Three of my favorite aerials from the trip, all taken over the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
The starfighter goes to Michigan.
Starting to go through photographs from our flying adventure to the Traverse City area. From my student pilot perspective the trip was good practice for my learning how to talk to ATC on the radio (you get to say stuff like "niner" and "roger" and "wilco"!), and good lessons about how weather reports may or may not accurately reflect what you'll actually encounter in flight.
It was a beautiful time - I've never been to that part of Michigan and can't wait to return. I'll post more photos as I work on things, but for now...
The Empire airport. I walked four miles into town on flip-flops. Needless to say, I really didn't want to walk back that far, so we stopped in at Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak and asked if someone might be able to drive us back to the airport. Eli offered, and John gave him a ride in the Starfighter to say thank you. Because I'm usually the one inside, it's always such a treat to watch someone else get to have a great time. Not to mention that the Starfighter is just a beautiful thing to watch...
Woolsey Memorial Airport just north of Northport, on the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula. I saw this grass strip on the chart and knew I wanted to go there! It felt like being at the edge of the world. We camped for two days under the wing, got our water via an old-fashioned hand pump, and borrowed the airport bicycles to ride into town for breakfast and tea in the morning. Oh - I forgot to mention the stars. SO many stars. The way I remember them when I lived in Vermont. Shooting stars for wishing too...
More to come.
Up in the air.
Haven't posted flying news in a while and thought it was time! First off, I soloed in the Champ last summer and celebrated with red velvet cupcakes...
Then in November it was planning and flying a dual cross-country, basically using a chart and compass and the scenery outside the window. Flew to Tiffin, Wyandaot County, and the little grass strip in Ada...
Over the winter I studied like crazy and took the written part of my flying exam a couple weeks ago. Back in the day, John had gotten a 100 on his, and so did Gary, so how could I settle for anything less? Once in the testing room, I got nervous and completely forgot how to use my plotter. Bizarre! So I saved those questions for last and re-taught myself how to use it: Ummm, if east is 090... where does this piece of plastic go?
Now all I have to do to 'finish' my training and get my license is to learn how to fly a new airplane - one with lights and navigational equipment, a yoke instead of a stick (how do you steer this crazy thing?!), more dials and buttons and generally more things to remember. Sorta feels like starting from scratch again though, which is a bit discouraging, especially with dwindling funds (trade photography for time in a 172 anyone?) and summer scheduling conflicts . It's easy to understand why so many people who start flight training wind up letting it go - sometimes it seems SO uphill. But when I look at these photos I realize how far I've gotten already, even if it's taken me longer than I wanted it to. I also think of fellow student pilots who might be having a tough time with their training and I want to hang in there for all of us! Way to go, team!