My Everest Buddy!

Last year, right about this exact time of the year, Kim (pictured) was helping me prepare for a speech contest. Kim is a drama and speech teacher at my high school by the way. So anyway, my topic finally (after a lot of torment) became: Climb Your Everest. I figured out that my "Everest" was getting my pilot's license...a goal I had had since I was 7 years old. Kim quickly figured out that her "Everest" was to do a full marathon. We both committed right then to Climb our Everest! Last year at this time it seemed impossible for both of us. We are both full time teachers and we are both parents with younger children. Neither one of us is rich and Kim spends a lot of her time getting her students ready for their plays and speech tournaments etc and my son has special needs and special medical needs and of course that takes time and energy as well. I can say from my side, it was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be, but it didn't turn out to be impossible. This fall I was about to quit again when Kim caught a lucky break and had the opportunity to run in the NYC marathon! I was a little jealous at first, because now she had a tailwind so to speak and was super motivated...she had caught a lucky break. But, I was sincerely happy for her and a few days later I recommitted to get my climb up my Everest moving in high gear. I found a new instructor and a new airplane that fit me better and 2 weeks later I had summitted my Everest! 2 weeks later Kim ran her marathon in New York...it is really amazing how powerful goals can be especially if you think them out clearly and have an "Everest" buddy. Climbing an Everest is empowering and addictive. Kim now has the goal of running the Chicago marathon and then wants to run a marathon in all 50 states! A really cool goal. For me as far as flying goes, I want to be able to fly frequently enough to keep my skills honed, get my instrument rating, get a glider rating and then eventually become a flight instructor on weekends and summers. I also really want to help other people climb their Everest. My wife Suzanne is now laying the ground work to start her Everest climb...more on that later.

2nd Passengers!

Friday after school I took my second passengers for a flight....Steffi and Annika (our hostdaughter from Germany)! It was cold, but it was a beautiful evening with a full moon rising as the sun was setting. Luckily, the air was very smooth and as soon as we took off, both girls were not at all afraid and really enjoyed the flight. We flew from 1H0 to KSET where Annika and Steffi switched seats. I was especially happy with my 2nd landing...a real confidence booster.

Foreflight App with the iPad

I recently purchased the Foreflight App for our iPad. It looks like it will work really well and it is really fun just to plan flights. It is especially a confidence builder for flying around and under Class B airspace. It has moving map showing you exactly where you are at all times. I have been wanting to do an Arch fly by for a while now, but until I had this, I wasn't comfortable trying it as a new pilot. As you can see on the pic from the iPad, I have planned out a circular route that includes an Arch fly by. It took me all of 3 minutes to put this together. There are lots of really cool features on this and I will be happy to answer any questions anyone has for me on this. Of course, I haven't tried it in the air yet...but, I plan to take my first flight with my new toy Friday after school.
For a completely economical option, especially for poor pilots or flying teachers (such as myself), I recommend a the etrex by Garmin. We bought ours (yes, this is "yellowjacket" for those of you who follow my blog) for $89 bucks on walmart.com. Right now they are $69! It is amazing what it will do and how simple it is. The only downside is plugging in coordinates....but it is highly accurate and gives you a ton of information...and it is a really easy, cheap insurance policy against being lost....just follow the arrow!! Plus the batteries (2 AA) last a really long time! I bought duracell rechargeables. Again feel free to put any questions or comments you might have below!

Tower Tour!!

Thanks to a friend who is an air traffic controller, we were invited to tour the ATC tower at KCPS or St. Louis Downtown. A nice tower, great view and friendly people. I had lots of questions and I really learned a lot. Can't wait to fly over and do some much needed practice at a controlled field in this case Class D airspace. I also talked extensively about how to do my Arch fly by that I am planning. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Takeoff 3DW

Here I am last summer on my first long XC taking off for home from 3DW. Thanks to Rick for filming and to Uncle Garry, Dan and Tindall for meeting me there for a spectacular memory. Note the flagpole banging around in the wind and it was also 109 degrees that day with high humidity!

First Passengers!

Like a dream come true...last weekend I took up my first passengers: Sue and Teddy! Teddy has been talking about this all year. Last year on his birthday--Nov 3, we went up in Hotel Alpha with my instructor...Teddy loved it...but he wanted to go "with just us". Last year at this time, I wasn't even actively taking lessons...but it was Teddy's persistence in asking me about it (like everyday) that, in part, got me going again...so last year on my birthday--Dec 28, I started back again and this time I finished. I finished by his birthday, which was a goal in my head this whole time. Teddy totally loved the flight as you can see from the pic...we flew north along the Mississippi, saw the Winfield damn and circled Athy Farm. He wants to go up on his birthday again next week...this time he wants to a fly-by of the Arch! So, I have been busy studying the airspace and procedures so that I get it just right.

The Summit!

I made it! I'm at the top of my Everest. It still hasn't sunk in yet....things moved with amazing speed over the last few weeks. I passed my oral interview and my checkride. I met the examiner at 7:00 this morning and a few hours later I was a fully licensed as a private pilot!! It was all difficult and stressful beyond words....this was truly my Everest. Luckily, all of the pressure of speaking in the Toastmaster contests had really prepared me well for the oral exam and even memorizing the manuevers on the flight itself. A lot to say, but it has been a long, but glorious day and I am completely exhausted. I can say it was worth it...all of the trouble, the worries, the expense, the brickwalls that were overcome...I buried a lot of demons and I really feel a difference in myself for the better. Of course, I didn't do this alone, "Team Everest" was behind me all the way!! Pictured is my young, bold instructor and behind us is "my" Piper Cherokee! It looks really sharp in the morning sun!

Gonna Fly Now!

Gonna Fly Now! Engine is repaired, all systems are go. For sure there are tough times and changes ahead, but I am steeling myself for the final sprint to the finish. Won't be making another entry until I have my certificate...stay tuned!!

Not cleared for takeoff

I figured that something would come up...and now it is the engine on the Cherokee...low compression in one of the cylinders. This was discovered on his (he seems to be male) 100 hr inspection. So my well laid and intricate plans to take my checkride on Tuesday have been bumped...so training is now scheduled for Thurs and Friday with the checkride on Saturday afternoon. Of course, when something like this happens you have to re-group and make the best of it...making the best of it in this case means studying more, preparing more and organizing all of my materials. Might head to the spirit pilot shop and get a new pilot bag and maybe a kneeboard for the XC portion. This is going to be a struggle until the bitter end...but I am exorcising a lot of demons here and they don't go down easy! Worried about weather now too...supposed to be really windy on Thur and Fri...little less windy on Saturday...oh well...I've flown in a LOT of wind during my training.

