Now that I’m back in Bentonville, I have asked Michael to have a quick review where we stand and devise a plan for the coming weeks...<< MORE >>

My 7 weeks in France are over and it is time again to head for the airport to return to Arkansas. Yesterday, I’ve received a phone call from Michael in France. I hadn’t given any news and Michael was wondering if I was in Arkansas already. I confirmed that I was not and that I was taking the plane tomorrow...<< MORE >>

Over the past few weeks, I have started to work heavily on preparing the Knowledge Test.  I’m hoping also to be ready for the oral exam part of the check ride…

<< MORE >>

One of the thing about living with an aircraft manufacturer in town is that you might encounter parts of the planes ready for assembly on the road. This morning was no exception!

<< MORE >>

Anna just went through all the explanation of the airspace, the responsibility of the en route centers. It is time to now enter the control room and see how it is done! From pods to pods, I will end up seating next to Anna for a good hour, watching her every move as she is directing planes through her sector…

<< MORE >>

I can hear you say: “A what?!”. An ARTCC or fully extended: an Air Route Traffic Control Center. To make it short and easy, it is the centers that are handling all the routing of the planes under IFR while in flight. 

And today I had the chance to have a tour organized specifically for me. My tour guide would be one of the ATC in function there. As I’m approaching the gates of the center, I’m not sure what to expect but I can feel the excitement of entering a place that few had the chance to get in…

<< MORE >>

Well, I’m running out of luck. I’ve decided to come to Bentonville to see my family and I did. I thought I would catch up on some flight. Unfortunately, the weather has been putting a mess in my plan!

It has been bad weather after bad weather and of course, as soon as we have an opening, all the students from Summit jumped on the open slots! As a result, each time I was trying to get in the air, either the planes were not available or Michael was already busy!

Oh well, I’ve maintained one of the flight planned for today and been watching the weather since the morning. By 3:00pm, I had the confirmation that the weather would not clear fast enough to enable me to fly today.

As I’m arriving at the school, Michael confirmed that flying was not an option. With a ceiling at 600’ AGL (above ground level), there are no chance to even practice take off and landing around the pattern…

So instead of flying, we did some flight instruction.

We went over :

1. regulation
2. airspace
3. instruments
4. speeds

The result is not very pretty. I have basically to start from scratch on regulation. I know part of it but not enough to get through the basic questions… Airspace, I’m globally ok but I still have some issues with some of the distances. Instruments, big mix up. Speeds are good.

So I know I have a lot of work in front of me before I can call myself ready for the exam.

As soon as I’m back in France, I will start working on the knowledge test.

        

I’m finally back in Arkansas and I have book a flight for this afternoon! Bad news is: the weather is not cooperating! Luckily, we managed to get in the air after a couple of surprise on the ground! Time to verify how much I have lost by not flying for two months...

 

<< MORE >>

I’m actually pretty excited because this Sunday, I’m flying back to Arkansas. I will be able to see my daughter and fiancée again! These constant travelling might sound fun and I’m trying to get some positive out of them but there are taught on my family! I have 10 days to spend with them and I’m intending to leverage them!

On the other hand, it also means something else: I will be able to get back in a plane as PIC and continue my flight training. I have not been in a plane since … my solo flight on July 31st. I’m not sure what to expect but I know that we will redo everything and all the safety check before I get to fly the plane by myself. To be honest, I’m not sure how many hours I will log but I’m thinking I might not going to push to fly alone this time.

I see the sessions from these 10 days as just a way to stay current and not loosing too much, not a way to get forward in the training.

        

Minneapolis was under a Wind advisory. I was not sure what it meant but I was sure going to figure out soon! A little too soon in fact!

Back home, the question became: Would I have liked to be in the air at that time? Some computations are in order!

<< MORE >>