12/3/01 Bad Weather - I can't complain that temperatures have been warmer than average, but I can complain that between Saturday, November 25 and Saturday, December 1, I didn't see the sun at all! The weather was bad all week. I haven't flown in three weeks and I'm starting to feel some flying withdrawal syndrome! Hopefully, since this week's weather is supposed to be better (I actually saw the sun on Sunday!), I will get some lessons in. The only thing good about the lack of flying lately is that I have more time for schoolwork, which is good since final exams are only a week away.

12/4/01 Lesson Canceled, No Planes - Bad weather again today. That's okay, I don't normally have lessons on Tuesdays. Yesterday, the weather was just barely good enough to fly VFR (visual flight rules). I went out to the airport excited to finally fly again - but ended up spending my time on the ground working on a project for my air transportation class. (My partner and I presented it today. Topic: air rage.) There were no airplanes available. Seems like everyone had the same eagerness to fly as I did, and some people "stole" planes. (GRRR.) By the way, my new flight instructor, Steve Bruce, wonders why I didn't mention his name earlier and tell everyone he is a cool guy. Well I can't say I disagree, so now I said it. One more note to any would-be airplane-stealers at UD: check the schedule and sign out your planes please! Canceled lessons are no fun, and neither I nor my instructor like wasting half an hour of gas!

12/7/01 IFR Lesson, Holding & Approaches, Night Currency - It's about time! I flew this evening. The weather wasn't the greatest. Just to be on the safe side, we filed an instrument flight plan. We never got into any clouds though (unfortunately for Steve, who was eager for some "actual"). I practiced holding at the CASSY intersection for a couple circuits. Then I flew back to Dubuque and did an NDB approach to runway 31 with circle-to-land on 13. I (well, mostly Steve) was communicating with center all the time. Most of our flight was in the dark. After landing, I decided I wanted to regain my night currency, so I did two more full-stop landings. By the time we were all done, I logged 1.6 hours. It was great to fly again. I felt a little rusty but did well. Next week, since it's finals week, planes will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. And since Steve and I will both be bored most of the week, we're talking about going on a cross-country.

12/13/01 Last Day Before Break - Leaving UD for semester break. Didn't fly this week. Returning to my avionics job at home Monday. I hope to fly the 150 over my month-long break.

12/20/01 Flying with a Friend in the 150 - I got to experience the zooming power of the Cessna 150 again (ha ha). I rolled the Spunkster out of the hangar today and took my friend Julie flying. It was a fun half-hour ride around the patch. We flew as the sun went down, so we got to see the long shadows of nearly the shortest day of the year. I was reminded how ridiculously easy the 150 is to fly compared to other planes. It's not a rocket, but "low and slow" is always fun. Beautiful clear sky, perfect landing.

12/25/01 Season's First Snow - It was a white Christmas after all! We had our first snow on Sunday. I can't wait to fly - it's always neat to see the snow from the air for the first time each winter!

12/28/01 Cirrus SR22 to Louisville, KY - It's not often that I run out of words to describe something, but after spending about five hours in two Cirrus SR22s last night, I can't find the right words to explain how awesome it was. I rode from Clintonville, WI to Louisville, KY and back. The SR22 is my new hands-down, no-questions-asked favorite airplane, by far, even knocking the RV-8 off its pedestal. I got to fly the plane myself for a while. I watched the sunset from above the clouds, and then continued skimming the tops for quite a while. I got to see Christmas lights in Louisville and the huge orange sea of Chicago at night. And the SR22, oh the SR22... I almost drool at the thought of it... It was a great experience. I'm still smiling, and probably won't stop any time soon.

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