tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252036722024-02-19T17:53:30.805-05:00The Slacker AbroadFreedom from the tyranny of petty thingsDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-11537423827237632102010-03-27T10:46:00.006-04:002010-03-27T11:28:05.118-04:00Baby on Board! Flying with the Whole Family<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0IVGnFkYDWVWp59e6On5sQh2Bsd-ihwnvQzdo1bmhRlXYa56XBkqWl_aAGE0z0U_J_D3fbvfJ3haeXqQBTkX8RQB98by5JTWZCXHduYli2oUps_d7Mzf_6eahhCn6w4nhK3h4/s1600/IMG_2183.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0IVGnFkYDWVWp59e6On5sQh2Bsd-ihwnvQzdo1bmhRlXYa56XBkqWl_aAGE0z0U_J_D3fbvfJ3haeXqQBTkX8RQB98by5JTWZCXHduYli2oUps_d7Mzf_6eahhCn6w4nhK3h4/s320/IMG_2183.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453331383512654626" border="0" /></a><br />Last Saturday was the third time my wife and I have taken our infant daughter flying in a small airplane, and I think we're finally starting to get it figured out.<br /><br />There's no good reason why a baby can't come flying with you. There are, however, some extra considerations necessary for a small passenger. With a little preparation, the personal airplane can become a weekend getaway machine for the whole family.<br /><br />Most car seats are also approved for use in aircraft by the FAA. If your seat is approved, there will be a sticker on it that says so. Seatbelts work about the same in airplanes as they do in cars, so there shouldn't be any problem getting the seat secured, but it's a good idea to check it out in advance, just to make sure.<br /><br />We've found it works best to put the baby behind the pilot's seat. In a Cessna 172, the pilot usually slides the seat forward after getting in. This means the non-flying parent in the right seat can slide back, reach behind the pilot, and have good access to baby in the back seat.<br /><br />Sun protection is big deal, because airplanes are necessarily built like tiny flying greenhouses in order to afford the pilot a good view. Make sure you've got some way to give your passenger shade without blocking the windows.<br /><br />Hearing protection is a must for everyone in the plane. Infants' ears are especially susceptible to permanent damage. Earplugs are great, and easily available, but good luck getting them to stay in! And once they're out, they're a choking hazard, so you'd better have someone in the back seat to watch the kid the whole time.<br /><br />This was our major find for last week: for $25 we got youth-sized protective earmuffs, that fit our 10-month-old baby just fine, from the gun department at a sporting goods store. She wore them the whole flight without a fuss.<br /><br />Speaking of ears, remember babies haven't had the opportunity to learn the Valsalva Maneuver, and may not be able to clear their ears as well as grownups during climbs and descents. Make sure your baby doesn't have any kind of sinus blockage before flying. This is important for adults, too. Descents are harder on sinuses and ears than ascents, so plan to come down slowly. I've used 500-700 feet per minute with the baby and never had any problems. Sucking on a bottle will also help a baby clear her ears during an approach.<br /><br />If you have any questions about physiology, talk to your flight surgeon.<br /><br />For a small child, especially one who can't see out the window, bring plenty of distractions and an extra parent to tend the child in flight. Single-pilot, single-parent operations probably aren't a good idea until the kids are old enough to take care of themselves a little bit.<br /><br />With a little extra planning, flying can enrich the lives of your entire family. An airplane can take you places and show you things you can't see any other way. And what could be better for a pilot than sharing the things you love doing with the people you love most?Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-15507097341203272922010-03-17T15:00:00.001-04:002010-03-17T15:36:08.102-04:00DreamsIt’s the first gray light of a cool spring morning. Green grass is stained silver with heavy dew and thin mist sits low in still air. <br /><br />The only sound at the little airport is rubber tires rolling slowly on wet asphalt as I push the Piper Cub out of its hangar. Its glossy doped fabric wings and body are brilliant warm yellow against the dark pavement and shady trees.<br /><br />Wooden propeller blades spin into a swishing blur as the little Continental comes alive, carefully parting the sacred silence without shattering it. In a few moments, we’re flying along low and slow over the countryside, circling and swooping over pastures and trees as the rising sun chases the last shadows of night from the land.<br /><br />We’re in no hurry. When we finally land a little less than an hour later, the sun is full up and the airport is wide awake. The mechanic greets me as I push the Cub back into its hangar. He’s a good mechanic, and friendly, and I’m glad I hired him a few years ago.<br /><br />Once the kids are off to school, my wife joins me at the airport. She sits behind the desk at our FBO, and she does a great job taking care of everyone who stops by or calls into our little place.<br /><br />There is work to do today. This morning, a man is coming to look at and test fly an airplane I’m brokering. A light twin on a cross-country will be stopping for fuel and lunch. And I’ll have a couple of students to fly later in the afternoon. In between all that I’ll be replacing burned-out runway lights, mowing grass, and doing other odd jobs to keep the field running smoothly.<br /><br />Of course this never happened. Not yet, anyway. I’ve never flown a Piper Cub, and my job right now is far from Professional Hangar Bum and Manager of a pastoral airport. It’s just a dream.<br /><br />To be a pilot, though, is to be a dreamer. Moving people or goods by air may be justifiable economically, and sometimes necessary to reach remote locations. But to become an aviator is a solemn act of romantic impracticality. It requires devotion, effort, and fiscal expense far beyond any reasonable expectation of return.<br /><br />Economists use the term “opportunity cost” to describe what one gives up by choosing one thing over another. Thinking this way, there’s always something better to do than be a pilot. Most of the time, this logic prevails. I’ve lost track of the number of people I’ve met who tell me “I’ve always wanted to fly, but” it’s too expensive, they don’t have the money. The list goes on, but the central factor is there was always something else, something more practical, to spend their money on. Life gets in the way of dreams.<br /><br />But what, precisely, is the opportunity cost of a dream?Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-10891843356074741972010-02-20T13:36:00.002-05:002010-02-20T13:40:46.030-05:00Love and AirplanesThis is a very belated Valentine’s Day post.<br /><br />A long-term relationship with aviation is a lot like a romantic involvement with another person. There’s attraction, a first date, and excitement.<br /><br />Some flying relationships don’t last forever. Priorities change, the passion dies, and the inevitable drain of financial and emotional resources doesn’t deliver the same excitement anymore.