March 14, 2005
Step 2
Well, I'm about to head out of the house down toward KAXH for the first time to meet my new instructor...
The airport is located south of beltway 8, just west of 288... Interestingly enough, this airport is also very near Highway 6 as 6 passes just as you turn off on Mckeever to get to it. It should be, however, much closer than KIWS... Just a quarter turn around the beltway. Still, with traffic and it being 8am now (I don't have to be there until 8) I am sure it will take some time.
Today I have to go up there and fill out my paperwork, show my docs, etc. I'm not actually sure what we're going to do today, but in case anybody is listening, this is the beginning of the "Career Pilot Program" @ ATP.
My instructor is named Josie. My wife was surprised to hear that my instructor is a girl.
I do know that we are going to do the multi-private add-on to my PPL (AMEL) *before* burning off the 30 hours of Cessna time I have left. This is unexpected. Anyway, more details as they come.
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 07:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 10, 2005
An explanation...
I have a tendency to post things using vocabulary or abbreviations used by pilots... just to clarify:
PPL ASEL = Private Pilot, Airplane, Single-Engine, Land...
as opposed to, for example, Commercial Pilot, Airplane, Multi-engine, Sea (multi engine seaplanes? wouldn't like to be in one of those... or Private Pilot, Rotorcraft... (helicopters)...
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 08:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 04, 2005
Cramming again
Well, since we are hoping to schedule my checkride for Sunday (it is currently Friday), I am meeting with Jacques tomorrow from 1000-1200 to do a last oral exam cram session. I've been reading all week, but honestly not as much as I thought I would. The things I'm most worried about? Remembering the ceiling/visibility requirements for the airspaces - especially Class G which is just all kinds of overcomplicated.
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 11:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 02, 2005
So I'm not dead after all...
You might have wondered where I've been, that is if you happen to be one of the myriad commenters who are constantly inviting me to play Texas Hold'em Poker on their web casinos. I do love to play Hold'em, but I DO NOT LOVE THESE BLOG SPAMMERS.
In case anybody actually is tuned to this frequency, I was prepping for my checkride to be taken the 2nd week of January, but on the 8th of January 2005 I broke my arm in a motorcycle "slide." (I avoided hitting the blind jerk that pulled in front of me and slammed on his brakes, then proceeded to drive off while I was sliding on the pavement.)... So that put me out for a while.
Just as an update, though, I'm still on the same schedule with ATP so I need to finish my PPL, fly 30 hours in their 172 and prepare for my instrument exams on the 22nd of March... That's 20 days from now! We'll have to see if they really expect that to happen, getting the 30 hours in may be a stretch to say the least. Nevertheless I'm sitting at about 51 total time now and will do my final ground prep on Saturday, then hopefully schedule the checkride with Hank (ugh) for Sunday.
BTW, I will approve non-robotic comments...
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 08:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 30, 2004
Spelling in the blog
I'm really not a bad speller, actually I'm quite a good speller. And often, I use correct punctuation. However, for the purpose of this blog I am not really concerned about these things inasmuch as I am concerned with getting out the message of the content, which I find personally quite interesting.
However, I did learn to spell maneuver today thanks to http://www.dictionary.com so hopefully in the future I will use the correct spelling in these entries.
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 02:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A day off
A day off for some much needed rest.
Sorry about the delay in posting. I didn't plan on getting three flight days behind, but I did not know how exhausting those three days would be. Aside from the flight time, I also have been studying for the Private exams as well as still studying (a bit) for the instrument exams which I'll have as soon as I finish this license.
