I soloed* today. I was the first in my class to do so. I rock at flight.
Soloing is, of course, a strictly controlled and tightly scripted event which leaves no decisions in the hands of the pilot in training. It is a ritual designed to demonstrate that they have passed the minimum thresholds of skill [...]
This morning at 0455 I was on a bus to the flight line. After some briefings, at 0800 I sat down in a helicopter–the first time I’ve done so in my life. Less than half an hour later, I was flying it without assistance from the instructor.
Actually, flying at cruise speed and altitude is significantly [...]
I don’t mind working eight hours in a day; it is reasonable. It gets a lot less reasonable when you impose a five hour gap after the first five hours; then, no matter what you do, you’re stuck with a bunch of time you can’t use productively or even entertainingly.
What I really dislike is when [...]
Given the right information, it is possible to predict certain aspects of helicopter performance. For example, given the gross weight of the helicopter, the pressure altitude, the height of the skids above the ground, and the outside air temperature, it is possible to predict the percentage of torque you’ll require to hover. Given all that [...]
US Army flight helmets come with an instruction manual. This manual includes checklists for common tasks, including Putting On The Helmet, Removing The Helmet, and Destroying The Helmet To Prevent Enemy Use.
One consequence of the long delay before I leave for Basic Training is that I have to come up with two more months’ rent. As such, I set out yesterday to acquire a basic, simple job that would pay over $10/hour and for which I could start immediately and end abruptly when it was time [...]
It’s interesting for me to see the reactions of my different students to the news that the school is closing in two months. I had a few, including some new students who had just joined, who quit immediately. Others seem to be staying for a longer haul, but it’s hard to tell. I heard yesterday [...]
I can now count among my life’s experiences: “being hit with a car.”
I was riding my bike on the way to work. As I was passing the (blind) exit of a parking lot, a car came out and hit me in my side.
The driver wasn’t moving very quickly; I think that she was just trying [...]