Carry on my wayward son!

Two songs have been with me this week for my final ascent up my "Everest". One that is particularly fitting is Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas. I heard it on my way to the airport earlier this week...not only am I from Kansas originally, but the words really fit too. The second song I heard was on the new series Pan Am...a really cool song from the 60's sung by Steve Lawrence: On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

Crunch time!!!

On final aproach....Checkride in 4 days...memorizing, fighting demons, fighting doubt, memorizing, practicing, drilling, flying, memorizing, studying....not to mention teaching..which is my full time job and family time...a crazy time...but all systems are go and everything is coming together...I've turned from base to final...winds are calm....just hold the course....

FAA Checkride

Don't have time for a nice picture or to write much...but this is an exciting and crazy time!! I am scheduled for my checkride on Tuesday!!! Flying and studying every night after school....crazy...but exciting.

Back to the Cherokee?

It has been a few years....23 to be exact, since I flew a Cherokee, but tomorrow it is back to the Cherokee! I have been struggling (my wife would say struggling is a comical understatement) to finish my license lately and having trouble seeing over the instrument panel on the 172 while reaching rudder pedals...my friend Lynn (who happens to own a Cherokee) suggested I find a "short student pilot friendly Cherokee"...so that is exactly what I am doing. My "new instructor" made a bold decision...which has me hooked..."lets just go ahead and go crazy and get this done in 2 weeks...I have a new job starting and need to move on the 16th...so if you really have 46 hours and have really passed the written as you say...let's just get it done!" I was sold on this idea, no time to think...just do! So the final push up my Everest begins.........NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
In other news, one of my fellow climbers and Everest team member, "Marathon Kim", through a stroke of good luck and energy is running the NYC marathon on Nov. 6th!!! So with any luck we will both soon be on top of our Everests!!

Learning to fly is expensive

Another tough week on the climb up my "Everest". Financially, I am stuck at the moment and need to stabilize our situation before I can make the final push. The economy is really tough right now and the value of our home continues to fall and therefore my ability to borrow any money at a decent interest rate isn't possible at the moment. So I spoke to my instructor and I will fly 1x a month to keep my skills up and spend a session with him each weekend getting ready for the oral test (a 3 hour question and answer session before you take your checkride). Things should get easier in the future, but I am not comfortable with bad debt, so for the moment I am more comfortable with slowing the pace a bit so I can catch up. I plan to use the little bit of extra time not flying memorizing the 3 books of materials for the oral. By this point I am quite used to setbacks and that is just part of this climb...it took me several years and several tries before I had the money and psychological confidence to solo, so this is probably no different...just keep pushing...keep my eyes on the summit. As the cliche goes...the only one that can completely stop me is me.

When things got hard this week and I was ready to "throw in the towel" completely...I kept thinking of my hostdaughter from Germany last year...we both love flying and she is an avid skydiver. She would often go to the airport with me during a lesson and loved being around the airport and airplanes as much as I did. I couldn't bear the thought of telling her that I had to quit again, so I had to find a way to continue. I hope this slowdown is only temporary. So without knowing it exactly, Sarah joined the team: "Team Everest" as I call my support people. With a little luck and pushing things as hard as I reasonably can, I will have my license before she returns to America. I think in large part I started taking lessons again last year because of her enthusiasm for all things of the sky.

Sometimes a dream will help things keep moving too. A few weeks ago I had the idea that I will have medals made for all of my support team. I will present the medals with a description of their contribution to my climb after I get my license. I also plan to have a big party after I succeed for my supporters and friends. I can remember a couple similar parties...one was when I got my teaching job...that was a huge ordeal and about as tough and frustrating as my current Everest. The second party that comes to mind was when Teddy turned 6 months old. Nobody really thought he would survive at several points during his first 4 months and we had a big party for all of our supporters at a park after the worst was behind us...even a lot of his doctors came to the party which indicates how crazy and serious our situation was and how miraculous the recovery was. So... on to the next party.

Both photos courtesy of Sarah Zapf

Helping others climb

I am continually dumbfounded and surprised about how tough this climb up "my Everest" is. So many things to remember, too many things to remember and know to keep myself and possible future passengers safe. But, enough vent, my instructor is on vacation and my assignment was to do some flying, practice landings etc at least once in his absence. All week it has just been windier than hell...finally it calmed down a little Thursday evening...but it was still windy, so I decided I would go out to KFES, sit in Hotel Alpha and go thru a whole flight and several landings using visualisation only (well, sort of only because I was actually in the cockpit). But, after going thru all of the motions awhile, I noticed that the winds died down a little and a few other pilots were firing up taking off, so it had been a while and I had never completely taken the plane by myself without anyone there...so this was a big step...nobody to see me off...just me and my judgment. As soon as I got in the air, I was spooked a bit, I was climbing too fast it seemed, it was choppy...but I finally got myself together and relaxed, even in the chop and winds and was making a smooth approach headed right for the numbers...about 50 feet AGL a big gust of wind nailed me cross and blew me about 100 feet off course, I quickly dipped the wing into the wind, got back on track and made an extremely smooth crosswind landing. I felt pretty good about it, but didn't really want to risk it again...plus I had to put the airplane into its T-Hanger without help before it got dark (something I had never tried before), so I called it a day. It was a real pain trying to get the plane back in the hangar, luckily one of the airport bums was there and came to the rescue. He told me that I made a great landing, which boosted my confidence. Later, I spent some time talking to him and he told me that I shouldn't have made such a correction close to the ground, although in my case, he said, I had plenty of altitude, but that it was a bad habit, because eventually you might do it too low and knock a wing into the ground. Humbled, I considered the critique and asked him more questions about it and what I should have done in that situation. He recommended a forward slip (which I am not sure I know exactly what is exactly...) or do a go around. So yeah, more to think about...seems I make some kind of mistake each time I'm up, but I do give them lots of careful thought and so far I've never made the same mistake twice. Now, I am not sure what is next, really lost on the mountain so to speak right now...have 3 books of stuff to memorize for the check ride, but I haven't had the time, energy or motivation to hit them very hard. Also, the economy is really killing us and we are running out of money for this endeavour...and it is scary because I don't know how much more I have to go...is it 5 hours? 10 hours? 20 hours? God I don't know....but I do know enough about my life, especially after 42 years, to know that things like this won't come easy for me. But, as many people have told me recently, this is hard for a lot of people, I'm just one of the few that will publicly put my insecurities and mistakes out there...but I do it because I think it will be helpful for others struggling with flying or whatever their "Everest" might be.

Tower Work

I am fulfilling the last of the required elements to be eligible to take my checkride. Last Sunday morning, I clicked off another of those steps...3 solo landings at a field with an operating tower. I flew from KFES to Scott AFB/MidAmerica Airport . It was 33 nm, so a short flight and the temperature was only in the 80's, the first non miserable flight in a while. The humidity was also down, so it was a beautiful morning for flying. A lot of things went well, I was able to hold altitude very well and that had been a problem on my long cross country. I have also just started to get a feel for coordinated flight. For the first time, I could feel that the airplane wasn't coordinated...I looked down at the ball, which confirmed my sensation and I corrected it. Another couple of things went well too, I am very comfortable triangulating off of VOR's and used them to confirm my pilotage navigation. I have also been using a new E6-B app on Sue's iTouch, which is really cool. I used it to calculate the WCA, so another confidence booster there. Finally, I instinctively used the ATIS and adjusted the barometric pressure on the altimeter without even hardly thinking about it...so a lot of things are starting to come together. The downside, right now, is that I am still in my landing slump. I am flairing at not the exact right time and I am constantly fearful of losing too much airspeed on short final and stalling/spinning in. Probably just a fear and not reality as I have never heard as much as the first hint of the stall horn, but after my early flare in Rolla, I have been over thinking my landings. Landing at long, wide runways has been especially troublesome. It changes my whole perspective....I am used to the more difficult 2200'x49' runway at Festus, so the big runways are really alien to me. Also, although I managed, talking to the tower was a bit awkward, but overall I felt good about it and not too intimidated by it. As far as my landings are concerned...this coming weekend, I am just going to take the plane out in some good weather and just keep doing them until I get my touch back hopefully....might also fly down to Perryville and try a big runway again too.
Later on Sunday, I did some hood work, which I am actually pretty comfortable with...probably because of being short, I tend to be locked onto the instruments anyway...so flying 'blind' is nothing new! Still working and struggling with seeing out of the plane and working with cushions to get things just right....really a difficult challenge in this whole climb. I wish I had access to a piper cherokee, but I don't, so I struggle with these Cessnas which are just made for taller people frankly. But, enough venting on that, things are moving forward still somehow and I have made a little more progress on this last stage...I know I need 8 more night landings, 2 more hours of hood work, then 3 hours of practical test prep...those are the legal requirements anyway that are ahead of me. The mantra right now: Keep Climbing!

'The Written'

Annother significant milestone on my climb up my personal Mt. Everest: I passed the Private Pilot FAA Knowledge Test...known in pilot lingo as "the written". I got a 90%, which I was very happy about, especially since I am not a technical person (like an engineer), I didn't take a class--just studied my Gleim materials and the computer test program. I have been literally studying this in bits and pieces for 2 1/2 years and last week I had days where I spent about 10 hours at my computer hitting it...I was actually sore from sitting at my computer so much!

Now on to the final leg of my climb...the checkride or the "ride" as it's known. As much tough climbing as is behind me, I am under no illusions...I expect this last push to the top will be the hardest going of all. I'm close to the summit, but a lot of my endurance and resources are exhausted...but I'm not turning back. I hope to summit and be a private pilot by November. Today's photo is from my flight to Springfield (3DW)...and it was great to have lunch with my friends and family there...after all that is part of the benefit to getting your license...flying to my hometown for lunch and being back home by 2:30 in the afternoon!!

Long Solo Cross-Country

A beautiful, summer morning, as you can see in the photo...this was 8:30...right before I took off. I had spent the last 3 days toiling over my chart, plotting courses, triangulating VOR's, teaching myself how to do wind correction angles and groundspeed with the E6-B, time en route with the E6-B, trying to remember the nuances of filing a flight plan, putting coordinates into my $89 GPS "yellowjacket". I was nervous, I had only gotten a few hours of sleep. First our cat was in a big fight on the front porch, that was at 12:30am, then at 2:00 Teddy woke up with a bad headache...finally I fell asleep about 2:30...alarm clock hit me at 5:50....but, I didn't feel tired...I was too excited and too scared to be tired! After a mad dash of confused preparation and certain I would mess up something, I left home and headed to KFES. After preflight, adding a quart of oil to Hotel Alpha, making sure all of the radios were set up, buying a bottle of water that I knew I would need, I yelled "clear!" (as in clear the prop out of the airplane window) at 8:34. As I taxied to runway 36, I was amazed to see a giant hawk perched on the end of the row of T-hangars you can see behind Hotel Alpha's tail. He wasn't disturbed at all by my presence...I stopped the plane, and I literally saluted him...I felt it was a good omen to see a fellow pilot. I regret not having taken his picture, but I had other things on my mind. A few minutes later and I was airborne, headed west to the VIH VOR near Rolla National. That's when things started to challenge me...first the VOR's weren't working, both dead as hell. I had Yellowjacket, so I didn't panic. I also, turned on my instructor's fancy GPS and all was good. Then panic....I forgot to activate my flight plan...I called FSS on the phone...I told them I left 10 mintues ago and they weren't that happy, but I told them I was a student pilot and asked them to activate it and luckily they were then very friendly about it and all was cool...except for the weather (which was really hot) and the VOR's not working, but the DME radio was reliably clicking down the nautical miles towards the VOR, so I wasn't worried...before I knew it, I had Sullivan right below me as scheduled and soon after that I had visual on the VIH VOR and Rolla National....then more trouble...I had planned to land on one runway based on the weather I was listening to at Rolla, but the windsock was going wild and I decided it was better to land on runway 4....not a good choice! I ended up in a big 10kt crosswind and I flared too early due to the wide runway changing my perspective....so 10 feet off the ground and I'm about to do a crabbed splatdown right into the runway...I lowered the nose just enough to ensure I didn't stall, then pulled back just in time to prevent a hard touchdown, straightened her out as best I could and had a soft, but wobbly landing...I noticed I didn't fear for my safety at all, just worried about how embarrassing it would be if I "screwed the pooch" as the men of the Right Stuff called it. I learned a good lesson or two...first I should have stuck with the original runway and second, I should have done a go around instead of fighting through that landing...but it was all OK (one reason I didn't want to go around was the unbearable heat at pattern altitude), even if my confidence in landing safely ever again was destroyed! Now it is about 100 degrees, I called my instructor on the ground and ask about the VOR's...he did an excellent diagnostic job on the phone fighting over the noise of the engine...finally, we figured out that I wasn't using the right decimal place! How embarrassing...but oh well, we got them going and I was ready to take off...this time on the right runway!! The rest of the flight to 3DW, Springfield downtown, was textbook....everything worked perfectly and my confidence was back...I even called the Springfield tower, my first ever communication with a tower and advised them I was flying under their airspace soon...they gave me a squawk code and that was that...now I was really nervous about my next landing...this time I would have an audience, filming it no less. I am from Springfield and I had my cousin, uncle, step-dad and best friend from high school waiting for me...I didn't want to mess this up and luckily it was perfect....my confidence restored, I pulled up and a nice young fella topped her off with fuel, washed the windshield and pulled over to the little terminal. It was great seeing everyone there waiting for me and it is an experience that I will never forget my whole life. We all went over to the Hong Kong Inn over on Glenstone and had some classic Springfield-style cashew chicken. I drank 2 huge Cokes trying to rehydrate...it was 106 degrees with high humidity!! An hour later, we all headed back to the terminal. My buddy and cousin both took turns sitting in the plane and I filed my flight plan, did a few wind calculations and prepared to head home, this time with a pretty good tailwind...and luckily I even activated the flight plan before I took off!!!
Happily, I bucked the strong winds and had a smooth takeoff for my family and friends. I came back around climbing in the pattern parallel to the field, gave my wings a waggle to wave to my group below and then turned her towards home. I had to stay under 2500 MSL for awhile due to being under SGF's airspace...soon I was clear and I climbed to 5500 MSL where it was a cool 78 degrees! Everything on the trip home went perfectly, except I was having trouble holding my altitude as the afternoon turbulence picked up, but otherwise it was really nice. All of my radios and equipment worked and I was on course the whole time. I really loved the blue of the sky up there, I almost felt at peace and forgot the fear and stress that accompanied me on most of this trip. Another favorite moment was when I flew over Sullivan again...I looked down from 5500 feet and saw the city swimming pool...I could barely make out people in it...I figured they were kids and I smiled and it made me feel really good to know there were probably kids down there having a good time in that pool, cooling off, while I was a mile above them, stressed about getting home and hoping that I wouldn't have another stressful landing. But, down there, they were carefree and and totally unaware that I was worried about landing and worried about money too...learning to fly is expensive and the issues surrounding that were gnawing at me the whole day, making a tough assignment even tougher. But, finally, with Yellowjacket confirming all of my VOR work, I saw the Mississippi River up ahead and KFES nestled in at the base of what was a mountain and now is a concrete factory. The winds were stiff, but blowing mostly right down 36, I was coming in a little too high, I was I tired, stressed and burning hot...sweat filling my eyes and stinging as I came out of my cool altitude and back towards earth. I was still a little high as I neared the field...I added another bit of flaps and I came right down...straightened her out and made a perfect landing....It had been a hell of a day...I made a few mistakes...but I learn from those mistakes and all the time I am getting better... Now, I am totally focusing on the written for the next few weeks and trying to get the finances in order. I made a big step on my climb up my Everest and as usual, it is a tough climb, but I was mostly satisfied. I made it!

One more thing: My nice Hawk friend was nowhere to be seen, he was probably up in thermals enjoying that same lift and turbulence that gave me so many fits holding my altitude.

KENL

I flew yesterday again...it was my hottest flight yet...101 degrees. This time it was a local flight...first we went up and practiced steep turns and power on stalls...both skills are a challenge for me and make me fear the checkride....part of the problem on power on stalls is that I can't see anything unless I have a cloud to know if I am turning or not. Then I went up solo and flew around over the practice field...it was a little windy, but my landings were just fine. I am planning 2 more cross countries at the moment. I plan to go back to Centralia and then my long XC to Springfield, MO. If I get lucky, it looks like I might be able to be ready for my checkride in 14 hours of additional training. Also, I need to take the written. I plan to work on the written this weekend. I did all of the practice questions for Ch. 1 in my Gleim's today and got all of them right...but of course, that is the easiest chapter. The video above is from my trip to Centralia last week...this was on my way home and you can see Nashville, IL coming up on the left and highway 64 below.

Luke, you switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong?

One of the many days I have dreamed of and dreaded on my climb up my Everest: My first "legal" cross country. So many things to think about and so much to learn...plus actually fly the airplane...all at the same time! What a hot day too! It was literally 100 degrees when I landed, but at 3500 MSL it was 78 today...not bad at all...

When I first took off, the crazy GPS in the plane just wouldn't work, I messed with it for a bit and after some choice words, I decided to just turn it off. I had the two VOR's, my map and my trusty handheld $89 GPS "yellowjacket" that at least pointed me in the right direction and told me statute miles to my destination, so I used it to confirm my position along with the DME radio. Amazingly, and to my surprise, the VOR's pretty much worked perfectly, especially I was impressed with the triangulation along the route...not a hitch. I was also surprised that I actually flew right to the VOR and actually saw it both when I was coming in to KENL and when I was taking off back for KFES.

This was by far the best day I have had in the air so far and one that I will never forget. It was a also a great reward for fighting through a couple of really tough weeks in this climb.

How do airplanes fly?

According to Bournoulli's principal it has something to do with the shape of the wing and forcing air molecules to travel further over the longer top surface compared to the lower part of the wing. When the molecules have to travel over a further distance than their friends at the bottom of the wing they spread out, which causes lower pressure...the wing of course, finds it easier to go in the direction of the lower pressure, which is up, which in turn causes lift. There is a cliched joke in aviation that states "it is money that makes airplanes fly!" So beware of asking this question around any of the "geezers" or "airport bums" you may find here in small mid-west airports! Of course, flying isn't cheap...and this has been a stressful element of climbing my Mt. Everest. Today, however, I was proactive and followed one of my tenets of climbing an Everest...if you don't know something ask an expert. So, since my stress was money, I went to my bank...within a few minutes I had everything I needed! The interest rate on my old 2nd mortgage was much higher than the rate at which I could refinance. So, by adding a few years and lowering my interest rate, I found the money for my flying with just a barely noticeable increase in our monthly budget! What a relief and now I have a real chance of summiting again! Now, it is back to actual flying challenges...such as how do I turn on my VOR's? I am looking at this picture of my cockpit trying to figure out the difference between voice and ident...I guess voice is on? Ident I am guessing is just for the morse code identification to make navigation off of a VOR legal? Also, I am hoping it says voice, because you can talk over a VOR to Flight Service or ATC (not sure of the difference totally...maybe FSS is anywhere and ATC is airport specific? Beats me?) Of course, to talk over the VOR, I think I need to move down one of the those 8 silver little knobs to do it...but really I am not sure. Then there is the whole E6-B issue and that I don't know how to figure out what heading I should take on a chart or how to do a time or wind correction heading or whatever it is called...true course vs. mag course or something...and then correcting for magnetic ________....not even sure of the word, but there are these weird lines on charts and you can correct for something that is inherently wrong with compasses...so yeah, my hands are full! The scientific, engineering folks have it made on these particular items...even though I'm no Bournoulli I will get it eventually, but it is going to take a while...and I just need to get comfortable with that.

