Catching Up

It's been some time since last I wrote here. In fact, I have done much aviation-related in the interim. I have logged 145.3 hours, including 100.5 Cross-Country hours due in large part to the purchase of an airplane.

In May of 2008 I bought a 1967 Piper Cherokee 140. The purchase of this plane has allowed me to log 142.0 hours. That's just shy of 9 hours a month, including some trips to SE Texas that would not have been feasible in a rental aircraft.

Being an owner has allowed me to learn quite a bit more about the aircraft I fly. In particular are all the maintenance aspects that the schools I flew with always took care of. If there are any squawks, it is I who must tend to the issue--by getting with an appropriately certified mechanic, of course.

Just know that anything with aviation added to the name is going to cost quite a bit. I have had to replace a magneto, a cylinder, and am currently getting the nose strut repaired from a worn out seal. Despite the effort, I still feel that ownership has allowed me many more opportunities than I would have been able to afford through renting.

To better equip my plane for instrument conditions, which is the phase of study I am currently on, I had the avionics shop install and Garmin 430W. While the Cherokee is not a plane you want to try to fly into intense storms or icing conditions, the 430W will allow for flight through pesky clouds that would keep a VFR pilot, like myself, grounded.

Since April of 2009 I have been a member of the Civil Air Patrol and completed my Form 5 Checkride August 29, 2009. This checkride allows me the privilege of flying CAP aircraft for training and emergency purposes. Currently, the main focus for my flying is proficiency and hours towards higher levels within CAP. I need 200 PIC hours to be a mission pilot and I currently have 158.2.

I have thus far made it to two weekend training events, each time flying my plane there. That has given me opportunity for 6.2 hours, not counting the 2.1 hours I spent on the checkride.

I hope to be more regular about updating everyone on where I stand in my aviation aspirations. In the short-term, I look to get another 16.8 hours PIC to begin training for mission pilot, 31.6 hood hours for my instrument training, and 45.2 more hours overall for consideration of a commercial certificate.