChoo BBQ. Very nice and not too bad prices. Well, we got back to the airport and it's now my turn to fly
the plane. I could feel the stress coming on... I called Mom to let her know that we would be arriving in
Portland (9R5) kinda late - around 4:30pm (we were running really late, since we had planned to leave
Kerrville around 1:30 and its now around 3pm).
As we went over Victoria, I noticed that the cloud cover is at about 3000 ft and it is thick. Andy got us
Flight Following from Corpus Control and they directed us straight to Hunt Airfield. After one go-around, I
landed on the 20' wide strip and saw Dad waiting in the car for us. Time to eat! We headed back to the plane
and its got dark. Really dark. There were no lights at Hunt, so we hurried up and got airborne. I said good
bye to my family and best of friends, Dustin Tauferner, who saw me off along with his wonderful family. The
flight to Lake Jackson was perfect - JohnW had the plane perfectly.
We landed at Lake Jackson, fueled up and then decided to eat more food at the local FBO restaurant (we ate
fried oysters). Good stuff.
Back in the air and this time its my turn. I head over to College Station and the sky is absolutely perfect.
Not a cloud in the sky. I can practically see College Station from the air as soon as we took off from Lake
Jackson. - We had a blast!
I now have 29.4 hours after getting 1.6 hours on each of my legs.
November 25, 2001
Went up and practiced VOR again by doing some airport hopping. This time we (JohnW and I) headed North to the little old airport of Hearne. Then after Hearne, we went to Caldwell and then back home to Easterwood. Except this time, after JohnW took off. I had
some problems... Let me tell you about them...
One of our club planes, Cessna N48785 has a minor radio problem that hopefully and eventually get fixed. The
tenths digit is missing. In other words, when you want to go the frequency of 118.50, you see this on the
radio: 118.?0. Now that doesn't seem too bad, which is why it is slow getting repaired, but when you are
changing frequencies a lot, you tend to forget what number you are actually on. Well, I got as far as the
run-up area on the runway and I'm ready to get clearance to take-off. "Easterwood Tower, this is Cessna
N49785, ready for take-off.....(pause)....Easterwood Tower, Cessna N49785, radio check?"....(pause)... Now,
I'm thinking "what's wrong now...". I pull over to the side of the tarmac and try to call them again. No
good. I turn around, since no one is coming up the ramp and go back to the flightline. I listen and try to
get to ground communication. Ah, I get them. They say, "Ah, 785 we have had radio problems?". Yeah, I'd say.
What a pain in the butt. I tell them sorry and I'm ready to go. Of course by this time, I'm all shaken up.
Well, I take off and then find JohnW at Hearne already practicing his touch-and-go's.
I got another 1.2 hours today for a total of 26.2 hours.
November 20, 2001
Took Cessna N49785 from the club up and did some night touch-and-go's. It was about 11pm and I had a blast.
No one was in the area, so I had the airport all to myself. I only did 3 landings, but had a good time and
didn't spend too much money. I got .6 hours for a total of exactly 25 hours now.
November 18, 2001
WOW! Did I have fun today! John Walter and I did some VOR flying /
navigating. He took one of our club's 172s and I
took out one of our 152s, N6315M. We flew from EasterWood (KCLL) and headed south to Caldwell (KRWV). Did a full stop there, then back taxied
to take off to head over to Brenham (11R). Did
a full stop there as well and got to talk to UNICOM and see a little bit of traffic. I followed John Walter from there to head to Navasota (60R) which happens to be close to a major VOR.
Lots of traffic in that airspace. I had my first semi-rough landing there as I hit 3 wheels down and a
little too much on the nose gear. I pulled back immediately, which I should have done sooner, but it was no
big problem. However, I don't want to do that again. It was a good learning experience I want to not repeat.
ugh. We took off from there and headed back home to Easterwood. I was about third in line as both JohnW and
another plane, along with me, were all headed from the South West together. I actually didn't freak out
talking to the tower tonight. Maybe I'm getting the hang of this tower-talk? Anyhow, I put 1.7 hours down
today. Not too shabby. I have a total of 24.4 now.
