Exciting Times!

It's been a busy couple days. Yesterday I had two Instrument students go for there checkride. I knew they were ready,. but you know there is always that chance something could happen. I think it's almost as hard on your nerves as it would be if you were the one taking the checkride.

I was gone when the first one got back, and when I returned to the airport the second was already in the oral exam with the DPE. I asked Alejandro how he had done. He said ok, but made a couple mistakes. I asked if he passed, he said he didn't know. I asked did the examiner say you failed...he said no. OK, that's good they have to tell you if you fail, and they have to tell you the moment you fail a maneuver..

So, finally the DPE came out of the oral. I managed to pull him aside to find out how things were going. He said both were very strong in their oral and the first flew pretty well, but did make a couple mistakes, but not out side of PTS standards.

Finally the second flew. Arturo did a great job and even received a compliment from the examiner. So two passing checkrides in a day...what a great feeling!

So now day two of the week. I have a 15 year old private pilot student who wanted very badly to solo on his birthday. I told him we would do our best, but this is aviation and you cannot expect it. He is a great Student pilot, and I knew he would be capable if things worked out.
We missed a couple lesson last week due to the tropical storm, so I wasn't sure.
So finally the arrived...today...He shows up, I can see the anticipation in his face. The weather was ok, but not great, and then right when we got ready to take off the glider positions on the runway, and it was a glider checkride.
So now we have to compete with him and he has right of way. eventually the glider finishes and moved of the runway...we have 10 minutes left in out lesson. I ask if he is ready, he say he is. I have him stop at the FBO and out the door i go.
I walked over to where his mother was standing. I think I was more nervous then she was.
After just a couple minutes, there he goes. Now we're committed. he has to fly the pattern and land. He sounded great on the radio, his pattern looked great and his first landing was flawless! what a relief
He took one more hop around the patch and was done. what a 16th birthday. I'm sure he will sleep with a smile on his face tonight...

Congratulations to Arturo, Alejandro and David...you guys all did fantastic!

Students cancel, Planes break, Tropical storms happen...yes even in San Antonio. This week has been a wash on the flying front. Tuesday Tropical Storm Hermine rolled through, and we have had two days of lingering storms and low clouds. Not really what I would call flying weather for a c172.

It did allow me the time to take care of a few things that needed to be done. Had to change my car battery (notice the image above, I was changing my battery right under the eye). There was no hiding under the hood, as the eye passed over the rain was coming in sideways around the hood.

I did get the chance to review some ground work with two Instrument students who will be taking their checkride...as soon as the weather clears.

However I'm ready to get back into the air, lets hope we get some better weather soon.

Time Fly's

It has been an interesting journey so far. Aviation has proven to be a cruel mistress, and I have just begun. I shouldn't say it's only been cruel, I love it. The days seem to run together a bit sometimes, but it has not been that horrible grind that my old "time punching" JOB was. I have not done so well with keeping the blog going. I find it has been difficult to keep up with all the things I must keep up with. Not only flying, but even making myself study to keep the knowledge fresh in my mind. It's amazing how fast you start forgetting things after you stop studying.

The flying has picked up. Thankfully this was summer has been busy. I have been working with two brothers from Mexico that have kept me busy. They both passed their Private pilot check-ride and now are only days away from taking their instrument check-ride. Next I will take them through Commercial and top it off with the multi add-on in the Cessna 310R.

I have also started working at another school in the San Antonio area. It to has been rewarding. I don't have as much business there but it is picking up.
One of my students there is 15 years old. David is a sharp young man, and is progressing nicely! His birthday is Sep 14. He is excited that he should be able to Solo on his birthday! I'm excited too! I just hope it all works out, aviation is hard to plan. It seems there is always something that forces you to change your plans.

This new school is one that I have been pushing for over two years to get on with. For two years I have heard we just don't have enough business, we need to make sure our current instructors have enough work. I agreed with this whole heartily! I could appreciate that. Most p[laces could care less about their cfi's they would bring on to many so their "students could be taken care of". Well, two year later I finally get the nod from the chief CFI. He said "we finally need another cfi". Finally! I was ready too. So I try to come in without pushing to hard, because they had a shortage of planes. Then out of nowhere two more CFI's pop up and just start pushing their way in. I have always tried to show respect to others. I try to respect their "seniority" excepting that I am the "new guy". I just never thought it showed much integrity to stand there like a leech and try to force you way in. Not paying attention to the rules and basically just doing what you want.

I realize sometimes to get a head you have to be aggressive, I just don't think it should be at ANY cost.
I do appreciate the new position, It is going to be a great new addition to my aviation Journey. I'm still excited to see where it takes me!

The Next Chapter, or just a new page?

Have you ever read the book Who moved my cheese? It is a great book. It really makes you think about life, and keeping up with the change you go through. More importantly it talks about what happens when you don't adapt when you go through change. I found out the flight school I'm working at was being forced out of our building at San Antonio International. The airfield they have in mind to move to is way to far for me to travel to, especially for the little amount of students I have. Right after I found out about the move I went to the owner. I asked him if they had any discussions going with a local small airport that had no flight training. He said he had, but they were not interested in having the entire operation move there but they would accept a small satellite office. I told him I would be interested in helping out, and moving to that airport. This was a couple months ago. Two days ago the owner comes to me and ask me if I could fly to Castroville and deliver a paper. I said sure, so I grabbed a student and flew it out. The papers where a lease agreement for an office and ramp space.
Once I returned He told me it was a done deal and we could begin planing a move of 3 airplanes.