<br /><br />For a few lucky people, though, the love of flying develops like a steady marriage. Even though it’s the hundredth, or thousandth, time seeing the rolling shadowy forest canopy from above, or the moonlight sparkle on a black diamond ocean, or a blazing sunset aloft turn the whole world into glowing liquid gold, there are subtle differences each time and no day is ever quite the same as any other.<br /><br />There are still storms, delays, breakdowns, and even emergencies bringing moments of sheer terror. But the happy marriage is based on understanding instead of raw attraction, commitment instead of bare promise.<br /><br />Heading home into one sunset, high in smooth cold air, with baby finally sleeping peacefully in the back seat and wife looking contemplatively over the world almost a mile below, it would be easy to take the moment for granted. I could think it is no longer beautiful because the novelty has worn off and it’s not all that unusual for me to be taking my wife and daughter for an airplane ride. But in so doing I would miss the greater truth. <br /><br />Instead of taking it for granted I savor it now so I can have it again later, in my memory, when the bills and the office can’t be avoided and the winds and rains keep me away from this peaceful place in the sky.<br /><br />I am lucky to have this peculiar set of skills, which lets me see the sun sink in molten gold and spin the whole world around me on the tip of a banked wing. I’m luckier, still, to have a wife whose love is of understanding, and whose only caveat to my flying is that I take her with me.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-85029653211729094112010-02-08T15:39:00.001-05:002010-02-08T15:39:36.260-05:00The Battle of Chesapeake Light"Three minutes," I said over the ICS to my crew chief as I pushed the nose of our helicopter over, accelerating low across the ocean for the final assault on our objective.<br /><br />The bad guys had been using the Chesapeake Light platform as a transfer station for smuggling weapons and personnel between Cape Henry and the Eastern Shore. I was leading a flight of two MH-60S helicopters to insert a team of Navy SEALs and take down the platform.<br /><br />I pulled the trigger on my cyclic control stick to talk to my wingman over the radio. "Two from one," a short pause. "Okay, winds are a little off to the right. So we'll go up the left side and set up sniper cover. You come up on the right and drop your guys. You slide out, and we'll drop ours."<br /><br />"Roger."<br /><br />The platform grew bigger and bigger in the windscreen. My copilot, in the right seat, was now flying us toward the left side. When we were close, he popped the nose up into a quick-stop, settling in a high hover so the sniper in our right door would have a clear shot at the deck.<br /><br />"Platform is clear," he said over the radio. A second later, I saw my wingman's helicopter slide up the other side, nose up as it slowed down and settled in low over the platform to insert the SEALs via ropes. This took only seconds, and then they were coming up and away from the platform to cover us while we made our drop. So far, so good.<br /><br />Then, trouble. "Rambo," my crew chief said, using a pre-briefed codeword to indicate he'd spotted an armed crew member on the platform.<br /><br />I froze. I was mission lead. What should we do?<br /><br />More trouble: We were getting shot at. I was still frozen. More trouble: Our sniper was hit. We had to get out of there, but my wingman had crept slowly forward, and was now hovering almost directly in front of us.<br /><br />"Sir, permission to open fire," my right-side machine gunner asked over the ICS. We could shoot back. Duh, Dave.<br /><br />"Open fire!" I said.<br /><br />"No!" said my copilot, who was actually the aircraft commander, and my instructor on this training flight. Firing the imaginary machine gun with half a team of imaginary SEALs on the deck was a bad idea. We would have been shot down because of my slow response, anyway. <br /><br />Both helicopters flew away to reset and try the scenario again, this time with the other helicopter in the lead. Even after four practice assaults on Chesapeake Light, we'd both done poorly enough that our instructors determined we'd need to do the entire flight again before it could be signed off. It was a huge letdown. We'd spent hours and hours over several days studying and preparing, and we'd have to do it all over again, except much better.<br /><br />For my infant daughter, learning to pull herself up to standing was only half the puzzle. She'd stay happily on her feet, until she lost her balance or got tired. Then she'd fall, usually hitting her head on the way down. If she stopped trying to stand, she'd never hit her head again. She also would never learn to walk. Instead of quitting, she learned to put herself back down again without injury. Once the fear of falling was gone, there was no longer any reason not to stand up.<br /><br />Fear of failure must be the main reason why people don't try things they would otherwise want to do. Living with failure is easier than living without trying. Just ask my daughter: Falling down means you stood up in the first place.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-14880597207068727762010-02-01T19:06:00.001-05:002010-02-01T19:06:57.989-05:00The Day I Went ProI didn't become a professional pilot the first time I got paid to fly. It wasn't even when I got my shiny gold wings.<br /><br />It was a sunny September morning at NAS Whiting Field in Milton, Florida. I had just passed my instrument checkride in a TH-57C helicopter, the Navy's orange-and-white version of the ubiquitous Bell Jet Ranger. My coveted "wings of gold" were basically in the bag, and in less than two weeks I'd officially have the right to wear them on my uniform. I'd been going through intensive flight training for a year and a half, and today I was getting the keys to my own turbine-powered helicopter for a few hours.<br /><br />Even though the weather was beautiful, I filed an IFR flight plan to New Orleans Lakefront Airport. The FBO there would let us take a car (Jaguar!) out to lunch while our helicopter was refueled for the trip home.<br /><br />In the other pilot's seat there would be no instructor. Instead, I had a "winger," a recently-graduated student awaiting transfer, to tune the radios and act as a safety observer. <br /><br />IFR clearance copied, radios and navaids tuned. Cleared for takeoff. Hover-taxi, five feet in the air, across the yellow hold-short lines, and swing the tail around, nose into the wind. We skidded slightly sideways to the right to catch the centerline. It was against the rules to slide through a turn like that. I didn't care. It was just a little bit, and I was in charge today. No instructor around to complain about it. We were off to New Orleans! Cajun food and a Jaguar were waiting for me!<br /><br />I can't remember any of the small talk I had with my winger copilot that day. But what he said as I slopped onto the runway was like a sledgehammer to the head of my pilot-ego.