So, with 7.7 hours of flight time logged in only 4 days, and with my building confidence in the plane, I'm pretty happy with what has been going on in my training. The more confident I am in the plane and the more familiar I am with the procedures, the better I'll be able to practice the techniques with my instructors, and eventually (probably sooner than later) in my solo hours. I am definitely looking forward to that, but I am sure that the main thing which would hold back my solo endorsement would be landings (from the base leg to the runway) and I have a feeling we will be practicing that pretty heavily in the next few flights. Tomorrow I'm flying with Scott, who I have not met yet, and that will likely be more traffic pattern and practice of what I already have been doing. In truth, these few simple procedures are really useful because they carry in them a lot of multitasking work. Rather than just working on climbing or descent (which still need work) or turns, you do them all in a specific order, along with changes in cockpit controls and radio use.
Definitely having a good time if nothing else.
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 12:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 25, 2004
Happy Thanksgiving
Well it is just after 10:00 central on Thanksgiving morning... more importantly, it is now just under 24 hours before things start up, and the weather looks great. Sometimes I think the forecasters are getting better sometimes.
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 10:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 24, 2004
The story so far...
Whereas the blog starts tonight, the story has actually been going on since the beginning of the month... This is a quick and dirty catchup.
Mon 11/8/2004 - approved for financing of the whole program.
Tue 11/9/2004 - receive Class 1 medical certificate / Student Pilot Certificate (ATP requires class 1 from the very beginning. there's no sense going so far into debt and trouble if you can't even pass the required medical exam to fly for an airline).
Wed 11/10/2004 - loan paperwork already comes in the mail with a SASE. All I have to do is sign it and return it. Things seem to be moving very efficiently. Naysayers would say it's all a loan company scheme, but hey I still get to fly, right?
Fri 11/12/2004 - receive "big ol box" of books (manuals, test preps, information...) from ATP, as well as 3 polo shirts and a snazzy black backpack with their logo emblazoned on the back. Even after 12 days, the amount of information that must be absorbed is intimidating. As someone used to doing heavy reading and memorization of small details, I'll be fine, but nevertheless it is an awful lot to learn in a really short amount of time - and this is primarily just the paperwork really for the FAA knowledge tests. There will be a lot more practical (and not previously published) information to learn and apply for the oral exams and checkrides. full list of "stuff" may be posted if I get around to it.
Mon 11/22/2004 - First day I show up at KIWS and there are massive tornado warnings coming up out of that area. The whole city is bombarded by a lot of rain for the next day days, so I don't get to fly (obviously). Meanwhile, the beltway was closed down due to a small aircraft that crashed on/around the south side. Yikes. Not a good day in general for flying, but I did get to hang out with the chief CFI at West Houston Airport. (West Houston Airport / KIWS is the FBO through which ATP has organized my PPL training. I have 55 hours with them in C172R's, and then once I'm done with the license, another 30 hours in ATP's planes before starting the career pilot program.) Hank has been flying since 1943 (!) starting as a CoPilot in B-24s during WW2. Quick mental math indicates that he's older than my grandparents, but man is he ever sharp. I'll be mainly flying with Harvey, but I have not met him yet.
Wed 11/24/2004 (today!) - This morning I logged into the airport instruction scheduler and started placing myself in as many open slots of 2-3 hours as I could find from here through the 4th - this got a really good response, actuallly, as Harvey then put me on the schedule for quite a few hours between this friday 11/26 and the end of the year.
So, basically, we start in earnest with Harvey on the 26th. In the meantime, I'm reading through Jeppesen's Private Pilot manual (Guided Flight Discovery) which is actually quite interesting, though in many ways another rehash of the FAA publications. Yet, it is that in a much more entertaining way. The pages are full color, illustrated with interesting historical tidbits or technology inserts. I think I am better off with something like this than just, for example, reading the Airplane Flying Handbook (though the core of the information will by necessity be rather identical)... Not quite a current generation MTV soundbite and quick scene change attention, but definitely atari 2600 speed.
(and also meanwhile I'm studying for the IFR/CFII exams using Gleim's red books. I'm impressed with the demo of their test prep software, and am considering registering the PPL and IR databases... the only problem is we still have that lease in Israel and we are rather... money-free...)
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 10:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Brief Intro to your Narrator
It would probably add a little depth to the description to have a little bit of background about your friend the writer.