So now I will be moving to Castroville TX Airport (CVB) and will be starting up new flight training operations. That is the catch, We will need to find a whole new clientele. The foreign students we currently have at KSAT will have to stay there.
So it is kinda like starting a new business, luckily my only investment is my time.
On one hand its exciting, on the other it is a little stressful knowing there will be a period of time without much income! However, if you don't go look for more cheese, when someone moves your cheese, you might just lose it all!

First Solo!

I remember my first solo flight like it was yesterday. N89642, it was a white and green Cessna 152. Winds out of the south, landed runway 18 at FES. The instructor (Ken) told me to stop on the ramp, and he stepped out and said give me three take-off's and landings. I never thought twice. The first I touched down and was off by the first taxi way. Which wasn't bad it was only a 2200' runway and the first taxiway was less then 1000 feet down the runway. So I was Happy with myself. I was comfortable flying solo, I don't recall being very nervous.

However, now that I am a CFI, I think back and wonder if Ken was on the ground nervously waiting for me to finish my three trips around the pattern. Was he hoping I would not bend the airplane.

Even though I felt comfortable soloing, I find myself watching every step of the way when I send a student up to solo. Sunday I sent a new student Pilot Landon up for his first solo. I watched, I listened on a hand held radio. It's exciting and nerve racking at the same time. I hope his experience will be as memorable as mine...CONGRATULATIONS Landon! Well Done!

Time fly's no pun intended ;-)

I'm really not that good at writing. Keeping up with a blog is way down my list of things to do. I try to keep myself busy. There's always something to do, or learn, or experience. Spring time has sprung...yard work has been plentiful. I just finished building a bat house. It cost me .97 cents (long story). The thing is huge, im sure it could hold a couple hundred bats. Now I just need to get it hung and put out a vacancy sign.
Most importantly however is that I'm flying!!!! Things have been so difficult. I have been tempted to walk away from aviation, because after 2 years of problems I just couldnt see the light anymore. In novemeber I thought I had a new Flight Instructor job lined up. I spent a month waiting for these people to call me. I did all their requirments, and the only thing i had to do was a flight test. Once I finally got it scheduled (month and half after first interview) I get a call the night before saying they have now stopped hiring.
So now I'm back to sqaure one again! One thing about me is that i might get frusterated, but I dont quit! If anything, once I get my mind clear I dig in even harder and do more to make things work. So that is what i did, and finally it has started to pay off. I have two full time students, two part time, I'm still working another flying possiblity to fly a local business man around in his airplane. So the "Light" I spoke of a couple post ago is starting to shine again.

I know I have several hurdles ahead of me, but you know what, I'm ready for it.
I recently came across another blog. http://karlenepetitt.blogspot.com this Lady seems like an amazing person who has had a great career, and life. people like her (and Rand from "A life aloft") are an inspiration to me! It helps me to get up and keep on pushing.

I hope I can be an inspiration to others. I like helping others. I Hope there will be a time in the future that I can say I have helped someone along in their endeavors as a pilot. I know flight instructing can be just that opportunity. I try to do my best with my students, I try to give them more then what they pay for. I hope same day they will reach their goals, and hopefully I will have been a part of it.

So the light is shinning again, I'm smelling the wonderful scent of 100LL exhaust in the morning :-) and the log book has been dusted off. Now lets just keep it moving upward!

Here is a shot a took with my phone recently (sorry it does NOT take good pictures.) Right at dusk, beautiful clear night, cool air...sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be getting paid, I just enjoy it to much!

Hey...WHO SHUT OFF THE LIGHT?

OK, So I could easily say someone shut off the light, but I'm not going to. There is just a slight bend in the tunnel and the light went a little dim. So what am I talking about? My last post, was about a potential job working full time with a flight school. I would have been able to fly as much as I could handle. Well, It didn't happen. I thought for sure I had the job. I had already passed the back ground check, drug test, I filled out all my paper work. The only thing I had left to do was take a test flight with the assistant chief pilot. Six weeks I was yanked around, and honestly I would like to be really ticked off about it, but I'm not going to be! I honestly do believe God is in control and for whatever reason this just didn't happen.

So, what now. The economy still stinks and students (domestic) are hard to find. Well, I wish I had a magic crystal ball, but I don't. So what You do now is get up and move forward. Start looking for students, looking for airplanes to fly, do anything that will lead to forward movement. The schools are not hiring, so I will move full ahead at building the freelance business. Getting out meeting everyone in the business you can meet. Helping out everyone you can help. I believe aviation is an industry that it's as much who know as it is what you know. I do my best to help others, maybe someday someone will help me.

Here we are again, not sure what will happen. Aviation so far has been a lot of problems, a lot of low's and I'm just getting started. This is going to be some ride!