<br /><br />"Dude, don't slide."<br /><br />It bothered me all the way to New Orleans. It wasn't even a graded flight, and I felt like I'd blown it. The rest of the mission went perfectly, food and sporty luxury car included. Even so, nothing I could do would remove the stain of my carelessness from my memory.<br /><br />Finally, on the way home, I understood the problem. It wasn't wrong because I'd done badly, but because I could have done better. I'd violated one of the most basic rules of flying: Instead of flying the aircraft, I'd let the aircraft fly me.<br /><br />I got sloppy because I didn't think anyone would notice. I realized my own knowing I'd flown well was more important than an instructor saying so on a grade card.<br /><br />I became a professional pilot when I stopped flying for the guy next to me and started flying for myself.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-45413050855388713302010-01-28T12:32:00.000-05:002010-01-28T12:33:18.410-05:00Land of the (Unknowingly) FreeWhen Americans speak with fond passion of our many freedoms, most overlook an absolutely stunning freedom more easily available in America than anywhere else in the world: the freedom to fly.<br /><br />Most people associate flying with freedom. Most people also have no idea just how attainable the freedoms of flying are to them. Many people I meet are enamored with the idea of soaring effortlessly through the atmosphere, and the obvious freedom to move around the map quickly. But flying offers what I believe is the greatest freedom of all: freedom from, in the words of Antoine de St. Exupery, "the tyranny of petty things."<br /><br />Travel on the ground is controlled by roads and lanes, stop signs and traffic lights. As we cower in our automotive exoskeletons of metal and glass, buildings and billboards tower over us. A journey of only a few miles can take hours in heavy traffic.<br /><br />Leave the ground, by only a few hundred feet, and the perspective changes. Individual people disappear. Tiny cars follow one another like ants along thin trails of pavement. The works of man, which dominate the life of the ground-dweller, fall into obscurity beside mighty rivers, soaring mountains, and the thick carpet of verdant forest.<br /><br />Life in the sky is lived in the eternal, absolute, self-existant terms of wind, cloud, speed, and altitude. Here, at last, the mind, body, and soul of man are truly free from the tyranny of petty things.<br /><br />According to the FAA, there are presently 5,180 public-use airports in the United States. Of those, only 587 are certificated for scheduled commercial airline use. If you're going anywhere, chances are there's a public-use airport closer to your home than the nearest commercial airport, and another one closer to your actual destination than any you can buy a ticket for. If your trip is less than 700 miles or so, even a modest personal airplane will get you door-to-door in less time than the airlines.<br /><br />Because we are Americans, we can have this privilege cheaper and easier than anyone else in the world. For an initial investment of around $10,000, almost anyone can get a private pilot's license. A mere $500 a month thereafter will keep you flying two or three Saturday mornings every month. You can even own, insure, maintain, and fly your own small airplane for less than many middle-class American households spend on car payments.<br /><br />How is it, then, that as of 2008 only two tenths of one percent of Americans were active pilots?Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-14685670641413355352010-01-23T14:14:00.004-05:002010-01-23T19:21:19.305-05:00Pilot in CommandI'm going to get this blog rolling again by telling some stories from important flights I've had in the last few years. By "important" I just mean the flight taught me something about flying or life in general. I've been fortunate enough to have a few of these aerial "ah-ha" moments, especially recently.<br /><br />This past Thanksgiving we were visiting my wife's side of the family in the Salt Lake Valley. The weather was pretty good, and I somehow managed to talk them all into thinking it would be fun if I got checked out in an old rental 172 and took everybody for rides. Tuesday I did the rental checkout, and afterwards went for a quick spin with my wife, and then with her parents.<br /><br />Thursday, in addition to being Turkey Day, was my nephew's thirteenth birthday. I'd arranged with his parents to take him and my wife's brother for an airplane ride to celebrate. My plan was to fly from South Valley (U42) to Spanish Fork, on the south side of Provo.<br /><br />On Wednesday night, as I thought about the flight the next day, a nagging voice came to my mind with startling clarity. "What gives you the right?" it said. "Are you out of your mind, Dave? You're expecting your sister-in-law to trust you to take her oldest son up in that little deathtrap? You hardly ever fly those things. You don't know what you're doing. You could get killed, or worse, get him killed! Then what would you say?"<br /><br />It didn't take me long to answer the irrational doubt, but in the process I had to say some things I needed to hear. "Of course we're not going to get killed," I said. "I am a professional pilot. I may not get as much experience as I'd like in this particular model of aircraft, but it doesn't matter. I am a pilot, and the Cessna is a machine. It will do whatever I tell it to do. I have trained myself for this. I am the Pilot in Command."<br /><br />I spent a good deal of time that night poring over charts and satellite images, until I was certain I could find my way to the Spanish Fork airport and back without any help. I planned the altitudes at which I would fly to avoid the invisible upside-down wedding cake of controlled airspace surrounding Salt Lake International Airport. I planned the point at which I would call the control tower at the airport in Provo to ask permission to fly through its airspace. I called the Spanish Fork airport to ask if there were any unpublished notices I needed to be aware of. There would be no surprises. Even though I had never flown to the Spanish Fork airport, it would be familiar enough to me when I got there.<br /><br />The flight went exactly as planned. I knew how the aircraft would perform, and together we flew precisely the route I decided the night before. Had the engine stopped at any point during the flight, we would have been able to land safely because I knew what to do and I was always ready for it.<br /><br />My passengers' trust in me was not misplaced. The little airplane did not fly fifty miles to a foreign airport and return safely by chance. I flew it. I ignored the nagging voice of doubt, warning of unknowable danger, because it was wrong. It said, simply, "Stay home. Flying is too dangerous, especially with someone else's kid on board." I said again to the doubt, as I clicked off the master switch and listened to the gyros in the instrument panel spinning down, "See? If I had listened to you, I would never have known what it felt like today to glide down a final approach and stroke my wheels like paint brushes on this runway." <br /><br />Flying is not nearly so dangerous to the soul as a life of cowardice, wallowing in the security of the familiar ground.