Howdy folks,
My name is Chris Mitchell and I am 29 years old as of 1 week ago. I (finally) finished a rather extended undergraduate stint in May with a double major BA in Spanish / Christianity from Houston Baptist University. As I excel in languages, and particularly enjoy Biblical Hebrew, I applied to a graduate program that got me all excited in Jerusalem, Israel. I was accepted, and enrolled much to the chagrine of most of my family.
To make a long story short, after getting married and immediately (literally) moving to Jerusalem where I spent 4.5 months studying *modern* Hebrew and generally hanging out - we found out that we'll be expecting a child next year and it became exceedingly impractical to stay in Israel.
Something else impractical? A BA in Spanish/Christianity. My wife is planning on teaching in public school, but I just can't see myself doing that for the rest of my life. I was planning on being a Hebrew professor, but I am grossly underqualified to work anywhere academically sound. Some will say that there are not many jobs and not much money in professional aviation, to which I respond there has to be at least as much work as there is for Hebrew profs.
I've always wanted to fly, and after talking it over with my wife and family, I've decided to go through a semi-accelerated professional pilot course from *zero* hours through private pilot, instrument, multi, commercial, CFI/CFII.
A huge loan, and no small amount of risk, but I can't say I've been more excited in a long long time.
Why "semi-"accelerated ?? Well, because although there exist a lot of (particularly part 141) accelerated flight schools in some states, I do not live in one of those states. Of the schools I researched, I was most happy with the discussion I had with Airline Transport Professionals (http://www.atpflightschool.com/) ... One of the biggest selling points to me is that they have satellite bases around the country, at which (since I am not currently working) I can basically go through the program as quickly as I am able. For example, from PPL to the higher certs normally takes ~130 days if you went absolutely straight through (so let's say around 120-130 total according to their schedule). Their non-homebase programs (satellite) are advertised as 4 month for PPL and 10 month for the Career Pilot Program. That is just the high end of length though. I will be studying and flying full-time, and should be able to finish the whole program by about the time the baby is born (by no means in 14 months, currently I am shooting for 6-8 total which we shall adjust as time passes and we find out what the scheduling will be like.)
So, this blog will not only be good descriptions (I hope!) of what actually happens on each leg of a really compressed but complex piloting journey, it will also 1) discuss the realities of doing an "accelerated" version of an "at your own pace" program in a satellite location, doing the PPL portion at a FBO who works with ATP and 2) give some indication about what is the reality for someone who goes to no small expense in order to jump into the industry from out of nowhere.
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 09:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Welcome aboard...
Well, after looking around for pilot blogs to get a more "personal" idea of what I'm about to come up against, I decided to throw a blog of my own into the mix.
There was a great deal of value in reading things like http://www.myflightblog.com and the flight journals section at http://www.alioth.net/flying/ . Sure we can all read part 61 to know what is specifically required for certification, but it really is reassuring to read a "real" path taken by regular people and to folow them as they overcome the different obstacles along the way. The blogs indirectly demonstrate different teaching styles, and can give aspiring pilots inspiration on how to organize their time for solo practice leading up to checkrides.
The purpose of this weblog is simply to document not only my training hours (thus maintaining a remote backup of my regular log) but to describe what happens on a flight to flight, lesson to lesson, basis and most importantly WHAT I'VE LEARNED from those flights. The idea is to add my point of view and experience into an ever-increasing pool of flightlogs available on the web in order to compare and contrast learning experiences, as well as provide information to prospective pilots or just interested folks. Furthermore it may be of use to CFIs to see how other folks are learning.
I'll do my best to keep it current, and welcome feedback and comments.
(Currently, registered typekey users aren't able to login because TypeKey thinks I have not set it up correctly, when in truth I have... hopefully we will just avoid spam and I'll keep an eye on comments. If things get rowdy/spammy and TypeKey doesn't shape up, I'll just turn on comment moderation)
Posted by Chris Mitchell at 09:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack