A day trip to Lambert's in Sikeston, MO

The journey continues and now I continue my blog. It has been a challenge to fly as much as I would like, but in July I got checked out in my old 172...Hotel Alpha and after a little practice we took two day trips. Above is our takeoff from Festus en route to KSIK or Sikeston to eat at Lambert's...world famous for their "throwed rolls". Upon arrival in Sikeston we were picked up by the "secret shuttle" that allows pilot's and their guests a free ride (tips are welcome) to Lambert's and best of all you get to cut to the front of the line! Teddy really loved the flight and the throwed rolls!





Above is a roll in flight, caught and soon to be eaten by Teddy!



And finally our trip home!

Everest Conquered...final blog entry

I love watching this landing. A perfect, crisp December evening. This will be my last entry on this blog at least for now. I wish everyone good luck on climbing your Everest!

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.