November 13, 2001
Did 4 touch-and-go's today at EasterWood. John Walter took me to the airport because my car has been
broken for over a month now - needs new brakes. He helped me pre-flight, then I just went up and practiced
with the tower as well. Not too much to report on, but I'm glad I got to fly. Its been too long (about 10
days) and I would like to go no more than 7 days without flying. Call it an addiction. Well, I got only .4
hours on the books, but it was a worth-while endeavor. I have a total of 22.7 hours now.
November 3, 2001
Got to fly to Madisonville today in a different
Cessna 172 (N107ES) which is owned and operated at Bryan's airport, Coulter Field. It seems that my local club, the Flying Aggies, won't be flying for a while. It
appears that the insurance payment for the club wasn't paid on time and since we were not in the best of
class due to our past accidents and damages in the club, the insurance company decided to drop us. The club
is now looking for some other insurance, but until they find some, we can't fly - or at least we can't fly
there. So, today I walked over to Coulter Field and asked to take a check-ride so that I can solo their
planes. I had a blast.
We flew over to Madisonville using the VOR (but I kinda kept my eye on HWY 21 which goes straight there!).
Anyhow, I had my friend Galliano in the back seat while Andy and I flew out there. They got out and I did a
couple of solo's at the strip so that I could get certified there. Did some short-field and soft-field take
off and landing practice and a simulated power out. Got another 1.3 hours in the log book for a total of
22.3 now.
October 23, 2001
Fun fun fun tonight! Yep, I did a night flight and had a blast. I took out N6315M and John Walter flew a 172 out tonight and we flew together and chased each
other from Coulter Field for a touch-and-go
and then back to home (Easterwood). It was a
low ceiling night, so we didn't feel comfortable staying up very long, but it was a great flight at
midnight! Fun fun fun. I got another .7 hours for a total of 21 total now.
October 21, 2001 - FIRST TIME UP BY MYSELF!
Had a super time today. All I wanted to do was take pictures of my house and come back. I did it! I took off
and told the tower (damn, I hate talking to the tower and you are getting ready to see why) I wanted to head
North since my house is pretty close to Coulter
Field. It was a fairly busy traffic day and their was traffic coming in from the East. As I took of
on runaway 16 and turned left but not enough to head exactly "North" right away, as I wanted to stay in the
"traffic pattern". Well, ATC wasn't too happy with me and asked me, "785 are you heading North or East?" I
turned North right away and told them that I'm now heading due North and heading over to Coulter Field and
stated that I did see the traffic from the East under my right wing. Ugh.. Next time, take off and head
exactly where you told them and right away. I'm learning.
Got some great pictures of my house. I didn't like telling
the tower where I'm coming from so I decided to fly over to Lake Bryan and radio call for incoming from there. That way the
tower would know where I was. Well, of course I did "okay" and landed alright. All in all - a great first
trip by myself! Giddy up! I only flew for .7 hours and now I have broken the 20 hour barrier. I have a total
of 20.3 hours.
October 19, 2001 - LAST AND FINAL SOLO!
Last and final solo today. We took up N5400J or "OJ" as we call it, which is a 4-place Cessna 172. John Walter and I (and Andy) flew together again to make it
a fun trip. This time we practiced stalls, steep turns and soft field (simulated) take offs and landings. We
flew out to Brenham and practiced. JohnW took off and learned a valuable lesson today - NEVER GO FIRST. I
got to see what he did wrong or more likely what he was supposed to do right. So when I flew next, I had it
"down". (grin) When I flew, I had watched JohnW and learned what to do. So, I did fine. Well, almost fine. I
screwed up the radio and Andy told me that he thinks I'm getting worse on the radio - not better. Thanks
Andy. Anyway, it doesn't matter! I'm free to check out the plane by myself now! Giddy up! I got only .9
hours today for a total of 19.6. Not too shabby - I'm done with soloing and under 20 hours. I like it!
October 16, 2001
Well, it was supposed to be my 3rd and final solo today, but the winds were too bad and there was too much
crosswind. Andy and I flew out to Caldwell and
we had a rough time. It was a 15knot crosswind at 60degrees from the approach to final. Wow! Great practice
and a little scary. Got to use the aileron in a crosswind and use a slight slip to the rudder to stay
corrected for the glideslope. Learned a lot today, but no solo. Oh well. I got another 1.3 hours today for a
total of 18.7 hours.
October 14, 2001 - 2nd SOLO!
Great day today! We (John Walter,Andy and myself) took out a
4-place 180 hp Cessna 172 and flew it around the local area for 3 hours. JohnW took off and we headed to Brenham. As we approached the Brenham area, we
noticed that they were having an airshow! Yep, we landed, got in for free and got to see some really cool
planes. One of the best B-17s I've ever seen was there and we got to see it start engines and fly
around.
We hopped back into the plane and I took off. We flew out to Navasota where I got to do my second solo in the "big"
plane. I actually have to say that this was the best landings I have done yet. Finally a "greaser" (good
landing)! Its about time. We hurried back to home and I got the big 1.5 hours, second solo and a chance to
drive the "big" plane. I have a total of 17.4 hours now.
October 7, 2001 - SOLO!
10:15 am at Coulter Field (CFD), as I'm glancing at my
watch. I'm in the left downwind for runway 32. I look away from my watch and to the right - no one is in the
right seat! Yep today was the day! Let me tell you about it... here is the rest of the story....
Normal start of the day. Did pre-flight at Easterwood (CLL),
we have about 10.5 gallons of fuel. Plenty to go to Coulter
Field (CFD) but I do miss the "auto-nightly" fill ups at our club. Easterwood FBO has decided that
they are not going to tank us up anymore and we have to do it. I'm not doing it at Easterwood since the gas
prices are so high - I'm going to Coulter Field. Pre-flight went fine - we are off to Coulter.
I wanted to fly over my house on the way, but Andy says that we don't have time or gas to mess around - "lets
just start in." Well, I'm approaching Coulter Field and notify the "traffic" that I'm coming in on 32. I fly
over midfield from about 3000 feet descending and enter left downwind to base and start to stabilize my
controls. I'm in a different plane than I'm used to and the plane doesn't react the same as my old trust
friend, "785". But I get it down and get it down a little hard (like usual). Andy says, lets do another
landing, then you can get some gas and it will be "your plane". "I'm going to get in the cart and grab a
hand-held radio and watch you. I want you to do 2 or 3 landings on your own and I want to see at least one
'go-around'." So, we do our final landing together and once again the 8-knot crosswind got to me and it was
a little rough. "Okay, lets get gas and it s your plane." I said, "Are you sure? Maybe a couple of more?"
hahahahaha yeah right. Andy just looked at me and said that I was ready.... I sure hope he is right....
Okay, the plane is all tanked up and paid for. There are about 4 local people at the airport and they all
know it is my solo. I feel the pressure and I know that Andy feels the pressure too as he will be judged on
how I do. Oh boy... A guy named Ron and his wife are in the terminal hangout along with a guy named John.
Andy takes off with a radio and another friend of his in the cart and head down to the start of runway 32.
There is another plane that just took off, a homemade RV-6 I think with a couple of local guys, Ken and his
friend, Blaine? Anyway, they are buzzing around somewhere - I don't see them. I line up on runway 32 and
check my controls - oil pressure, oil temp, carb heat cold, trim set to 'take-off', mixture rich... this is
it... I radio, "Coulter traffic, 315Mike departing runway 32, Coulter." I put the throttle in and adjust the
aileron to the right to compensate for the cross-wind and away we go. I start to climb pretty quickly but
watch the airspeed and hold it for 65 knots. I'm up to 800 feet before you know it and start to make my left
crosswind. Apparently there is a new name for Coulter because as I started stating radio calls I named
Coulter Field, Coulterwood . I continued calling the airport this for the rest of the time and of course, it
made for great laughs down on the ground. I had no idea that I was saying that talk about being scared.
Hahaha
I got to the numbers on the downwind pretty fast, hand full of power out, carb heat out and flaps to 10
degrees. One hand of trim, two hands of trim and finally about 3 hands of trim. Looking at my speed and its
coming down to about 65 knots. Radio Coulterwood and enter the left base turn and then left to final. Hmmm.
It seems a little short, but it seems it will be okay. Watch speed still 65 knots and the number are coming
in. I'm going to land right on the runway numbers I don t like coming in this low but I'm doing okay.