Navigation Blues

Been depressed all day trying to figure out the navigation/flight planning for my cross country (XC) this week. Now I know why we accidentally bombed Switzerland during WWII...it's a lot tougher and has turned out to be my most challenging technical part of my flight training so far. This truly is like climbing Mt. Everest for me personally. A lot of people claim to love flight training....I am definitely not one of them...I have enjoyed myself maybe twice for maybe 5 minutes....this is all about summiting the peak for me...I'll worry about enjoying it after I get my license if I have any money left. Some people ask "why I'm doing it?" But, it would take a team of psychologists and maybe even a few psychiatrists to answer that question. After I'm done maybe I'll know why. I know it has a lot to do with my Dad. It also has a lot to do with my son and not being able to put this dream of mine on him since he has special needs. A lot of has to do with starting it 5 times and not wanting to quit again. Some people will tell you that getting a pilot's license is easy or inexpensive...I guess if you are a rich engineer with plenty of time on your hands that could be true...it certainly isn't for me...this is the biggest challenge I've ever purposely put myself through since I taught myself German at age 24 and then became a German teacher. Maybe someday this will all look easy...that is hard to believe. Part of me would love to quit...be reasonable with my life and live within my budget...but then there is the other side...I don't want to be on my death bed thinking that I almost got my pilot's license once...man that sounds terrible...OK...enough crying, time to catch my breath, eat an energy bar, forget that the horses are all blind and load the wagon!

Airshow!

This morning Sue and Teddy came out to the airport and watched me do a couple of solo landings and takeoffs. Teddy considered it his own personal airshow! Above is my 2nd takeoff.

July is "Push Month"

I've declared July as "Push Month".

Flying:

• Schedule as many flying lessons as weather and schedules permit.


• I am going to work on the FAA written test every day.


• Take FAA written at the end of the month it at the end of the month.


• Mental flying everyday to practice skills.


• Spend more time on PoA working through any issues I will run into.

Fitness:

• Strictly limit to 2K calories a day for the month of July.


• Get more sleep.


• Vitamins.


• Taper my way down to one diet soda a day by July 31.


• Lift weights and workout daily.


• Add bike and extra walk everyday.

I won't bore the readers with other elements of the Push Month such as details on cleaning/organizing our house or getting ready for the next school year, but I do have a comprehensive plan. I want to see just how much progress I can squeeze out of a month. Of course, life doesn't stop just because I made a plan. I will spend the majority of my days with my son, but I will see how much he will cooperate with and get him involved everywhere that I can . As far as flying goes, I don't have any grand plans except to finish the license. I didn't get quite the raise this year that I was hoping for and last year I didn't get one at all, so as with many people, finances are tight and I considered quitting the flying altogether...but I am 33 hours in and my instructor said I am 10 -15 hours away from my checkride...so I feel I need to push on...accomplish this goal and at the very least get the headliner off of my bucket list! I don't want to be on my deathbed someday thinking about how I "almost" finished my pilot's license...So, time to get serious.

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate

I finally flew my first solo cross country Tuesday afternoon. It was hot, hazy, bumpy and windy...but, I knew I had to get it done. I learned a lot and I learned that there's even more that I still don't know. Luckily, the process of filing flight plans with FSS wasn't nearly as difficult as I feared. So, I have calmed down about that aspect of cross countries. Another positive, was that I handled the whole flight from start to finish for the first time by myself...first time I had done the runup for example. Everything went perfectly for a while. It was hazier than I thought it would be and it was hotter than hell, 96 degrees when I took off at 3:15. My instructor told me to call my inbound to Perryville at St. Genevieve, but I never saw the little town and the next thing I knew I saw the bridge over the Mississippi which alerted me that I was approaching K02. I was cruising at 3500 feet to find some cooler air, so I had to drop altitude fairly quickly...K02 sits at 372 MSL. I cruised around the south end of the runway, confirmed that the winds were still coming strong out of the south by looking at the windsock...the runway there is really long, 7,000 feet, so I had plenty of time to lose altitude on my downwind run...it was weird landing on a runway over 3x as long and 2x as wide as my home base! I felt like I was landing on the moon. After I landed it took me forever to taxi down to the little taxiway and turn around. After I pulled off the runway I took the pic you see above of myself. You can see the sweat soaking through my shirt on my chest and note that my window is open. I drained half of my big water bottle, took 2 more pics and back taxied back down runway 20. I called myself departing and took off for home. After I was in the air a bit, I wasn't sure looking at my radio, that I had ever really been communicating....so that was spooky to me. Then I never did figure out the VOR's I thought I had set up and I never was able to program the GPS! Finally, I was never able to tune in the AWOS wx frequency in Farmington either. So, I wasn't communicating (maybe), I wasn't really navigating (except by pilotage, which is easy thanks to the Mississippi River), but I was aviating pretty well....for now. As a student pilot you get the priorities pounded into your head: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate....so basically don't crash, if your not crashing, figure out where you are and if you know where you are and your not in a spin or close to it...communicate! It was hazier and hotter on my return trip...I only went up to about 2500 feet for the return. Coming back to KFES, it looked like I was trying to land on a carrier...the big runway at K02 had me all messed up and I came in too hot on my landing and had to do a go around due to too much floating in ground effect. My instructor coached me through it on the handheld and reminded to take the flaps off 10 degrees at a time so that I didn't "drop like a rock"...I looked down at the flap control, but I had already taken all 20 degrees off...but I didn't drop too much and went around the pattern again and this time landed smoothly...Paul got my confidence back up, announcing good go-around and good landing over the handheld. I called FSS, closed my flight plan and even though it was tough, I passed another milestone on my amazingly difficult climb up my Everest!

