From Sea to Sea

From California to Florida,  North Dakota to Missouri, Massachusetts to Colorado...A LOT of moving! But I have lots to be grateful for and one of the many is the experience I've had in all of those states. Mountain flying, winter flying, wind flying, sun flying...lots and lots of different conditions.

From airport hopping with friends to hopping down a runway with students (of course it wasn't me)!

Trinity Center Airport, CA "O86"

Rejoicing in the cool evenings to wallowing in my flying-induced credit card debt.

One of my crazier moments, I couldn't find my helmet! ~2007?

From basketball on the ramp to eating greasy food and delicious pie at Nancy's airport truck-stop.

Who said work had to be boring? Auburn Airport, CA "KAUN"

Nancy's Airport Cafe, Willows Airport, CA "KWLW"

I've had a great time and can honestly say without any doubt that I am the luckiest in-debt student I have ever known! So here's to flying and wonderful times, from the East Coast to the West Coast, from the Golden State to the Sunshine State, and let's not forget the Mid-west and it's wonderful people!

South Beach, Miami, FL

Have fun and don't forget to be the most blessed of the blessed!

Up in the Air

Mount Rushmore

When I was doing my training for my Commercial Certificate I had to do quite a bit of cross country time, so I ended up doing a long one to Mount Rushmore. I had never been to Rushmore, and wanted to see it - it would be pretty cool to say I'd seen it from the air, although I had never even stepped foot in South Dakota. So, at the request of my fiance, who was wondering if I would keep adding pictures, here's a few from the trip.

Beaver Lake, ND


Crossing the Missouri River - a couple hours to go and I had to go to the bathroom pretty bad.


Despite the fact that there really isn't much to see in North Dakota and South Dakota, some sights really are gorgeous. At least in this one I was getting into the Badlands-looking area! :) Sorry to those native to North or South Dakota, I really don't mean to be negative, I'm just a spoiled west coast girl.


Hills! Mountains! Trees! How long has it been since I've seen you? This was as close to home as I could get, and oh was it nice.


I have yet to lays on Mount Rushmore from the ground, but it is a nice sight from the air! If you fly there, ask for the Rushmore tour, ATC is glad to help you out.


Looking back from whence I came.


Getting back into the flatlands...exciting...really, I mean it...


Home. Flatlands. The happenin' place to be.

I learned some important lessons on this flight. #1 Never ever have anything to drink 2 hours prior to a long flight. The same rules of a car do not apply, there's no guaranteed pit stops or car door to block a view. If you stop at an airport in the middle of nowhere you will most likely be using the tarmac as a bathroom, and that's no fun if it's in the open. Besides, you probably won't make too many folks happy if you're caught. #2 Never tell anyone from South Dakota there are no mountains there. They'll probably be as mad as I am when someone says California doesn't get snow. #3 Always bring along some form of entertainment. What did I have to do while I was thinking about that bathroom break that I would soon be awarded? Nothing. Oh, an I-Pod would have been nice, or perhaps XM Satellite radio. Either way, it was still a fun trip, despite the fact that I had long conversations with myself about drinking bottles of water. #4 Always include pictures so your significant other will be pleased.

Cheers,
Up in the Air

Dreaming of the day...

Who has ever dreamed of flying? I used to have dreams when I was little about flying just above the town where I lived. I'd dream of waking up, going outside, and leaping into the air from my house. I'd go off on a sight-seeing tour of everything around where I lived. Funny thing is I could never really control where I went, it was always like one of those dreams where you try to run, but you can't no matter what you do. I felt like I was along for the ride - with myself of course. But I always enjoyed those dreams. Sometimes I remember those dreams when I'm flying, and it's hard to believe that it's real life - I wouldn't except for the fact that I really can control where I go!

One of the first sites I ever saw when I began flying was the Foresthill Bridge in Auburn, California.

It is considered the tallest bridge in the state and is featured in the movie "xXx" in which Vin Diesel drives a stolen red Chevrolet Corvette off it. Do I like the movie? Not really, but I love that scene mostly because of all the memories I have from the bridge. I grew up in Auburn, and I thought it was so fun to cross - little did I know I would soon circle around it in an airplane!


Not too far off, I constantly enjoyed the view of the Sutter Buttes (also known as "Sutter Butts" to myself and my flying friends), the world's smallest mountain range. They are located in the central valley of California, and from where I flew out of, they were on a direct flight path to Willows airport - an airport about an hour away that serves the greasiest food - but oh is it good!

Look closely at this one, San Francisco Bay is in the distance, with fog blanketing the city.




















I'd love to say I've been from sea to shining sea in an airplane, but I haven't quite yet. I did get to see one of my favorite little towns on the northern coast of California, Mendocino. The first try was a failed attempt - it was fogged in, with no way of getting in. But my friends and I were finally successful!


It's barely been 5 years since the first time I started flight lessons, but I have had some of the most amazing experiences thanks to some great friends and a supportive family. These are just a glimpse of some of the wonderful places I've seen - there will be more to come soon. In the meantime, I patiently await my medical (well perhaps not so patiently).

In honor of a friend,
Smiles,
Up in the Air

What are you doing?

It's funny what people will do when they are scared out of their mind or when they have no idea what they should do. I had a student once who was both scared out of his mind and didn't know what to do. He was my very first student (maybe the fact that we were both scared out of our minds had something to do with it?...Just saying...). I could tell from the start that he was scared - scared of this one maneuver - stalls. That's basically when the wings aren't producing lift anymore - that's not as bad as it sounds, at least when you're five thousand feet above the ground in a controlled environment. When practicing all you need to do to recover is lower the nose, sometimes all it takes is releasing a little bit of back pressure, and wait until you gain airspeed to return to normal flight. I can't remember anymore exactly which type of stall we were practicing, whether we had power-on or off, but I do remember his reaction. The first few stalls we did were a little nerve-wrecking for him, and I was ready to call it quits to give him a breather, but he insisted on doing a couple more.

We set the airplane up for a stall, slowly raising the nose, letting the airspeed drop off. All of a sudden, as if he had lost patience, he yanked the nose back quickly - which caused an immediate stall. He was so abrupt he shocked himself. As the nose quickly fell down through the horizon, he let go of everything and gave out a little bit of a shriek. Before I knew it we were pointed nearly vertical towards the ground.

I was never far away from taking control - but I also wasn't expecting him to let go of everything. Always watch closely when someone is scared or apprehensive about doing something. You really don't know how they will react. I couldn't expect my brand new student to recover from a situation he put himself in when he doesn't know what to do. If he doesn't know how he got there, he definitely won't know how to get back. That's the same for everyone in life.You can't fix something that you don't know how to fix, and you won't fix it until you know how to. Sometimes the best course of action to take is letting go, let go and let the person you trust handle the situation, or whatever it is that needs letting go. My student trusted in me, trusted that I could help him when he had no idea how to help himself . Sometimes we all need to do that. If we pay attention, we can eventually learn how to handle even the toughest situation.

Back to my student. Will my student need to learn how to recover from a situation such as the one he put us in? Of course. I don't want anyone whom I've taught get a pilot's license if I don't know how they'll react in a tough situation. Did my stomach twist a little when all of a sudden the nose of the airplane was pointed towards the ground? Yes, I was a little shaky until the end of the flight, but I didn't let go of the controls. At some point in my flying career, I'm sure I would have done the exact same thing - but that point is in the past, at a time when I wouldn't have known how to recover either.

To clear skies,
Up in the Air