It's been a while since I've posted, and Kelly is requesting posts to read, so here we go. After I finished my Commercial 1 stage check (I think that's what my last post was about) I began working on my Instrument Rating, which means I'm now flying the Cessna 182. I MUST have my Instrument Rating finished by the end of this semester, which means I don't have time to really get a feel for the 182 before I start working on the Rating. The Instrument Rating is, obviously, all about flying IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) which means we're practicing flying solely by our instruments. This means that the vast majority of my time in the 182 is spent wearing a hood, a vision limiting device that keeps me from being able to see outside the airplane. So I'm trying to learn to fly the 182 while not being able to see outside the 182. It's kind of frustrating sometimes. But I'm doing better than I personally expected to, and better, I think, than my instructor expected me to. This just might work out, after all.

My classes started on Monday. I'm taking one classroom class and two online classes. I naively thought the online classes would be a little easier than a classroom class, which is why I took 2 of them. I was mistaken. They involve obscene amounts of reading, both from books and from the internet. It's taken me a few days to get used to them and sort of settle into them. Ultimately, I'd prefer to sit in a classroom a couple days a week. Lesson learned.

I started my job 2 weeks ago. I got a work study position in the aviation department. As a work study, I'm only allowed 16 hours per week, and 12 of them are scheduled for office work (mostly keeping up on the paperwork that keeps the FAA off our backs). The other 4 hours, however, are open hours for the weekend, so I can help the fueler/washers wash airplanes. Since the fueler/washers and I are all new to the job, we had to wash a plane last Thursday AND last Friday. It's much harder, physically, than I expected it to be, because we not only wash the planes, we also wax them. Even with 3 of us on the job, it still takes somewhere around 3 hours.

All told, between the new classes, the job, and the 182, this has been a hard week. It's been quite some time since I was actually busy on a daily basis, and I'm still trying to hit my stride. But the 182 is going to bring us one step closer to Africa, the job is going to pad our savings account for our Michigan Christmas trip, and the classes are giving me full-time status so I can keep pouring large amounts of financial aid into my flight account. It's all quite a change for me, but it's also all working for our good.

A Stranger in the House of Instrument

After a bit of a delay (Erin called me last night to tell me I'd been rescheduled to 9:45), I had my stage check this morning. Despite a little bit of trouble with my commercial maneuvers, I still passed, with the assurance that my flying is right at the appropriate level, if not a little beyond that. So now I'm on to my Instrument Rating, and the Cessna 182. Thanks for your prayers, and thanks be to God, who accomplishes His will in spite of our doubts and insecurities.