Well, we finally flew down to the beach and I was able to get some decent pictures. On Tuesday we had to kill some time so I could get the required 10 hours for my check ride and solo. We decided that since it was a nice day we'd spend some time flying around the beach and taking pictures. The first one is just my instructor looking cool and trying to show that we pay attention while we're flying. Most of the time we're actually busy talking about football or something completely unrelated to flying. When we've been talking about it for a little bit and he's starting to get me distracted he likes to cut the power to the engine or do something else that requires going through emergency procedures. I guess it's good practice but it always makes me a little wary when he's getting me to talk about something unrelated to what we're doing at the time.







Once again, my instructor assured me that I looked cool and it'd be a good picture for Lisette.
The only problem with flying over the beach is that you see the sharks that are swimming along the coast and it makes swimming in the gulf a little less palatable. After the morning flight I went on another flight with a different instructor for my stage check. Before flying solo they test pilots on all of the different maneuvers they've learned so far to make sure they'll be able to fly safely and also be able to deal with any emergencies that might occur. At the end of the stage check the instructor cut off the engine and I had to coast in for a landing. Normally when making an emergency landing you come in a little high because it's easy to lose altitude but really hard to make the plane go higher without an engine. It's probably my favorite kind of landing because you get the opportunity to use forward slips or some other maneuver to lose altitude. Basically, in a forward slip you push the rudder all the way down to throw the plane sideways and use the ailerons to keep the plane going straight. It makes you lose altitude without gaining too much speed. Right before touching down you straighten the rudder so you don't land sideways. It also looks pretty cool from the ground when you see someone pull it off.Pulling a little steep turn over the beach...makes for good pictures.


Tuesday afternoon I went and played a round of golf with one of the other flight students. I had to practice for the Navy tournament the next day. I played with two of the OCF group leaders and the Deputy Commodore. We finished in a respectable 3rd place (out of 25 or so teams) but should've won the tournament. None of us had been playing much golf recently so that didn't help our cause.

Wednesday morning was my first solo. It was a 7 a.m. flight, which is nice because it's usually pretty calm early in the morning and it makes it easy to land the plane. I went up with my instructor for the first half hour so he could gauge the conditions and make sure it was safe for my first solo. After a couple landings I dropped him off at the airport and taxied down to the beginning of the runway for my first takeoff. I went through the pre-takeoff checklist one final time and made my radio call to take off "Milton Traffic, Warrior three-two-niner-niner-zero, taking off runway 36 Milton." I taxied out and lined up the airplane and couldn't help but smile at the fact that I was going to takeoff and land a plane. I took off and flew around the airport and came in for my first landing. "Milton Traffic, Warrior three-two-niner-niner-zero on final approach runway 36 Milton, Full-stop." My instructor had a radio back on the ground and was monitoring just in case I had a problem during my flight. The winds were fairly calm and it was a fairly easy landing. After I landed and headed back to the beginning of the runway I noticed my instructor had a wood bat and was practicing his swing...I now just refer to him as Mickey Mantle.

Tomorrow I'm headed out on a solo flight to the beach. Obviously I won't be taking any pictures since I'll be the only one in the plane and the FAA probably frowns on pilots (especially student pilots) snapping pictures instead of focusing on flying. I'm certain the Navy doesn't permit it either. There's a saying amoung pilots: "To err is human, to forgive is divine, neither is Navy policy."

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. It's been a really good time down here so far, and I've been developing some good relationships with other Christians that have been very helpful in my walk and I know that's a direct result of the prayers of my friends and family.