Thursday, January 31, 2008
300
Not much to see here, just cracked 300 hours during slow flight with a student on Sunday. The hours are starting to build fast now, and will build even faster when I go full time next month. I might even be at 400 by the end of February! Once I get to 500 hopefully I'll start to get noticed by some regionals, although I have an "ace up my sleeve" that I'll attempt to cash in on prior to that milestone. Stay tuned...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Change
Saturday we were lucky enough to be invited to hear Carly Fiorina speak at a local recurring event called the Forum. For those that don't know who she is, she is the former CEO of Hewlett Packard, the first and only woman to ascend to that position for a Fortune 20 company. She is an excellent speaker, and has an incredible presence, which I'm sure was a tremendous asset to her in her position. I won't recount her entire story, you can read about the roller coaster ride and her controversial exit from HP here.
It is obvious that she is a very cerebral person, and several key points stood out that I've been playing over in my mind since that night:
1. Although directed at our business landscape, the theme was undoubtedly "change".
2. The most successful species isn't the strongest or the most intelligent, it's the most adaptable. This was originally a quote from Darwin.
3. By the time everyone agrees that change is necessary, it is probably too late.
4. Those that fail to change, become irrelevant and old before their time.
Heeding these and other notable points presented in her speech, I promptly decided that the time for action is now, and turned in my resignation at my consulting job (okay, so I had turned in my notice on Friday, but the speech just reaffirmed what I had done, for me anyway). So, in another 2 or 3 weeks - I'm trying to remain flexible - I will be able to answer the question "So what do you do?" with "I'm a pilot!". It is definitely scary, but I have the full support of my wife, and although I can always fall back on IT if the going gets too rocky, I have a funny feeling that I'll never look back. I certainly don't plan to!
I celebrated by doing pattern work with a student in the snow on Saturday. We called it quits when the visibility dropped to VFR minimums, but it was pretty while it lasted. At one point I remarked that it was "cool", to which my student responded "yeah, for you!".
It is obvious that she is a very cerebral person, and several key points stood out that I've been playing over in my mind since that night:
1. Although directed at our business landscape, the theme was undoubtedly "change".
2. The most successful species isn't the strongest or the most intelligent, it's the most adaptable. This was originally a quote from Darwin.
3. By the time everyone agrees that change is necessary, it is probably too late.
4. Those that fail to change, become irrelevant and old before their time.
Heeding these and other notable points presented in her speech, I promptly decided that the time for action is now, and turned in my resignation at my consulting job (okay, so I had turned in my notice on Friday, but the speech just reaffirmed what I had done, for me anyway). So, in another 2 or 3 weeks - I'm trying to remain flexible - I will be able to answer the question "So what do you do?" with "I'm a pilot!". It is definitely scary, but I have the full support of my wife, and although I can always fall back on IT if the going gets too rocky, I have a funny feeling that I'll never look back. I certainly don't plan to!
I celebrated by doing pattern work with a student in the snow on Saturday. We called it quits when the visibility dropped to VFR minimums, but it was pretty while it lasted. At one point I remarked that it was "cool", to which my student responded "yeah, for you!".
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
One Way to Ring in the New Year
I celebrated the New Year in a most satisfying fashion: with my first private pilot students. I wish I had some exciting tales to tell of hanging from a balcony on Bourbon Street with various parts of strange women's anatomy pressed against me, but I'm older and wiser now (plus I did that once, and if I ever find that video tape it gets burned immediately...but I digress).
The actual New Year's eve was spent with family and friends in a condo at what we refer to as a "ski resort" here on the east coast. It was a great four day weekend, and I was almost a complete vegetable when it was over, which was the primary goal in addition to teaching our 4.5 year old how to ski, which I think we agreed was a total failure.
Anyway, with the holidays firmly behind us, I set out with my first two students, with one flight on Saturday and two on Sunday. The Saturday flight went well, aside from the fact that it took me twice as long to do things as it should have. I chalked that up to first time inefficiencies, which should be worked out with time. Fast forward to Sunday morning towards the tail end of the training flight. I had the plane because there was a bit of a gusty crosswind and it was her very first lesson, so she was following me on the controls. Just as we add landing flaps at the key position (in a Diamond) she says "what happens if I get sick?"
I tell her that I've got it from there and to just relax and focus her attention outside the plane. On base she says "I really think I'm going to be sick". As we roll onto final she says "I'm not gonna make it" I furiously dig for the sick sack and hand it to her, and just as I grease the mains on, she utilizes the sick sack. The Diamond has a bubble-type canopy, and when it is already warm out and the sun is beating down on you, it can get quite hot inside. I think that was a part of it, coupled with the timing of me taking the controls, which left her brain with little to do, other than inform her stomach that it was queasy.
Oh well, she says she'll come back, time will tell.
The actual New Year's eve was spent with family and friends in a condo at what we refer to as a "ski resort" here on the east coast. It was a great four day weekend, and I was almost a complete vegetable when it was over, which was the primary goal in addition to teaching our 4.5 year old how to ski, which I think we agreed was a total failure.
Anyway, with the holidays firmly behind us, I set out with my first two students, with one flight on Saturday and two on Sunday. The Saturday flight went well, aside from the fact that it took me twice as long to do things as it should have. I chalked that up to first time inefficiencies, which should be worked out with time. Fast forward to Sunday morning towards the tail end of the training flight. I had the plane because there was a bit of a gusty crosswind and it was her very first lesson, so she was following me on the controls. Just as we add landing flaps at the key position (in a Diamond) she says "what happens if I get sick?"
I tell her that I've got it from there and to just relax and focus her attention outside the plane. On base she says "I really think I'm going to be sick". As we roll onto final she says "I'm not gonna make it" I furiously dig for the sick sack and hand it to her, and just as I grease the mains on, she utilizes the sick sack. The Diamond has a bubble-type canopy, and when it is already warm out and the sun is beating down on you, it can get quite hot inside. I think that was a part of it, coupled with the timing of me taking the controls, which left her brain with little to do, other than inform her stomach that it was queasy.
Oh well, she says she'll come back, time will tell.
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