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-82304719272248841432010-01-15T09:54:00.000-05:002010-01-15T12:15:28.913-05:00The Slacker ReturnsAfter a long hiatus, I think I'm going to give this a try again.<br /><br />Life in the last few years has taken a few interesting turns. I'll try to bring in some stories to fill the gap, but I think it's best to start back up again with some more recent events.<br /><br />Here's where I'm at now: I fly MH-60S helicopters. I live in Virginia Beach, and I have a baby girl. Those are the biggest changes since I last wrote, and should probably help make sense of the posts I hope will follow this one.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by. Watch this space!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1164064018081012742006-11-20T17:59:00.000-05:002006-11-20T18:06:58.096-05:00Green Side UP?!Well, I made it. Last Monday I had my checkride, and I passed, so they gave me the keys. I took the bird out for an hour and a half, all by myself.<br /><br />It was really great. I had smooth and precise airwork all through the flight, and flew four of the best landing patterns I've ever done. Too bad nobody was there to see it!<br /><br />Last week I got in two more flights doing "precision aerobatics." It was really a blast, but I didn't much like what it did to my stomach the first time around. I didn't barf, but it really didn't take long before I was feeling pretty lousy, and I didn't get to do everything we wanted to do on that flight.<br /><br />But the second one was much better. I still haven't seen an Immelman yet, but we slugged out an aileron roll, three or four wingovers, at least three tries at a barrel roll, a loop, a half cuban eight, and a demonstration of a spilt-S.<br /><br />My next flight is a solo. This time, instead of practicing landings at an outlying field, I'll have an hour and a half to work on my aerobatic maneuvers. I'm not allowed to do a split-S, an Immelman, or a spin, but pretty much anything else is fair game. I was scheduled to fly it today, but it was too windy for solos. Better luck tomorrow, I guess.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1162912997966478972006-11-07T10:14:00.000-05:002006-11-07T10:23:17.983-05:00Socked InThrough some combination of bad weather and bad scheduling, it's now been a week since my last flight.<br /><br />I'm scheduled to fly after lunch today, but they've also scheduled an occluded front and some thunderstorms to be passing by about that same time, with low ceilings and poor visibility. I'm not very hopeful, but at least I'll be able to go in today and get some academic work done. Being scheduled to fly also means I don't have any other duty or watch scheduled for today.<br /><br />This is getting kind of frustrating. I felt like I had a really good flight last Tuesday. But at this point, my skills have a very short shelf life, and the only way to reinforce and improve them is to fly daily, if possible. That's the way the program is designed to work. The other unfair thing is that my grades are competing with others who HAVE been flying these flights every day.<br /><br />Since it has been seven days since my last flight, if the clouds miraculously disappear and I DO go fly, I'm eligible for an optional warm-up, which means the grades don't count. I'm going to take it, if I can, and hope that my next graded flight will be before the end of the week. If not, I guess I can always do another warm-up next Tuesday, too.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1162424067255354132006-11-01T18:15:00.000-05:002006-11-01T18:34:27.266-05:00Time Flies When It's Flying TimeIt's been five flights and almost two weeks since my last post.<br /><br />Mid-stage fams are definitely tough. Gauges "malfunction" nearly every time the instructor knows I'm checking them, and my highly reliable Pratt and Whitney PT6A-25 turboprop engine "fails" at least 4 times every flight, sometimes less than a thousand feet off the ground. My gentle, stable trainer somehow manages to get into a steady-state spin and an approach-turn stall every single time I fly. But through a miraculous combination of my embryonic skills and the patience of my instructors, the engine relights, the houses in my windscreen stop spinning, and the trees start looking small underneath us again.<br /><br />All this is part of a great effort to get me ready for my first solo flight in the T-34C. Before they give me the keys, they've got to break me down, teach me what I need to know to fly the plane out of any disorienting situation, and then reinforce that knowledge until I can do it automatically and mechanically while spinning toward the dirt at 12,000 feet per minute.<br /><br />I have only two more flights before my "check ride." On that flight, an instructor I've probably never flown with before will make the final judgement as to whether or not I should be allowed to take the plane out on my own.<br /><br />I feel like things are finally starting to come together for me. I had a good flight yesterday. I don't think I had a single one of the "uh... I don't know"-moments that had plagued some of my previous flights. It's still not perfect, but I've got two more flights to smooth out as many of the bumps as I can. The first one is scheduled to brief at 5:30 tomorrow morning.<br /><br />The solo itself is a tremendous rite of passage in the aviation community in general, and the fraternity of Naval Aviation in particular. Most of my squadron mates say it gets a lot easier after the solo- even that the instructors start treating the students better. In any case, it should be a huge boost to my modest aviator ego... ;)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1161546867365458802006-10-22T15:45:00.000-04:002006-10-22T15:54:27.376-04:00Sunrise, SunsetWhat a week. I didn't fly once. We had lousy weather almost every day, the lousiest of which was always at exactly the time I was scheduled to fly. On the one day of the week where the weather was actually great for flying, I was scheduled to brief at 4 in the afternoon. With an hour and half to brief, and sunset at 6:14, half of the "day contact" flight would have been in the dark. When I brought this to the attention of the Flight Duty Officer, I was told to come in an hour or so early so I could get my flight in. But the airplane and instructor were still on their same schedule for the previous flight. Things went exactly according to plan and the brief started at 4. The instructor concluded that we couldn't get enough training done to justify the flight, and we cancelled. That was the most frustrating part of the week, since they basically scheduled me for a flight that was impossible to fly, even if the weather was perfect (which it was).<br /><br />It's been nice to have the time off, but I'm ready to get back to doing what I'm here to do. Tomorrow will make 10 days since my last flight.