May 30 - It's been a while since the last entry. In February, Jeff called me to say he was finished with the owner of the flight school (personal reasons) and that he was quitting the business. I was unable to coordinate my schedule with the new instructor's, so I moved to another school. Concurrently, the job situation (i.e. unemployed) has forced me to reduce the frequency of my lessons.
I started at another flight school at Olympia Airport. The new instructor, Eldon, is a real veteran, somewhere in his 70s, I guess. We went for a flight in a Cessna 150, just to see what I knew. The next time, we went up in a Cessna 172, since the 150 was down for maintenance. There's a world of difference between the two. The 172 has to be muscled into every maneuver, while the underpowered 150 handles like a kite.
Eldon did teach me one new thing about landing. "Don't try to land it." The plane wants to keep on flying, so I just let it do its thing while cutting power and applying flaps until we reach stall speed just over the runway. The landings are much smoother, but the 150 is more sensitive to crosswinds.
In the meantime, Lynn and I are both taking ground school classes. She wants to know what to do in case we're flying and there's an emergency.
The other day I went for my FAA physical. My blood pressure is extremely high, and I'll have to get it down before I qualify. What disturbs me is that I watch my diet, exercise regularly, don't smoke, and still my blood pressure is way above what the FAA allows. I'm cutting out caffeine for a while. Hopefully, this will help.
June 30 - A month has passed since the last entry. My lessons have been mostly touch-and-goes, and, sadly to admit, my landings have been more goes than touch. Bouncing seems to be the rule rather than the exception. I seem to be overcompensating during flare, and staying aligned with the center line is a problem. I did much better with the 152, and a lot better with the 172, but the rental rates for that model are too high for my wallet.
On a more positive note, I finally managed to get my blood pressure down to an acceptable level (diastolic is in the mid to high 80s) and passed the physical. The doctor prescribed a mild diuretic and that seems to do the trick.
Lynn and I signed up for ground school. They use the King videos, and the material is presented in a way that makes sense. I'm doing the practice quizzes and getting 85-95% on them, so I'll go for the FAA test soon.
Today we went to a surprise birthday party for Eldon, my instructor. He's 73 and still flying......I should only be that fortunate. He had gone flying, so everything was set up during his absence. I can only guess what he said to himself as he taxied up to the building and saw the tent and the barbeque. Friends and former students arrived, some of them flying in from various points in the Northwest. The tarmac looked like a used plane lot.
There were two WWII bombers visiting Olympia Airport for the weekend. I watched as a B-17D took off, her four Wright "Cyclones" roaring under full power. The only word that comes to mind is "majestic".
Later, a B-24 "Liberator" took off and buzzed the field. I had an inkling of what the people on the ground at Ploesti might have experienced, only without the 250 lb. bombs.A couple of days later we rented "Memphis Belle". I find it hard to imagine the kind of courage that was required of young men just out of their teens who faced German fighters and flak 60 years ago.
July 9 - I passed!!!! This morning I took the "written" exam (actually, it's all done on computer now) and passed with a score of 80%. Thank you Eldon, and thank you John and Martha King.