Patience...

Well, despite 5 days in NY visiting family and attending a wedding, followed by a 3 day business trip, finally getting back into a routine. I was hoping that maybe the medical would be waiting for me when I returned, no such luck, and yet another message left with the AME.

I did get a chance to mosey on down to the FBO and meet Chad the soon to be CFI, he just passed his commercial checkride and plans to take his CFI checkride next week. The visit was quite exciting, besides talking with Chad, he took me on a longer, wider tour of the FBO and its planes. I got to sit in the C152, despite being a smaller plane than the C172, it had quite a nice interior. Since it hasn't been flown as much, it seems to be in better shape despite being several years older than either C172. Chad also took me around to see the jets they flew, now that was a really neat experience sitting in those seats. Both were corporate jets designed to transport about 8-10 people, one of them even ferried Colin Powell. He even took me to see some private aircraft including one with a fractional ownership interest for sale, look pretty nice, but not the right time for something like that. :)

Even though I'd like to wait for the medical, I am still in a holding pattern for lack of an instructor. He also mentioned that he has several people lining up for lessons, so it appears his time will be just as limited as Chris's time (the other instructor who took me on my discovery flight and endorsed my written exam). So, I patiently wait. This waiting though is not helping... June and July has not been very good for general aviation, several fatal accidents are starting to get to me a bit, including two recent Angel flights which are very sad. Although general aviation is still remarkably safe, there is some inherent risk that you simply cannot fully escape or ignore. Most of the accidents occur in circumstances I would never intentionally attempt like flying too low (despite what my future passengers want), flying in adverse weather, or poor decision making (like overloading the aircraft on hot humid days).

I hesitate to share this since most of my friends and family are worried about these exact events, but I want to remind them I am not ignoring the risk and what can happen if you become complacent or unprepared. I actually needed a bit of a pep-talk from Laura to remind me of this, is general aviation as safe as commercial aviation? No, but with proper aircraft maintenance and solid ADM (Aeronautical Decision Making), it can be. Accidents will always happen, and a recent statistic I read said 1/50 pilots who fly for 40 years will be claimed by a crash (which is a bit alarming, I don't even think fireman share these occupational odds), but 1/22 of all people will die from an accident anyway. So flying only marginally changes your odds. Its tough to admit, but we all will die, but do we have the courage to enjoy the life God gave us doing the things that make us happy?

So, I remain resolved, and I hope to start flying within the next two weeks. I am nervous, excited, a bit scared, but overall filled with anticipation! Hopefully, my next post will be either my first lesson, a medical in hand, or both!

Cheers!