July 18 - PPL Flight Test!!!
The morning was already hot as Hades, and -- understandably -- I had not slept well. Thankfully, the examiner had called a few days prior to move our 10 a.m. appt to the afternoon, so I knew I had some time to prepare and then could take a short nap before "the event". The weather, too, looked promisingly ominous, so I was mentally preparing to complete my ground portion, and then collapse in a heap at the apt I'd been renting, and fly the actual flight test some time on the weekend.
We walked over to the ferry in the sweltering heat.
Upon arrival at the flight school, I discovered that the A/C there was still not fixed (it had been broken for a while, and after several scorching days, the temps were unbearable)!!!
I printed off a weather package, hauled one of the fans upstairs, and got myself set up at a table to prepare for my Ground portion. In front of the fan, I spread out my charts and nav log, carefully weighting down various corners of papers, etc., so that they wouldn't fly away. Then I rehearsed my weather briefing, and did the final preps on my nav log, the wind from the fan blowing hot air from the room into my ears and eyes the whole time. By noon, I was toast!
I left the room and went downstairs to take a nap on the worn out couch in the lobby. With my headphones pumping the melodious strains of Dan Gibson's "Calm the Mind" yoga music into my ears, I was fast asleep within a few minutes.
When I woke up, one of my instructors informed me that the examiner had called to advise he was running late due to traffic. No matter. I was feeling somewhat refreshed from my nap, and I knew I wouldn't be flying anyway, since by all accounts there were thundershowers, CB clouds and winds gusting 30 all over our intended route, and more coming in from the west.
I went to eat some lunch; a healthy salad my girlfriend had packed, and a peanut butter and jam sandwich on rye. Fruit and some milk rounded things out to fully prep me for the invariably grueling ground portion that lay ahead.
Nearly an hour after the scheduled exam time, the examiner arrived. A very friendly and positive guy, he shook my hand, apologised for his tardiness, and upstairs we went. He was optimistic that we'd go flying after our ground portion. I was optimistic that we would NOT, and terrified that he might want to. I was exhausted -- I'd been baking in the heat of the flight school for nearly 6 hours, lol! (In the meantime, some guys had come to fix the A/C, so mercifully, the temp was roughly 27 degrees Celsius in the briefing room, rather than 40!!! But it was still cooking.)
Our school's usual guy, John Chandler, was on holiday, so Dave George was my examiner. He is a fellow from St Catherine's, very friendly, and all about setting the student up for success. His attitude was so positive, I couldn't help but shine. I had over prepared, and it was obvious that I knew most of my stuff. Dave probed into a few areas, including my knowledge of documents, CARs, the aircraft I was flying, and the flight nav log I had prepared, and what might happen in different scenarios. Once he had assured us both of my relative competence and sanity, he decided we ought to check the weather and go flying. I could not believe this might actually happen!!! I was ready to keel over from exhaustion! But what could I do? Dave had driven all this way, and had such high hopes of me!
We took a quick look at the radar, and sure enough, the various storms promised to just skim the very edges of our intended flight path.
Ugh!
So, I mustered up some special reserves deep within myself, signed us out, walked to the airplane, and begun my walk around and pax briefing. And then we were off.
Now I know I ought to write all the details of my test here for all who want to know... and I probably will at some point, just as a record for myself. But right now, I am so burnt and tired that I need a little time off to recover from the intensity of the past few weeks.
Suffice it to say that I passed. :)
Yep.
We walked over to the ferry in the sweltering heat.
Upon arrival at the flight school, I discovered that the A/C there was still not fixed (it had been broken for a while, and after several scorching days, the temps were unbearable)!!!
I printed off a weather package, hauled one of the fans upstairs, and got myself set up at a table to prepare for my Ground portion. In front of the fan, I spread out my charts and nav log, carefully weighting down various corners of papers, etc., so that they wouldn't fly away. Then I rehearsed my weather briefing, and did the final preps on my nav log, the wind from the fan blowing hot air from the room into my ears and eyes the whole time. By noon, I was toast!
I left the room and went downstairs to take a nap on the worn out couch in the lobby. With my headphones pumping the melodious strains of Dan Gibson's "Calm the Mind" yoga music into my ears, I was fast asleep within a few minutes.
When I woke up, one of my instructors informed me that the examiner had called to advise he was running late due to traffic. No matter. I was feeling somewhat refreshed from my nap, and I knew I wouldn't be flying anyway, since by all accounts there were thundershowers, CB clouds and winds gusting 30 all over our intended route, and more coming in from the west.
I went to eat some lunch; a healthy salad my girlfriend had packed, and a peanut butter and jam sandwich on rye. Fruit and some milk rounded things out to fully prep me for the invariably grueling ground portion that lay ahead.
Nearly an hour after the scheduled exam time, the examiner arrived. A very friendly and positive guy, he shook my hand, apologised for his tardiness, and upstairs we went. He was optimistic that we'd go flying after our ground portion. I was optimistic that we would NOT, and terrified that he might want to. I was exhausted -- I'd been baking in the heat of the flight school for nearly 6 hours, lol! (In the meantime, some guys had come to fix the A/C, so mercifully, the temp was roughly 27 degrees Celsius in the briefing room, rather than 40!!! But it was still cooking.)
Our school's usual guy, John Chandler, was on holiday, so Dave George was my examiner. He is a fellow from St Catherine's, very friendly, and all about setting the student up for success. His attitude was so positive, I couldn't help but shine. I had over prepared, and it was obvious that I knew most of my stuff. Dave probed into a few areas, including my knowledge of documents, CARs, the aircraft I was flying, and the flight nav log I had prepared, and what might happen in different scenarios. Once he had assured us both of my relative competence and sanity, he decided we ought to check the weather and go flying. I could not believe this might actually happen!!! I was ready to keel over from exhaustion! But what could I do? Dave had driven all this way, and had such high hopes of me!
We took a quick look at the radar, and sure enough, the various storms promised to just skim the very edges of our intended flight path.
Ugh!
So, I mustered up some special reserves deep within myself, signed us out, walked to the airplane, and begun my walk around and pax briefing. And then we were off.
Now I know I ought to write all the details of my test here for all who want to know... and I probably will at some point, just as a record for myself. But right now, I am so burnt and tired that I need a little time off to recover from the intensity of the past few weeks.
Suffice it to say that I passed. :)
Yep.