<br /><br />I went camping with my scouts again on Friday. The weather is really getting nicer for sleeping outside. It was cool enough to make a nice big fire and I even had to wear a jacket for a while in the morning. The Florida winter is settling in... sure a lot better than the real winter we had in Albany!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1161006577327178402006-10-16T09:22:00.000-04:002006-10-16T09:49:37.340-04:00Cloud SurfingIt doesn't look good for me to go flying today. Nothing but rain clouds for a hundred miles in any direction. But we'll see. Maybe I'll at least get the briefing done so next time I can just go fly.<br /><br />Friday, on the other hand, was a wonderful flight. It started off looking like we might not be able to do everything we wanted because of a broken cloud layer around 5,500 ft. There were reports of lowering clouds, decreasing visibility, and a squall line north of the field. But after careful analysis of the weather situation, my instructor decided to launch. Montgomery was reporting clear skies, so we would head north.<br /><br />He called it right. Once we punched through the squall line, the visibility got better. We found a hole in the cloud deck and headed for it. On the first attempt, we were about 400 feet of altitude shy of making the hole, so I did a level 360-degree turn to accelerate. On the second try, we were charging toward the base of the cloud hole at over 150 knots, and we vaulted through into the bright sunlight on top of the clouds. Our working altitude put us only a thousand feet or so above the tops of most of them, but we had to turn frequently to avoid some of the taller ones.<br /><br />On a clear day, it sometimes seems like we're just hovering up there. But with all the clouds close to us, there was a definite sensation of speed. "Cloud surfing" is one of the great pleasures of flying.<br /><br />When our "high work" was done, it was time to head down. The presecribed method of descent for this flight was my introduction to the "spin." A spin is basically just an aggravated stall that results in autorotation of the airplane at about 150 degrees per second and a descent rate of 12,000 feet per minute. I'd been dreading it, but I was feeling good on the airsickness meds the doc had given me, and it was time to face the music.<br /><br />The hole we'd come up through was now about three miles wide. We set ourselves up over it at 9,500 feet. Power off, 30 degrees nose up, rudder at the shakers, full rudder at the stall... The airplane flopped over on its back to the right and settled about 45 degrees nose down with the whole world spinning around us. After a few turns, my instructor put in full left rudder, and in a few more turns the airplane stopped spinning. It took at least five more turns for my head to stop spinning, but I'd survived, and I felt fine. Now, suddenly, we were only at 6,500 feet.<br /><br />The clear skies over Montgomery had by this time worked their way south into our practice area. Our northernmost outlying field was totally clear and beautiful. After about 7 laps around the bounce pattern, we headed home, back into the goo. By the time I left the base, though, the skies were clear all the way down to Pensacola, and we enjoyed absolutely beautiful weather this weekend. Life is good!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1160356543694074802006-10-08T20:58:00.000-04:002006-10-08T21:15:43.710-04:00Hundred-Dollar Hot DogAhhhh, Columbus Day... Nice to have Monday off, right?<br /><br />Yes, it is. But instead of me getting a three-day weekend, they just made last week a six-day work week. I had two flights yesterday. Fortunately, they're my last two under the hood for a while.<br /><br />I almost didn't get to go flying. The instructor I flew with really grilled me on my emergency procedures during the brief and promptly convinced both of us that I really don't know them as well as he thought I should. He almost gave me a "ready room unsat" which would mean not only no flights, but some extra disciplinary paperwork in my training folder. Ouch.<br /><br />Fortunately, he didn't, and we went flying. Fortunately again, I flew much better than I briefed. My partial-panel timed turns were so good (on one of them I rolled out within two degrees of the assigned heading) that I got my first 5 in the airplane. Most of the other procedures were 4s.<br /><br />On the first leg we flew out to Florala, AL and did all of our high-altitude work. Luckily, we didn't do any partial-panel or unusual attitudes, so my stomach was in great shape for the free lunch they had for us out there. The FBOs (Fixed-Base Operators) that sell fuel at the little airports around here give free/discounted food to fuel customers. So it's common practice for training flights (armed with government credit cards) to go out, buy fuel, have lunch, and fly back, thereby accomplishing two training flights in one day. It's also quite a boon to the local general aviation business. I'm pretty sure most of these places wouldn't even exist if not for military "fuel customers."<br /><br />The trip home introduced the dreaded partial-panel unusual attitude recoveries. These require getting the plane back to straight-and-level flight with no outside reference and no "artificial horizon" or heading gyros in the cockpit. All I had was a turn needle (tells the rate of turn and in which direction), an altimeter, and a vertical speed indicator. All of those instruments have a considerable lag in their responses, and so using them to recover from an unusual attitude is a process of bracketing and oscillation until the airplane finally settles back down.<br /><br />I didn't puke this time, but I was sucking oxygen all the way home and was feeling generally miserable for quite a while. I've got an appointment first thing Tuesday morning to see the flight surgeon about my airsickness. I'll probably be on drugs for my next few flights. Kinda scary, huh?Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1160175883557027252006-10-06T18:55:00.000-04:002006-10-06T19:04:43.570-04:00Fly-By-Night OperationAfter three days in a row of double-pumping through the Basic Instruments simulator flights, I finally got a little break! Yesterday I didn't have to fly until sunset, which gave me a chance to sleep in. I made out all right in the sims, though. My last flight got me all 4s.<br /><br />Things went pretty well in the airplane last night, too. Taking off at sunset was beautiful, and the air at 13,000 feet was cool and smooth. The plane handled (surprise!) a lot like the simulator, and there weren't really any surprises on my maneuvers.<br /><br />The big surprise came in the form of how much my vestibular (and digestive) system didn't like the unusual attitude recoveries we did. After an extreme nose high (nose 35 degrees up, airspeed below 100 knots), for which the recovery is to bank the plane over 90 degrees, then use the rudder to slice the nose down below the horizon, level the wings, and gently pull up, we did another one kind of like it. I flew them both well and by-the-books, but after that I started feeling a little woozy. So we had to knock it off and head home. I made it most of the way back all right, but suddenly as we were lining up to land, well, you can guess what happened. If you still can't, I'll just say that the first thing I wanted to do when I got home was brush my teeth.