Here we go...

Greetings All!!!!

So I have done the blog thing before, but quit early on. This is my attempt to "keep it going"...I guess we'll see how that goes. Well, long story short, as you saw, I am an FE in the Air Force. I love the job and really am lucky to get paid doing such an awesome job. What's so bad you ask? Well, this job is going away outside the AF, so as much as I would enjoy it, I know I need to do something else when my gig with Uncle Sam is over. OK, so my plan now is to go get the training and experience to do part 135 freight when I finish up in the AF. For those who are unaware, part 135 is usually single-pilot airplanes flying at night to small towns picking up boxes to bring back to the larger cities. So, if you live in po-dunk and send a package via Fed-Ex, instead of sending a big 'ole 767 to pick-up a handful of boxes, the job is contracted out. These smaller companies are part 135 (which refers to the aviation regulation section 135) carriers and operate under different rules than Fed-Ex or an airline. If you are curious about these kind of carriers, you can Google "Airnet" and see a good outfit and where they are and what they do.

OK, now with that over, I need to summarize where I am. I have been involved in aviation for many years, so the basics of airplanes I really understand. I REALLY understand airplane systems and have a "general" idea of instrument flight....it's the actual flying part I am working on. So, to get everyone up to speed, I have started my primary training (private pilot) training and have a whopping 8.3 hours and 6 lessons under my belt. So far, things have been OK. I think I am doing very well with my maneuvers (stalls, ground reference stuff) and such, but my landings suck. Since I have been flying on the C-5 for over 10 years, my sight picture of the runway is way messed up. I tend to come in way high and flare about 50 feet over the numbers...well, that doesn't work out too well. In my last couple of lessons, I have only had a couple touch and go's and I told my instructor that I would REALLY like to practice the landings, and he said the next couple of rides we will do that. I am trying to fast track this as much as possible so I can start building time. If I had the time available, I would go to one of the accelerated places and get it knocked out, but that would mean giving up vacation time, which I am not ready to do. The only REAL complaint I have now is the scheduling. I have availability to fly 3 or 4 times a week, but so far it is working out to just once or twice a week. I am hopeful that if I can get the landings figured out then I can go practice the ground reference stuff solo. Really, if it wasn't for scheduling issues with the instructor, I would be flying 5 or 6 times a week!!! But, until then I am stuck dealing with scheduling issues.

OK, guess that is a fairly good introduction. I am scheduled to fly tomorrow and 3 times next week, so I will let you know how that goes!!!

Oh yes, one other thing. The title "Into the distance" is from the Pink Floyd song...you know about learning to fly.