Thursday, December 31, 2009

The never ending road to comercial status

It's December. I STILL haven't got my commercial pilot license!

It was supposed to all happen quite quickly once I passed the written back in May. But travel schedules, the need to change instructors (twice), and to use a heavily booked club aircraft all caused delays until October.

I had everything done, all requirements met and the examiner booked for late October, when the club's Arrow, the only complex airplane (retractable wheels and constant speed propeller) available, suffered problems with it's undercarriage (would not retract). The club mechanic diagnosed the problem, and shipped the offending part off for repair.

By the time it came back, the aircraft's annual inspection was due, so it was out of service for 2 whole months. Now it's back, and I have the examiner booked for January 22, 2010. In the meantime, I have to get 3 hours more training because the FAA rules say that I have to have had 3 hours within the 60 days prior to the test.

Raaaghhhhh!!!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Give me Liberty or give me WiMAX

Here's a video I produced from a trip to Panama City:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJpdo_hArHI