<br /><br />It's about par for the course, though, and it doesn't stop me from flying two more flights tomorrow (Saturday). The good part about flying on the weekend is I fly from the civilian airport right by where I live instead of driving all the way up to Whiting. We're gonna fly out somewhere on the first flight, grab some lunch, and fly back. Should be an interesting day. And best of all, I get Monday off!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1159843605388915222006-10-02T22:22:00.000-04:002006-10-02T22:46:45.423-04:00Double TimeAs advertised, my operational tempo has been stepped up. Today I had not one but TWO simulator flights. The first one went extremely well. My altitude control was dead on for my constant-angle-of-bank turns. The instructor said he never saw deviation of more than +/- 25 feet, if that much. The course standards are 100 feet, so that was good enough to earn me my first "5" in my flight training career. A "5" is the highest score possible, and is reserved for performance clearly exceeding course standards. The rest of my grades on that flight were all 4s. I was having a good morning. The second flight, after lunch, wasn't as good. I got an even split of 3s and 4s. I guess I'm just not as sharp the second time around.<br /><br />The "simulators" I'm flying aren't what you'd probably picture as a flight simulator. It's a T-34C cockpit mounted on hydraulic rams to provide some sensation of motion, but there is no outside visual reference. I perform all of the maneuvers on instruments alone. So far, though, I'm doing better with my basic airwork on instruments than I was in the actual airplane with a distinct horizon and a million miles' visibility. Go figure.<br /><br />I'm scheduled for two more sims tomorrow. At least I don't start until 9:30. That'll get me almost three more hours of sleep than I got last night. If I get two more sims on Wednesday, I'll be done with sims and back to the airplane by the end of the week. Even if I only get one a day, I could still be back in the plane by Friday.<br /><br />Two events a day is exhausting, but it's really nice to be bashing through the syllabus quickly. It may be hard for someone not familiar with flying to understand how a couple of "flights" in the instrument simulator can wipe you out like a full day's work, but I can't readily think of anything else that demands so much focus and multi-tasking as flying a plane on instruments. It's tough sometimes, but it's not lost on me what an amazing opportunity I've got here. This place really is the Julliard of aviation. Life is good!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1159670485315133312006-09-30T22:23:00.000-04:002006-09-30T22:41:25.330-04:00...3 ...2 ...1 ...Happy (Fiscal) New Year!It's been said that if God had meant for man to fly, He would have given him more money. Laws of aerodynamics notwithstanding, it's well-known in the community that the primary force which holds aircraft aloft is not "lift" but rather "funding." Even military flight training is not exempt from the grasp of the all-powerful bean counters.<br /><br />So, I was quite lucky to get my fourth flight in on Wednesday. At least half of the squadron's flights were cancelled. On Thursday, the only sorties were a section of two aircraft going out on a formation flight. I'm not sure if anyone flew on Friday. But Monday, I'm told, is a new "fiscal" year. And while this has no actual physical significance, it does mean that our squadron's purse will be fat with flying hours to spend. Word on the street is "stand by." Apparently there are a lot of instructors getting anxious to get more hours in the cockpit, and the training schedule is expected to intensify greatly.<br /><br />I've got a few things left to do before I get back in the cockpit. I have three more simulator "flights" left in the Basic Instruments syllabus. The first one was last night (Friday) at 6:50. The Mrs. and I were both thrilled when we saw that on the schedule. Much more fun than the camping trip we had planned. But it went well for me. I followed my instructor's advice with regard to instrument scan patterns, and it payed off. I nailed all of my maneuvers and exceeded course standards on everything we did. I guess I just felt like I'd better not be spending Friday night at work if I wasn't going to do a good job.<br /><br />The next two sims are scheduled for Monday. If I do the fourth on Tuesday, I could be back in the saddle by the end of this week. I'll have three instrument flights (in the back seat with a big hood over me so I can't see outside) before I get to go back to the Contact syllabus with my onwing. At the expected operational tempo, though, it might not take very long at all to get there.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1159300376967639322006-09-26T15:35:00.000-04:002006-09-26T15:55:55.853-04:00Back to SchoolSince my onwing had duty somewhere else today, I pulled an interesting job: Berryhill Elementary School. I was scheduled to spend two hours there this morning, and not really told what I'd be doing. I ended up in the fourth-grade class of a very brave substitute who seemed glad for some extra adult supervision. A few minutes after I got there, another guy from my squadron showed up. The sub wasn't sure what to do with us, but the kids seemed to know. I guess it's a standing arrangement with teh squadron to have "VT-2 volunteers" at the school. It was a good, deal, though, and the kids loved having us there. We even got a school lunch on the house. Brought back a lot of memories. School lunch has sure come a long way in the last 15 years, too.<br /><br />Yesterday's flight went wonderfully. Of course there's still plenty for me to work on, but my airwork is, in the estimation of my instructor and myself, coming along nicely. I think they'll make a pilot out of me yet.<br /><br />The best part about the flight was I got to do five touch-and-go landings at an outlying field. Pattern work is probably my favorite part of flying, because it's challenging and bears so heavily in the evaluation of any pilot's skill. Good, solid airmanship in the landing pattern covers a multitude of other sins in the cockpit. The first few passes were kind of rough, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Naval landing patterns are much tighter and faster than civilian traffic patterns. Instead of two 90-degree turns and a base leg before the final approach, the naval pattern uses a single, descending 180-degree turn which should spit you out on a short (1,000-ft.) final approach with 10-12 seconds before your wheels hit the pavement. It feels like even less time than that. By the third lap around, I was setting the plane down on centerline, on the right spot, and even with a nice little bit of flare for a reasonably soft landing.<br /><br />Hopefully they'll have me on the schedule for my fourth flight tomorrow. The weather here is amazing this week- clear, not humid, and not even hot. It's a shame I'll be back in the simulators for a week or two after tomorrow's flight. But after that, it's only about 10 more flights until I get to solo!