Flying with Hoovers

Last weekend I had the privilege of taking my in laws for a flight around Spokane. It was a beautiful sunny day and we all had a good time. Thanks for coming along :)

Why it is fun to take a pilot with you to a corn maze

Or if you just want to cheat...

Flying with Steve

Sometimes we can stow away in the back of an airplane during someone else's lesson. Thanks for the flight Steve.

Wrapping up the year

This is the last week of flight for me for 2007. These are some shots I have taken in the last week or so flying around Washington, Idaho and Montana.

Commercial

The last several weeks, I have been working on the first stage of my commercial test. To become a commercial pilot you must pass a written exam, a six hour oral exam and a flight exam. I have passed the written and the first stage of the flying exam. It has been a lot of fun so far and I feel much more confident as a pilot. At the same time, it is mind boggling to think about how much more there is to learn.

Kodiak TC Video

This is just a short montage of Kodiak flying from yesterdays party.

Kodiak Type Certificate Party

Today we got to take a break from the flying and take a drive up to Sandpoint to celebrate the certification of Quest Aircraft companies Kodiak. It was nice to drive under the ominous clouds and avoid the winter storm warning. Up at Quest we enjoyed some hangar flying, a formation Kodiak flight, great lunch, speeches from the who's who of Quest, hangar tours and a tribute to Bruce Kennedy. It was great to celebrate with the Quest team and see all their hard work. We can't wait to get a Kodiak at Moody. It will probably not arrive until after I have graduated but I hope to fly one on the field someday.

More Signs of fall. Punkin Chunkin and colorful corn. Leslie and I went up to Green bluff for the weekend and had a nice relaxing time taking in the sights. It was not like the big event in Delaware but it was still fun to watch.

Mountain Flying

Fall is here. It has been a busy few weeks as we have been trying to wrap up several training transitions in high performance and complex airplanes while preparing for our commercial written tests. I am pleased to report that I passed my Commercial written last week with a 96%. I am glad that is over. To celebrate I went on a long cross country flight to Montana. Sorry we missed you Joel. We stopped in Bonners Ferry in Idaho and Plains Montana. It was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed having two of my friends ride along in the back. It was beautiful to see all the colors of fall and learn more about the navigational skills it takes to fly low in the mountains and stay safe while not getting lost. It was some of the most enjoyable flying I have done in a while. Next week I start the flying portion of my Commercial certification. I will also post some more pictures of the Montana trip.

Riding For Koti

A few weekends ago, Leslie and I went to Wenatchee to ride in the dam2dam bike event to raise money for finding a cure for paralysis. We are praying for you Koti.

October is almost here and the flying has been intense. August and September brought their challenges to our flight schedule. The Decathalon that I had hoped to complete my tail wheel training has been out of commission for weeks with a mysterious maintenance issue. Lucky for me that means the I was able to fly the Harley Cub. It was an absolute blast. If you want the chance to fly it. It will be on sale in Yakima next Monday for a mere 150 grand. What a bargin :)

Peachy Keen

As fall arrived and the airplanes where all down for the count, the going got tough so the tough went and picked peaches. Spokane has a wonderful collection of farmers that grow a wonderful variety of fruit and vegetables this time of year. Leslie and I have made a tradition of going and picking fruit, apples, and pumpkins around this time of year.

That is a long story. You can write and ask about that one. It did not help our schedule either.

What goes up must come down. Thing is, airplanes run well on gas but not well on just air. The poor airplane was blowing bubbles in the fuel and was having a real tough time keeping the big fan up front spinning. That made us nervous, especially over the mountains below. We finally towed it to the shop when it refused to run anymore.

Chimney Rock

The last flight of the Decathalon was a great one. My instructor and I flew a cross-country flight up into north Idaho to some small mountain airstrips. During the flight I noticed a very familiar rock down below us. It was the same place I had been in Explore in 2001 during our rock climbing specialization. It was fun to see it from the air.

Yellowstone

Leslie and I took a much needed vacation to Yellowstone. Thank you for the hospitality on the way Gary and Joyce. We had a wonderful time exploring the park. If you want to see more pictures and just where they were taken. Click on over to an album of some of the pictures we took. Yellowstone Album

All the other cub pictures

Harley Cub

A mysterious new vehicle has joined the fleet. While it is only a temporary arrangement, we are now the proud custodians of the worlds only Harley Davidson customized super Cub. I recently received my tail wheel endorsement and I can't wait to fly this airplane. These pictures are for you Bill :)

Most recently I have begun my training in a tail wheel airplane called a Decathalon. It was made by an Italian named Bellanca whose claim to no-fame was that Charles Lindberg wanted to fly one of his airplanes across the ocean but Bellanca's partner wanted to be able to pick who would fly the airplane first. They turned down Lindberg's $15,000 check as well as a place in history. Oh well, his design lives on here at Moody and it truly is a great airplane. With a paint scheme like that, you can't help but feel a little patriotic when you fly it. :)

As part of my training in the 206, we did a cross country flight. I had such a good time at banks that I wanted to go back and have an aerial visit. If you are up to a pilot challenge, find the Southwest Airlines 737 in the above pictures, and the message in the grass on short final into felts field :)

After finishing Instrument, the next phase of training was in our high performance and complex airplanes. That means airplanes with more than 200 hp and variable pitch propellers/retractable gear respectively. You are probably content to just look at the pictures and know that the Cessna 206 carries 6 passengers and the Cessna 182RG carries 4. :)