Hot and Windy

I flew again Sunday morning. Winds were about 20 kts, so wisely, Paul didn't clear me for my solo xc to Perryville. We practiced in the pattern instead. All of the turbulence made it harder to remember everything, but after 3 landings everything was coming together pretty well and I felt good about the lesson. The biggest problem today was the heat inside the airplane. I need to find or wear different sunglasses, these started steaming over after a while. Also, my hands were sweating so much it was hard to keep a good grip on the yoke. I'm really ready for some better weather. Next scheduled flight this coming Sunday again. I have been working on my written test material too. I did a 100 question practice test on chapters 1-8 (of 11 Gleim chapters) and got a 96%...so I am feeling pretty good about it. I just need to add another chapter. The chapter where I have to use the E-6B flight computer looks tricky...but I will manage somehow. Just amazed at all of the things I am trying to remember all the time.

Steep turns, power on stalls and pattern work

A rare scowl as I climb further up my Everest after school today. I was actually happy, but maybe a full day of teaching teens in May does this to me!! We had rain coming in today and kept one eye on the clouds and wx while we flew across the Mississippi and practiced steep turns and power on stalls over the practice field. The weather started to look a little worse and my instructor decided we better stick to pattern work in case conditions suddenly deteriorated...which they didn't but, I appreciate his constant vigilance to safety. We did some pattern work and with the xwind and then I did one solo to finish the lesson. I hadn't flown solo for in a few weeks and I was really happy to be alone in the air again. My next step is my short solo xc to Perryville next good chance I get.

IFR WX=Ground School for Student Pilot

Phone buzzed with a text at 0800..."WX too bad for flying...ground school today". I went down to KFES and spent a couple of hours learning about filing flight plans, flight following, the E6-B flight computer, how to use my plotter, VOR's, to and from VOR's (triangulation), FSS, Duats, Metars, Sigmets....I don't think any part of the alphabet was safe by the end.
When the wx clears the lessons will go something like this: a few more lessons 50/50 practicing maneuvers and me flying solo. A pilotage xc down to Perryville, a practice xc with my instructor to Rolla and then my big xc to SGF to visit my cousin and uncle. Only 10 more days of school for me this year and then I am going to really accelerate my training!

Ground Reference Maneuvers

Last Wednesday I had a challenging lesson. For starters, I hadn't flown because of weather and schedule conflicts for 2 weeks. Then the perfectly calm winds turned into a crosswind as I approached KFES. Then there is the fact that I am always dead tired after teaching all day when I do weekday evening lessons. But, all that being said we did accomplish a lot of new things. First we reviewed power on stalls, then we reviewed power off stalls followed by some slow flight. After the review we dropped down to 1500 MSL or about 1000 ft AGL and performed my first ground reference maneuvers. First we did left, then right turns around a point. The first point I picked turned out to be a town, Fults, Illinois (see picture) and even though it only has 28 people according to wikepedia, my instructor said it is better not to bother them, so we found a barn across from Rush Island that was caught in the flood. I liked the maneuver, even though it was for sure challenging. Then it was time to try S turns, which we did using the tracks north of Fults as our reference. But, we hadn't done this very long, when we noticed that the cropduster that we had been keeping our eye on was doing a lot of spraying, with their associated and wild flying in this whole area, so Paul wisely said to go back to KFES and do some pattern work. It was my first time landing on 18 instead of 36 since I came back to flying in December. So all of my references were a little off, but it was OK. We did a go-around and then landed. I was having a lot of trouble both on the go around and the recovery from the power on stall of climbing too steeply, while trying to raise the flaps simultaneously and was struggling on the edge both times to stay above stall speed. So, I was really hard on myself, as I always am and was a little down. But, in retrospect, I feel it was a good lesson and I am ready to stay in better practice. Luckily, I only have 3 more weeks of school. I can't wait to see what it is like to fly with more mental focus and physical energy.

Meeting my mentor!

A few days ago I finally met my mentor. Diana, as you know, is an acrobatic pilot and has been distance mentoring me since last winter. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate for my acrobatic ride, but we will try again soon! Without people like Diana on my support team I probably wouldn't still be flying. She has already helped me through a couple of challenges and I am sure there will be more!
I am scheduled to fly again Wednesday afternoon. I hope the wx cooperates...it has been REALLY rainy here for the last few weeks. On a brighter note, I have been working on my written materials again. I scored a 78% the first time I put the first 8 Gleim's chapter together a week ago. Tonight I scored an 89% on those same chapters. I was especially happy that I am starting to get some of the takeoff and landing distance graphs and especially the weight and balance physics problems...those really had me rattled for awhile, but I figured them out tonight and made my own little formula which works well for me. So, I am still climbing my Everest!!!

High Flight

Flew again last Wednesday. I flew one hour 50/50 dual/solo time. I really love the solo time now. I flew over the Mississippi again and did some turns about 10 miles south of the airport. I did two crosswind (x-wind) landings when I returned. The second landing was a little tough, a 10 mph straight crosswind, I bounced and twisted a little on the landing, but it wasn't a hard landing at all. My approach was a little high and hot and I had to bleed off some speed when I flared, but I have thought through the whole set up I made in the pattern and I think I know how I would fix it next time.
I'm up to 27 hours now, I've flown 4 times now solo. I really feel I am on my way now...but, of course, I still have a lot of work in front of me. I am doing better and have done more than I ever really thought I could do. My confidence is increasing all of the time and not just in flying. Nothing seems as impossible as it once did. During my flight, I kept thinking of the fighter jet that would come on TV at midnight when TV stations used to go off air for the night. I have always had trouble sleeping and remember seeing this in the mid-70's...it is called High Flight...really cool. I guess I thought of it, because when I was a kid it was never a question of whether or not I would become a pilot...but it is easy to dream when you are young. Now at age 42, with 4 failures behind me it wasn't so easy, but I am making it happen...my destiny.

WX in Festus

Friday after school Ted and I made our way to KFES. We picked up some McDonald's on the way and just barely arrived before the Severe Thunderstorm! We decided to take cover in the airport itself and had the whole place to ourselves. The storm didn't turn out to be quite as bad as it looked. Teddy was especially happy that the airport now has a North Star ice cream freezer from which you can serve yourself (payment on the honor system). Too windy to fly today...hoping to get in another flight tomorrow or early in the week after school.