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1158888967404523392006-09-21T21:14:00.000-04:002006-09-21T21:36:07.426-04:00Clear and a Million"I'm already running late," I thought to myself as I got ready to run out the door this morning. I looked at the clock. 5:03 am. It occured to me, at that instant, that no one, anywhere, should ever be late for anything at five in the morning. <br /><br />I wasn't late. I got to Whiting Field just after 5:30 for a 6:15 brief. My brief wasn't actually scheduled until 10:15, but my onwing was flying the same hop with the guy before me, so he let us brief at the same time, allowing for a quicker turnaround and getting us all home sooner today. So I had to get up earlier, but I got to be done and home for a late lunch, and I got to fly before the hottest and bumpiest part of the day.<br /><br />It was a beautiful day to fly today. 60 degrees at dawn. Ceiling and visibility were, as we say on days like today, "clear and a million." I was a little disappointed to have to wait my turn for almost two hours on the ground, but it gave me a few more minutes to study the maneuvers and, more importantly, plenty of time to just sit on the bench behind the line shack watching the planes taxi in and out and enjoying the cool, clean morning air. In that time I was able to wake up, calm myself down, and get my mind in exactly the right spot to have a very solid second flight. I flew well, and even though it was bumpy and hot down low on the way home, I made it through the flight without even "passive" airsickness this time.<br /><br />There are still a few things I need to work on, but for the most part my airwork was very much improved today. I'm even getting the hang of taxiing the T-34, which is harder than it looks since the nosewheel pivots but is not directly steerable by the pilot. My instructor said in the debrief that I'm already performing above average for this stage in the syllabus, even though the grades on the first four flights don't count. He pulled duty for tomorrow, though, so I won't get to fly again until at least Monday. Believe it or not, I'm actually quite contented to have a three-day weekend.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1158715470190306192006-09-19T21:02:00.000-04:002006-09-19T21:27:11.256-04:00It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's DAVE!Well, today was the big day... my first ride in the mighty T-34C! We had massive thunderstorms rolling through all day yesterday, all night, and into the morning today, but just before I left for my brief this morning, the rain stopped, the clouds broke, and everyone and their dog at Whiting Field made a mad dash for the flight line to go fly. My brief ended up being delayed by about an hour while I waited for my onwing to get back from his previous flight. But I had a good brief and we went out to fire up our plane.<br /><br />The flight went about as well as it could be expected to go. It was quite a rush to go zooming past puffy clouds at an effortless 170 knots. We flew around the practice area above and around the clouds, checking out important and defining landmarks below while we practice some turns and stalls. My airwork was far from perfect, but I actually got above the course standards on several maneuvers.<br /><br />I got a little woozy doing some of the airwork, but after a few minutes on oxygen and a sip of water I was feeling better. When we went back down low for the trip home, though, we got down into some bumpy air again, and I really started feeling it. I didn't throw up, but what happened counts as "passive" airsickness. By the time we landed, I'd pretty much drained our oxygen bottle. But that little thing got me home without seeing my lunch again, so it's the hero of the day in my book. I'm sure I'll be fine once I acclimate, probably with just another flight or two.<br /><br />The T-34 is really a fun little airplane. It's very responsive, but also quite stable and I don't think I'll have much trouble at all getting it to fly just how I want it to on future flights. It's basically a 4,400-lb. Beechcraft Bonanza with a 425-hp. engine on the front of it. And for the next six months, it's my office.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1158544978842508252006-09-17T21:43:00.000-04:002006-09-17T22:03:19.260-04:00Love is in the AirAnd I should be, too, come Tuesday. The title of today's long-overdue post, however, takes inspiration from the sudden and overwhelming appearance of what the locals call "love bugs" which, by my scientific estimate, have taken over the entire state of Florida. These bugs fly around all day, well, let's just say, in VERY close formation. The trouble is, in this state, they lose any semblance of maneuverability and frequently collide with people, cars, other bugs... everything. It's annoying, at least, and kind of disturbing...<br /><br />Anyway, in other news: I've officially jumped through every hoop to start flying. Friday I did my "Fam Zero" with my "onwing" (the instructor I'll have for 9 of my first 12 flights) and now I'm ready for "Fam 1" as soon as the schedule clears up. My instructor was unavailable to fly me tomorrow, so instead of just giving me the day to study and adjust, they scheduled me to stand watch as Squadron Duty Officer from 8 in the morning to 8 at night tomorrow. For 12 hours, I'll be sitting behind the front desk at the squadron, in khakis, and not doing much more than answering the phone. I'm really not excited about it at all. But, it's better than getting the PM shift (from 8 at night to 8 in the morning) so I really shouldn't complain too much. At least I'll have plenty of time to study and maybe even do some recreational reading.<br /><br />Friday night I went camping. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it here or not, but I was asked by my church to be scoutmaster when I showed up and they found out I'm an eagle scout. Friday was the second time I've been camping with this outfit. It was a good time. The boys are all really good. The other leader is a salty retired firefighter known to his friends as "Butch" and to the boys as "Brother E." He's a great guy and he's been doing a phenomenal job with the scouts, but he's getting older and has trouble keeping up with them. That's where I come in. I've committed to take them camping on the third Friday of every month. It's tough to spend a Friday night away from my wife, but it's a good thing for the boys and it's a good chance for me to pay back some of the good I got from my time as a scout.<br /><br />This time I messed up and accidentally took my wife's toothbrush camping with me... I was sure I'd be in the doghouse when I got home, so I stopped at the store and got here a new toothbrush and stuck it in the middle of a boquet of flowers. By the time I got home late in the afternoon, though, she'd pretty well gotten over it and we had a good laugh. And, after hardly seeing me at all for the last six days, it was finally her turn to have me for the rest of the weekend. Today we spent the afternoon cooking an Indian feast of beef-and-spinach curry, naan, and mango lassi. We emptied the dishwasher before we started and had to run it, jammed full, as soon as we were done. But the apartment smelled like a five-star Indian restaurant, and the meal was phenomenal- well worth the effort. Once again, life is good.