Saturday, May 31, 2008

I can see the light!

Tomorrow is the day! I will be pulling out about 4am for my 12+ hour drive north to Kansas to begin CFI school. By the end of June I should be a CFI, CFII, and MEI. It is supposed to take 25 days! That is an awful lot of stuff for only 25 days! I hope it will go as planned. I hate being away from home for nearly a month! I have to admit I'm pretty nervous about it at this point! I have never been good at dealing with the "unknown". I like to be in control, and things like this makes me feel like I'm just a long for the ride. I will try to keep things updated on my progress, but it will depend on how much time I have. It is good to know its almost here. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I'm almost there! Lets do this!

Monday, May 26, 2008

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
By LCDR Kelly Strong, USCG
I watched the flag pass by one day, It fluttered in the breeze. A young Service man saluted it, And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform So young, so tall, so proud, With hair cut square and eyes alert He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him Had fallen through the years. How many died on foreign soil How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down? How many died at sea? How many foxholes were soldiers' graves? No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night, When everything was still, I listened to the bugler play And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times That Taps had meant "Amen, "When a flag had draped a coffin Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children, Of the mothers and the wives, Of fathers, sons and husbands With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard At the bottom of the sea. Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
Thank you to all those who have died for our great country. Thank you to those families who have given the greatest sacrifice, Father's, Mother's, Son's and Daughters, Brothers and Sisters
Thank you to all past and present that have proudly served our great nation.
THANK YOU!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Spreading your wings

One of the greatest things about flying are the people! There are just a great bunch of people in the aviation circle. Flying is something that bridges any gap. You could be 20 and they can be 80 and you can sit and talk for hours and completely understand each other. Back at Christmas I attended a Christmas party hosted by the owner of the airport where I fly out of. My wife and I grabbed a table and then went ti get some food, when we returned we found another couple sitting there. After some small talk and getting to know each other I finally realized who it was and thought how funny. Here is this guy who owned a rather large aero space company and I'm sure is REALLY well off, and here I am this reg joe who does ok for himself, but is definitely is a different economic class. Funny thing was it didn't matter. We just talked had a great time shared some airplane stories and had a great time. That is aviation! I have been at the airport before just hanging out wishing I could fly and before long someone would invite you for a ride. I have done that myself many times! It's always fun to share the experiences we have while flying!
Well today I met a guy who needed to do some Instrument currency flying so I volunteered to go along! Besides I had never flown in a Cirrus and have always been interested in them. It was a great time and I actually got some stick time! It was an awesome aivrcraft and a pleasure to fly!





I was amazed at how much space it the plane inside. Since I'm used to piper and Mooney types this thing felt huge inside!



We had about two and half hours of flying. We went Into Kerrville TX (KERV)


(KERV) Is also Home to Mooney aircraft. One of my Favorite planes!


It doesn't look like much, but that is where they are built!

All in all it was a fun day! Its nice to spread your wings and try new things now and then, and I'm glad I did today...I'm definitely a new fan of the cirrus!