Crossing the Mississippi...alone!

Today marked another milestone in my quest to Climb my Everest. Today we took off for the practice field, which is across the Mississippi on the Illinois side. We did some steep turns (45 degrees) and then we did a couple of power on stalls. Then we flew back to KFES. My instructor hopped out and then it was my turn to leave the pattern for the first time by myself! It was a great feeling as I crossed the Mississippi and cruised at 2500 feet above the farm fields in Illinois. I did a couple of turns near Rush Island (a large power plant along the river and 10 miles south of the airport). Then I headed back. I worked my way down to 1300 feet and entered the pattern. The winds were about 8-10 mph and I had a pretty good angle of crosswind as I landed...I crabbed into the wind a little and used the rudder to straighten out the plane right before I touched down...not my best landing...I came in a little hot and a little fast, but it was acceptable and not at all a hard landing. This was the best time I have had yet on a lesson. It was really good for my confidence and the first time I have been able to relax a little during a solo flight.

Airport Bum

Last Wednesday (April 6) after school we did a short practice cross-country (XC) from Festus to Farmington. The winds were a little high and it was hot. We took off from runway 18 and proceeded basically south, 26 nm (nautical miles...and a nm=1.150779 statute miles-sm...which is our normal mile). Strong headwind, so a little bit of a slow trip down. We cruised at 2500 ft msl. The ground was rising up to meet us just a little....Field elevation at Festus is 433 ft and Farmington is 946 ft...so 513 ft higher! The runways at Farmington are 2/20 which aren't much different than our true north and south runways at Festus-18/36. Winds were out of the south so we landed on runway 20. We swung out east of the airport and came in at 45 degree angle into the pattern...two things were different right away for me...first was the pattern elevation...I'm used to flying about 1300 MSL at Festus, here we were 500 feet higher, so our pattern altitude was 1700 feet if I am remembering correctly. The next thing that was different was calling in "Farmington traffic" instead of "Festus traffic" which I messed up at least once. Once I turned final, there was a third difference....a longer runway...4222 ft...so 2k feet longer than Festus. It is pretty nice that whenever I go into an unfamiliar field, there is a good chance I am going to have a lot more runway to play with! We did 2 landing at Farmington then headed back to KFES with a 25 mile an hour tailwind....so a quick trip back. I spent most of the trip trying to familiarize myself with the Garmin GPS that is built in. You punch in the airport identifier then press enter a couple of times I think and it gives you a heading and your actual heading...the goal is to match up the two numbers...easier said than done of course! I think you go to the right to raise the # and to the left to lower the #, but I could be wrong!! Also, 123HA has two VOR's so I am working to familiarize myself with those as well. Another thing I learned, which isn't marked on the Airspeed indicator is Va speed, the maneuvering speed, which in our plane is 114 mph indicated airpseed. (Va according to Wikepedia: is the highest speed at which full deflection of the controls about any one axis are guaranteed not to overstress the airframe. At or below this speed, the controls may be moved to their limits. Above this speed, moving the controls to their limits may overstress the airframe and potentially cause a structural failure. It is normally designated as VA in flight manuals, but is not typically shown on most airspeed indicators.) Overall, I felt good about the XC, I only was fighting a bit of airsickness again on the return in the chop and the heat didn't help. Today's picture was from Friday after school. Teddy and I picked up some McDonald's and ate it at KFES. As you can see Teddy is totally comfortable there and he told me several times how much he loves it there. He's becoming a real airport bum! So far, being in airplanes and around airports has been really good for Teddy. He really works hard to act calmer and more mature in this environment. Tomorrow, as long as the WX (weather) holds, Teddy is going to ride along on my XC to Perryville tomorrow. More on that in the next entry.

Smartt Field

I haven't been able to fly for a few weeks now. Conflicting schedules, bad weather, including more snow and the starter going out on "Hotel Alpha" has slowed me down, but I am flying again Wednesday and ready to get things going again. But, even though I have been really busy during this down time, I have been spending a lot of time on the FAA written test and Saturday afternoon on our way home from a fishing trip we stopped by Smartt Field in St. Charles County. Talk about a busy airport...this is the absolute opposite from Festus! We were there for about 90 minutes Saturday and probably watched 30 takeoffs and landings...as much as Festus gets in a whole weekend...and this was with high winds! I am happy that I am learning at Festus and not dealing with all of this traffic, but I plan to fly into this airport periodically. I had actually taken two lessons here back in September (failure #4 as I call it), but I wasn't comfortable with the long drive, the high volume of air traffic and the fact that the instructor there was very unconcerned about looking for it and finally it was a flying school that was truly there to make a profit...I didn't dare ask any questions, because I was "on the clock"! One really cool thing about Smartt Field is the Commemorative Air Force wing that is based there. They have a lot of nice old warbirds, especially the B-25 you see in the video. Teddy, especially loved our time at Smartt Field and couldn't believe the number of planes we saw flying. He is really enthusiastic about me getting my license and is really helping me to keep motivated during this small lull.

AOPA Project Pilot

Nobody really climbs their "Everest" alone. Even if you are literally alone and literally climbing Mt. Everest...there was a team of people who taught you, supported you and mentored you. In my case, when I soloed, I was physically alone in the airplane, but I also had a support team. Of course, in flight training, the most obvious member of your team is your flight instructor and luckily for me, Paul is very experienced, patient and makes safety priority one at all times. I have tried other instructors and they just weren't the right fit.

Another essential member of my support team is my AOPA Project Pilot Mentor, Diana Richards. Diana actually found me on Pilots of America. I was on a forum asking for help with seeing over the cowling of the 172 since I am 5'6" and have struggled with this in some aircraft. Diana and a few other pilots, including my friend Lynn had a lot of good advice and encouragement for me. Now that challenge is luckily behind me. Diana it turns out is from Southwest Missouri, which is the area in which I grew up. We started to figure out that we might share some connections and it turns out that Diana's flight instructor, Tom Richards, was one of my Dad's (yes, my father is a CFI more on that in a future entry) students years ago. Long story short, Tom and Diana were later married and so now things have come full circle: Dad was one of Tom's instructors, who then taught Diana how to fly and now she is my mentor...small world!! Tom also taught one of my uncles how to fly as well and I have often heard my grandfather (also a pilot) speak about Tom. So far Diana and I communicate regularly by email. I always write after each lesson and share what went right and if anything went wrong....she has been especially good at keeping my confidence up during this challenge. Since my mother and grandfather live very near to her, we plan to visit in person in April and do some flying in her Citabria!! Amazingly, Diana is an acrobatic pilot now and I never thought I would say this...but I'm looking forward to doing some spins and going upside down for the first time in my life soon!! I am very lucky to have Diana as my mentor!