SSHSHHHEEWWW Gust of wind. Hot damn steer correction but still I'm lined up fine. One wheel down - next
wheel down left and right but still within the runway what a crappy landing. I'm mean REALLY crappy. Then
all of sudden I finally hear Andy speak, as he has been watching me the whole time, what... the... hell...
was... that? Oh damn Not what I want to hear. I tell him, forget you saw that it will be better next
time.
Set up controls and head back taxi down the runway for 32. I look over at Andy and his friend on the cart.
Andy is ignoring me, but pointing behind me as to say, get the hell back up there and try again I launch
off, but this time there is no quiet time on the radio as Andy is full of instruction. The first time was
nice since it really was like I was by myself. This time oh no hell, he is in my right seat, even though
there is no one there. What is your altitude? I look down.. I'm supposed to be at 1200 ft in the pattern How
in the heck can he tell that, I say ? Yep, I'm at 1500 . Holy crap. I ve heard of eyes in back of your head,
but this guy has eyes everywhere. Don't pull that power out yet! I hear as I let some power out to descend
down to 1200 . Okay, I'm coming into base now, and I'm a little high. Andy had said that he wanted me to do
at least one go-around, so this will be it. I get on the radio and say Coulterwood, (Coulter-wood ahhahaha
what the hell was I thinking! Its Coulter Field you dumb ass!) Cessena 15Mike I'm going around Coulterwood .
Then Andy says, You should have already had that throttle in and climbing and I don t hear or see it! Hot
damn . Once again, I feel like a freaking fool. I hit the carb heat in, throttle in and climb like a bat out
of hell at 67 knots. Okay Okay I can do this Right?
I enter left cross-wind and then left downwind, announce some radio as Andy is watching and listening. Okay
second approach for second landing As I turn into base, I can see that I'm a little slow and a little low.
It is the same attitude as my first landing. Out of the quiet I hear this from Andy, I let it go on the
first landing, but if I see you coming in low like this again, I'm taking away your solo GO AROUND! Oh
.F******#@$K Go-around , I say in the radio as I hit the carb heat in and the throttle again.
S**&*&T, Can I do this? I can do this right? Man, all sort of things are entering your head now . My
palms are sweating and my heart is racing . Hot damn ..I know I can do this right?
Entering the left downwind, I am talking to myself on the radio I look at the runway and there is a plane
taking off from 14 instead of 32!! What the heck? Am I landing downwind now? I didn t notice the wind
change, but neither did Andy.. Oh well, its not that much of a wind-change so lets not get spooked because
you have silent traffic taking off the wrong way (don t you just love uncontrolled airspaces?) Back to the
plane Okay dumbass Romero you can do this lets do this by the numbers . Wait for the 32 on the runway Got it
now carb heat out, hand full of throttle and 10degrees flaps This time I'm going to turn into base earlier
to keep my altitude up there I do turn to base and see that I'm in high. Cool I like being high and so does
Andy! The numbers 32 are coming up and I'm maintaining airspeed at 65 knots, but I need to put the nose
down. I hear Andy say, watch your speed! . He s right Add another 10degrees flap that should bring me down
tighter and maintain my speed. Okay getting closer about 5 feet of the runway pull back to straight and
level oh heck.. too much pullback but DON T PUT THE NOSE DOWN and don t lose ground effect. What s a person
to do? Fly the plane and you are doing cool Romero , I tell myself. Okay, we are floating back down, pull
the nose back pull the nose back . Pull the nose back . BANG . Landed (if you can call it that). Whew! A
little rough, but straight down the runway. I need to flare better next time, I know . I get on the radio
and ask Andy if he wants me back at the Terminal, as I know he is going to chew my butt. But he says, No we
are going to do this again and again until you can get it right! COOL, I'm thinking. Alright. I can do it
way better than that. As I'm back taxing to do it again, Andy asks if I'm okay in there and feeling okay.
Yea, I'm okay but I'm just pissed off at myself. Andy tells me that was better than the first one, but we
both know both of the landings so far have sucked really bad. I know I can do better . I'm set up on 32
again here we go .
Lets go Romero I'm coming into downwind and everything seems okay. Andy is still ranting about pitch and
altitude and power, but I'm within the limits so far. I turn to base and I'm high again. Good, I like being
high, right? I'm coming in 5ft to runway start to straighten up flying flying flying . What the heck? Come
on plane! Get down and land. I continue to fly it down the runway and see the halfway marker go by. Come on
plane . LAND!!!!! Finally I pass the three-quarter marker passing me by and then finally . Squeek OHHH whew
finally! Andy gets on the radio and tells me that this one was better and he will meet me at the Terminal.
No problem, at least one out of three was acceptable . I head back to the terminal and the guys there kind
of go back inside like nothing is going on , but I saw them watching me. I shutdown the plane, open the door
and get out. Holy moly, my knees are gone. I actually have to grab them and hold myself up. What a rush what
a feeling. I go into the Terminal and they are all sitting down, with their feet propped up like nothing is
going on, but they do tell me I did a pretty good job and not too shabby for the 8 knot crosswind. I feel
much better but Andy is yet to arrive. I see him coming in from the window and he has taken pictures. Oh no!
Hopefully he got me flying instead of attempting to land . Andy tells me okay, but we have some work to do
still. Heck, no kidding! But its done and I have soloed! Giddy up!
We flew back to Easterwood, landed a little fast, but not too shabby and JohnW was waiting for me there. He was getting a little worried since I
had gone so long. Today will be his final solo with Andy and a semi-cross-country flight. Andy cut the back
of the shirt and signs my logbook. Done for the day and I'm no longer waiting for that magical moment . Whew
.
Not too shabby I ve gotten another 1.5 hours and .4 as Pilot-In-Command. Total now: 15.9 hours.
October 4, 2001
Well, we are getting closer to soloing now. Andy tells me that if I don't screw up, he will probably get out
of the plane on our next trip. I took the written test (not too hard) missed 3 out of 30, so I was pretty
ticked off at myself, as I wanted to score 100%. At least I'm always learning something - you never stop
learning, right?
We did some emergency procedures and a little bit of instrument training. It was a great night, nice and
dark. In fact, I didn't even think we were going to fly, but the rain disappeared and we went up. Andy put
the IFR hood on me so I couldn't see out the windows, then he put the plane in some pretty precarious
positions. "Okay - your plane", he says. Now, I have to stabilize the plane as quickly as possible. First
time, he said I was too slow, but I got the hang of it. Finally he put the plane into what he calls the
"John F K jr position." Basically John Jr. didn't know that he was losing altitude and didn't know to
correct. If you play the "video game" and watch the controls, you can get out of it. Fun stuff and Andy said
I did fine.
He kept the hood on me as he "set up the plane" and said, "this is going to be cool - just wait". He made me
keep gaining altitutde and watch our "attitude". Then he says, "Okay, take of the hood and look out the
front." Oh my goodness!!! We were coming over the clouds from all around us and the moon was straight in
front of us lighting up the entire night over the clouds! I can't tell you how beautiful it was as words
can't do it justice. It was like never-never land - call me Peter Pan. WOW! Too freaking cool. I LOVE
FLYING! Hot damn.
I got 6 more landings and 1.3 hours. Total of 14.4 hours and next time, I think is the big solo day! Giddy
up!
October 1, 2001
Pretty uneventful flight as we flew to Coulter Field (CFD)
again to practice touch-and-go's. I went and did two go-arounds and we practiced a short field takeoff on
the runway. Five landings and 1.1 hours in the air. A total of 13.1 hours.
September 28, 2001
We flew out to Hearne today to do some touch and go's. Got
to do two short-field grass take-off's. Scary stuff. Flaps at 20-30 degrees, keep the wheel back (but not
too much as to not drag the tail - I did that twice) and then the most important part - as the plane get
airlifted, keep the thing straight and level until you reach 67 knots then start the climb. Hot dog, I
almost screwed the pooch both times, as I wanted to pull back way too much immediately after take off. I'll
need to practice this on the sim for a while, I suppose. Andy, my CFI, did a landing on the grass strip -
pretty funny as we passed the mowed and landscaped part into the the taller grass. Its nice to see fresh
grass getting "cut" ;) Fun and exciting times... Got 6 landings today and 1.7 hours of flight! My total is
now up to 12 hours. Getting closer and closer to solo time.
September 26, 2001
We did some night-flying tonight again - it was absolutely beautiful. Pretty uneventful as we flew to Coulter Field (CFD) and performed some touch and go's. I'm
looking forward to trying these touch and go's myself.
I got another hour tonight, so I'm up to 10.3 hours.
September 24, 2001
Well, the VFR restrictions for student pilots were removed this weekend and I got to do some flying today.
In fact, this week will be busy as I'm scheduled for Wed, Thurs and Friday to make up some time.
We reviewed some lessons like slow flight, steep turns and stalls (low and high power), but the most fun was
the "over the cloud flying". We left today pretty late in the evening and as dusk was setting in, I could
see the most beautiful sunset setting down under the clouds - it was a site to see!
I had 3 landings today, but with a 18 knot - 30 degree crosswind, none of them were too good or too fun.
However, I'm starting to get the hang of talking on the radio finally.... Oh well... I just can't wait to
fly again! I got 1.1 hours today for a total of 9.3.
Tuesday, September 18, 2001
It has been quite a while since I have flown now. VFR flying, which is basically all students, have been
grounded.
I am patiently waiting - however, I did go and get my flight physical and passed with flying colors! I just
have to wait to see what happens next with National Security.
I know that a lot of General Aviation (GA) schools and business have to be hurting with the current VFR
restrictions. I just hope that my favorites can make it.
Tuesday, September 11, 2001
What can I say... I'm sorry about what happened today.
Today, the Trade Towers and Pentagon got attacked by terrorists. The buildings were hit by commerical
aircraft that were hijacked by terrorists. All aviation, both commerical and general have been shut down. My
prayers and thoughts are out to those families who have been devastated by this disaster. I can not believe
what has happened.
Saturday, September 08, 2001
First, approaches and landings (not to mention just taxis) are a bit harder when doing them in a cross-wind.
It made for great practice today, as the wind was quite heavy and blowing at about 45 degrees off of the
take-off angle. Fun stuff, I'm hear to tell you. You go by different rules, even when just trying to taxi
down the runway.
Got to do a couple of landings today and even got to practice a power-out
stall, along with about 3 or 4 passes (approaches) over the runway. I even got to "buzz" my house but didn't
see Karin or the kids outside... too bad, as that would have been too cool to have them see me fly
overhead.
Got another hour on the logbook for a total of 8.2.
September 7, 2001
UGH! Well, I got to fly yesterday and it wasn't my turn but I had to give up my spot today. Again, everyone
was running late and since I took JohnW's spot yesterday, he got to take mine today. All is fair in love and
war and (sharing air-time/instructors). The winds were really blowing today anyway, so I didn't mind too
much - besides, I have tons of work to do and could use the extra time to take care of some things. Work
work work.... I won't get to fly until next week sometime now. Looking forward to it though. Till next
time...
September 6, 2001
Well, I wasn't supposed to fly today but just go through ground school. However, people were running late
and JohnW couldn't fly his spot, so I got to "fill in" for him. Giddy up! The flying time for JohnW was
scheduled for 5pm and at about 3:30pm, it was pitch black out with the rain and wind pouring down. Then
suddenly, at about 4:30, I checked the radar and there were no clouds over us. "No way", I said. I open the
door outside and sure enough - it was absolutely beautiful! I headed to the flying club with JohnW and here
is the rest of the story...
We flew south of town and practiced ground reference manuevers; the rectangle
field, the circle around the oil well and the s-curves back and fourth along a road. I had a lot of fun, but
I know that I need to practice these manuevers as I kinda like "banking" way too hard - you gotta love those
60 degree banks (just not during ground manuevers!). Anyway, the manuevers are a lot of fun to fly, so I
won't mind practicing them after I get to solo. The hardest part is trying to figure out which way the wind
is blowing as to determine how the plane will fly while the wind pushes and pulls you. Did you know you can
actually see the currents in a standing body of water to determine which way the wind was blowing? Its true.
You can actually tell! Of course, finding water was NO problem since it has been raining forever. The Brazos River was really full and flowing like a
banshee.
I got a little over an hour today (1.1 hours) for a total of 7.2 now.
Sunday, September 02, 2001
Ahhh.. Finally I got to fly today and after 2 weeks of sitting on the ground practicing with the simulator
at home. Its just not the same as the real thing feeling the air currents and all. I had a good flight
mostly due to the "drug-addict like hit" I got from not flying in a while, but mainly because I got to land
today! I'm hoping that I'll get to set up for the approach and totally land next time. Andy took over the
yoke today after we landed to show me what I needed to do for next time. It was just nice to be back in the
cockpit again. We practiced a few stalls and slow flight over Coulter Field then headed back to Easterwood (CLL).
I wish that I could find an Air Traffic Control simulator - since I'm really
weak talking to the tower (in other words, I suck at it).
Got another 1.1 hours today for a total now of 6.1. Getting there - slowly but
surely.
August 31, 2001
UGH! The damn rain will not stop and I'm going stir crazy not
flying! Andy has given us (my friend, John Walter, and me) a
couple of classes on the ground, but it is not the same without our flight afterwards. I can't wait for the
clouds to clear up! - No additional flight time logged - still a total of only 5 hours. Pic
is John Walter
August 20, 2001
All right! This flight made up for the last bummed out flight. I did really well today and basically got to
fly around. Andy calls it "local navigation", but I called it a fun joy ride. We flew SE to the local power
plant and then headed to a little town of Anderson. Andy told me that he wanted to see
the court house. It was on my side of the plane so I banked left. Of course, he had to give me a little hell
and stated "I don't want to look through your window to see it." So, I banked a fairly hard right and he got
to see what he wanted to see. I knew that this was not the first time he used this excuse on a student, but
I still had a super time. We headed back into College
Station (CLL) and I only got to log another .9 hours in my flight log book. It was a great .9 hours
though! What an awesome flight!
August 18, 2001
Today we practiced steep turns and descents at high and low altitudes. Take-off was okay, but I felt like I
flew like crap. Andy is doing a great job and letting me know what I did right and what I did wrong. Today
was just a bad day - not as fun - and I didn't do as well. I did get a headset today. My old man gave me an
early b-day gift and told me to buy a headset on him. Well, Andy happened to have a David Clark H10-40
headset, almost like new! I got it for only $125 bucks. Not too shabby. They work like a champ. Thanks Andy
and thanks to Dad and Mom. Total of 4.1 hours now.
August 17, 2001
During ground school, right before we flew, we discussed steep turns and stalls. Well, we got to practice a
few stalls; cross controlled stalls and accelerated stalls while turning (60 degress plus). Not too shabby,
but I was just a little too nervous. I'm starting to look more out the window now instead of staring at the
controls constantly. My take-off today was a lot better than the first one, but according to Andy, we still
need to work on it some. I've not quite got the "popping a wheelie" down yet. I just want to take off like a
rocket which means I have to watch my speed as not to stall the aircraft. I got another hour of flight today
for a total of 3.1 hours.
August 13, 2001
Well, second flight up with Andy Fay, my CFII
instructor, and I had a blast again. This time, we headed out over Lake Sommerville and practiced "slow
flight". Basically, we ran our Cessna 152 as slow as she would go and still maintain lift. Oh, and the best
part of the flight? I got to take off! Giddy up! What a rush. I now have a total of 2.1 hours of flight in
the log book.Pic is John Walter (left), Andy Fay (middle), John Romero (right)
August 10, 2001
Wow! Had my first flight today. Not only my first flight, but my first time in a non-commerical aircraft. I
can not even begin to tell you what it felt like and how I felt. I have been dreaming of this for so long...
Ever since I was 10 years old, people would ask me, "What are you going to do when you grow up?" I would
always answer them with a simple and straight answer, "I'm going to be a pilot." Well, I'm 32 now and
program for a living. Far from flying through the air like I had dreamed. But now, I'm a little closer to
making it a reality. I don't know if a career change is in the future, but I can tell you that if I knew I
could afford it, I probably would.
I have to thank my lovely wife, Karin, for making my dreams come true. She has been hearing about me wanting
to learn to fly since she married me some 11 or so years ago. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, she told me,
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you need to quit talking about flying and just do it!" Well, finally
after some pushing (and some term-life insurance ;), I'm on my way to becoming a pilot.
My first flight was incredible. I really had no idea it was going to feel as good as it did. I knew that
this is something that I wanted to do for a long time, but I had no idea that it burned in my soul. On the
first flight, we did some basic climbs and descents and learned the basics of flight. I have logged a total
of 1.0 hour(s) in my flight log book, but feel like a million bucks!