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1157681836453113752006-09-07T22:07:00.000-04:002006-09-07T22:21:12.266-04:00The Longest DayGround school is still going swimmingly. I had my second test today and only missed one question. I'm still right on track for the commodore's academic award. I've also been doing Cockpit Procedures Trainers (CPTs) this week. Today was the first one with in-flight emergencies. Even when I know it's not real, there's still something unnerving about seeing that big, red "FIRE" light flashing at the top of the panel.<br /><br />I'm finding out that it's one thing to be able to remember an emergency procedure from a flashcard while you're sitting on your couch, and a different thing entirely to do it while you're sitting in a mock cockpit with red lights flashing and your altimeter unwinding before your eyes. I imagine it's more difficult still to do it in an actual airplane, which is why I'm grateful for the training I'm getting now, even if it is kind of tricky.<br /><br />The hardest part so far is just the schedule. Tuesday, the day after a lovely three-day weekend, I eased back into this stuff with a 13-hour day, starting with an exam at 6 in the morning and ending up with a CPT at 4 in the afternoon. I got home at 6:30, had dinner, watched a movie with my wife, and collapsed into bed at 9. Yesterday wasn't so bad- another early morning, but I was home by about 5. Today was actually quite civilized, and tomorrow will be fine, too.<br /><br />But having a different schedule every day is difficult for the human body, which likes to find equilibrium and predictability in sleeping and eating patterns. I guess it's all part of the program to get us acclimated to the demands of operational aviation. My mind truly enjoys the variety of doing things a little differently each day, but it's just hard for my body to keep up sometimes. When the body shuts down, the brain might as well go offline for a few hours, too. Speaking of which.....*yawns* <yawns>.....Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1157310415400495962006-09-03T14:49:00.000-04:002006-09-03T15:06:55.446-04:00Sipping from the Fire HoseI sure am glad it's a long weekend. It's only fair that a long weekend should follow such a long week!<br /><br />This week was my T-34C Systems Familiarization Course. Basically, that means that in three days of class from 8-4 (plus studying at home every night) I have learned way more about every mechanical and electrical component of the old Turbo Mentor than I ever wanted to know. I only missed one question on the exam, which means the first score on my card for primary is a 98%. I'm satisfied.<br /><br />In the midst of doing all that, I've been getting ready for the work I have this coming week: Cockpit Procedures Trainers (CPTs). For this, they put us each in a fully-functional mock cockpit and have us go through cockpit checklists and emergency procedures. Each event lasts about two hours. I've got one every day. The first one will be fairly easy, as it's just the "normal" checklists for starting the plane up, taking it off, flying it around, and shutting it down after landing. All checklists are to be read (we're told NOT to memorize checklists), so the first one should be pretty easy. But after that they're going to throw in emergency procedures, which MUST be memorized. So by the end of this week I will have memorized all 32 emergency procedures.<br /><br />There are also two more written exams which I have to complete on my own time (the classroom training is on the computer from here on) in addition to a few other lectures sprinkled throughout the week.<br /><br />But in two more weeks I'll be back with my squadron and ready to get on the flight schedule for my first ride in the front seat of a T-34.<br /><br />Life is still good, even if my work schedule leaves me gasping for air sometimes. It's tough, but enjoyable. So far, so good. We'll have to see how it goes in the "cockpit" this week...Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1156736549699165742006-08-27T23:25:00.000-04:002006-08-27T23:42:29.723-04:00What's a "Doerbird"?Tomorrow I officially begin my primary flight training with Training Squadron Two (VT-2), the legendary "Doerbirds." VT-2 has the disctinction of being the oldest primary training squadron in the Navy. That leaves me wondering why, if they ostensibly had first pick of squadron mascots, they would choose a "doerbird." I have no idea what a "doerbird" is. Hang on... Google might know...<br /><br />Okay. VT-2 officially made up the word "doerbird." But that's fine. I will be a proud "doerbird" anyway, whatever they are! Looks like I'll have a few weeks of ground school before I actually start flying. But once I do get off the ground, I'm supposed to solo after the first 10 or so hops. So far the Navy hasn't trusted me with very much, so I imagine I'm going to have to work REALLY hard before they trust me with my very own T-34C for an hour.<br /><br />I am expecting this to take no less than my best efforts all around. But it's thrilling to know that I've got a shot at something like this, and I'm thoroughly prepared. Our household goods finally arrived this week, and I've had two weeks off to finish getting settled here and spend some time with my wife. If I'd have had another week off, we would have gone camping in Alabama or Tennessee for a couple of nights. But I suppose our little vacation will have to wait.<br /><br />Life is really, really good. I'll be classing up tomorrow with a bunch of good friends from my API class, so I've got good prospects for a study group/carpool. Morale is high all around. Here we go!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25203672.post-1155750319173488292006-08-16T13:32:00.000-04:002006-08-16T13:45:19.186-04:00Hurry Up and Wait... For NowAfter our inauspicious API graduation on Friday, I checked in at Whiting Field on Monday morning with equally little glamour. A few briefs in the morning, the obligatory spiel from the Commodore, and I was on my way home shortly after noon.<br /><br />I'll be classing up for Primary on the 28th with VT-2. I think our mascot is a little red bird of some kind. Not quite as mean-sounding as the VT-3 "Red Knights" or the VT-6 "Shooters," but it'll do.<br /><br />The nice thing about this little mini-stash is I don't have to drive over to Whiting every day. Monday through Thursday I just have to phone in sometime between 7 and 10 in the morning. Friday morning is the only time I have to be physically present. The Mrs. and I are thinking of taking a camping trip to Tennessee (the nearest mountains) next week after the rest of our furniture arrives on Monday or Tuesday.<br /><br />Life is good. I feel like I struck a good balance between work and other things in API, and I hope it continues to work through Primary.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04951075717235181965noreply@blogger.com0