My 2nd Solo!

This morning, I passed another milestone in my mind...my 2nd solo. After my first solo, it just never felt that real, like maybe it wasn't really a solo...but today was a little different. I was still really nervous, but my 2 landings were smoother and I executed a go around when I saw that I wasn't going to be able to touchdown until about midfield (and our field is short 2200ft!). I guess, because I've been in airplanes since I was a baby with my father and grandfather, I just assume this should be easier, like driving a car...but it isn't easy at all...if it were, then everyone would be doing it I suppose. Had a north wind blowing right straight down runway 36 this morning of about 8mph...and other than speeding up my downwind run, it was pretty smooth and didn't affect me much. Over the next few lessons we are going to work on getting me out of the pattern on my own for the first time. So anyway, which is often the case with me, I am struggling with confidence, but I've learned already, that it is just a matter of sticking to it, working through it and talking issues over with my instructor and my mentor (more on that in my next entry). And finally, on a related note, I won a Toastmasters International Speech Contest at the Club Level giving a talk about my first solo and all of my failed attempts to get to that point and what I learned from the experience.

N123HA "Hotel Alpha"

My most recent flying lesson was last Sunday afternoon. The winds were just a little too high and a little too variable so I didn't solo again. But I did do 6 landings with varying degrees of smoothness...a couple were very smooth and one, that seems to have been stuck in my head all week, I bounced a couple of times. I was going to fly again today...calm winds all day until right after school, then they really started howling...so I am going to wait until I know I can solo again...I really want to do 3 or 4 landings on my own during my next lesson...so I am just hoping for some good weather sometime this weekend...In the photo the plane on the right is our trainer: 123HA...and boy does it do a lot of training, seems like it is constantly in the air. I first saw Hotel Alpha in '06. One summer evening Teddy and I were bored and we drove out to the Festus Airport for the first time. We pulled up just in time to see a small plane take off...Hotel Alpha. The sound of the engine and the smell of the fuel unleashed a flood of memories of growing up around airplanes. I felt a powerful rush of excitement and then fear (actual fear of flying and fear of the expense)...because I knew I would have to try again. It has been a long road, but it's funny that the plane that inspired my return to aviation was the one in which I would solo almost 5 years later!

Kids and Flying!

Nobody is more excited about my climb up "Everest" than my son Teddy. He is totally ready to start taking flights as he puts it: "Just with you Dad!" Teddy also loves fishing and we eventually want to be able to fly up north and take advantage of waters which you can't reach quickly or easily by car.

I worked on the written last night and tonight. I took a combined 100 question test on chapters 1-4 last night and scored 95% and today I did the same with 60 questions and scored 90%. I have the goal of scoring 100% on the written, but I just don't know...I think I'd have to go really crazy to go from somewhere in the 90's to 100%. I do have a family and do have to work...but we'll see....I haven't given up the idea, just trying to honestly evaluate what this entails. Some of the harder chapters are still ahead of me too, like the weight/balance and takeoff/landing distance calculations. I'm doing this so far without ground school. I wouldn't mind a really good ground school, but the time and money involved may be prohibitive....either way though, still climbing the Everest...no turning back this time!

Airspace Classifications!

Solo behind me, still climbing hard on the Everest. Yesterday, I worked through 100 random questions from chapter's 1-4 of my Gleims and got a 96%. I love 3x5 cards...I use them for everything! Here is one of my study aids to the right...I carry these cards around with me and when I get a few spare minutes during the day I whip 'em out and study on the go!

SOLO!

I started thinking about my first solo when I was 13 years old...I thought I would do it when I was 16...that was the initial plan...but the plan was still followed...just a few years later--26 years later than planned! When I arrived at KFES after school yesterday, the winds were too high at first to consider solo, but they slowed down and after 3 landings with my instructor, he asked me if I was ready? I told him I felt ready and I dropped him off. As soon as I started the takeoff roll it felt different, really different without my instructor on board and the airplane was literally wanting to jump off the runway....I was struggling to keep it on the ground until the proper airpseed was attained when my window, for some unknown reason popped open...luckily I had plenty of runway and pulled back the throttle, hit the brakes and consulted my instructor. Even though I was spooked now, I knew I had to do it. I was ready for the feeling during the takeoff roll this time and once I was airborne all of my jitters went away and I felt very relaxed. Winds were calm, the setting sun was beautiful, airborne straight north from runway 36, a warm February evening. I climbed to 850 feet, then turned crosswind, at 1250 feet, I pulled back power to 2200 RPM and trimmed it for straight and level flight, I settled in at 1300 feet, turned downwind and relaxed and enjoyed the view for a few seconds. Midfield--carb heat, 1500 RPM, keep the nose up until white arc, 6 seconds flaps down = 20 degrees, 2 spins of trim nose up, luckily she settled right into to 70...all smooth. Turned base at the two ponds and started judging altitude and relationship to runway 36, I still felt calm, all good. 900 ft. turned final, lined up with runway...over the tree line a burst of wind, no problem, I didn't let it phase me, this was me, nobody else who controlled it through the wind, it was a great feeling....runway made, pulled all throttle off, a little wind at about 50ft, no problem, touchdown right on the numbers...not the prettiest landing, but I was down...pulled up to the hangar, shut the plane down...time for pictures--see above!! In the end, I think this would have been easier when I was 16!! It all hasn't really sunk in yet...I encourage any of my flying readers to share their solo stories in the comments below and for all of you climbing your own various "Everests" feel free to post any milestones you would like to share.

Still climbing the Everest until late last night, worked through all 171 questions in chapter 4 of the Gleim's...this time I got an 89%...last time 71%....progress being made, major climbing....climb the Everest. Next, I will take a combo test of chapters 1-4 for review and then start hitting chapter 5 this week. Chapter 5, that's a tough one--weight and balance, take-off and landing distances using some really hard to decipher graphs, the density altitude is easy enough...plenty of work ahead....a lot more work and a lot more difficult than I ever imagined, but climbing your Everest isn't easy...otherwise you would have already climbed it long ago!