2/7/06 Passed Instrument Instructor Checkride... Degree Requirements Complete! - I passed my CFII checkride today, earning the final rating that was required to finish my bachelor's degree requirements. Now I'm qualified to teach a whole new realm of students and can finally officially graduate from the University of Dubuque after a long and winding road. This is a big accomplishment.

I actually passed the oral portion of the test last week Friday the 3rd. The flight part was rescheduled due to snow Friday and then again due to wind on Monday. Oddly enough, every checkride I've taken has been split this way.

I'll be ironing out the details with my university and probably making a trip down there in the near future. I have not been there since I left last June. It feels good to finally reach my goals and be done with the program. Next I will work on a multi-engine rating.

2/9/06 Learning to Fly the Piper Archer - Since I'm going to Florida with another pilot and his friend in April, we decided it's a good time for me to learn to fly the plane. It's a 1980 Piper Archer and I have almost no experience flying Pipers. Ted is the pilot and owner, and Dale is his non-pilot friend who loves to fly. Ted called yesterday to invite me along for a flight today. I got up early and headed to Brennand Airport. The three of us left at about 9:00. I sat in the right seat since that's what I'm used to, but I did all the flying with Ted giving me pointers. We went to Watertown, which is about 60 nautical miles south. (My first real cross-country flight since May 2005!!!) We walked about a block from the airport and had breakfast at Perkins. The weather was awesome -- smooth and clear. I really liked the airplane and now I can't wait to go on this big trip. For our 1-1/2 hour flight today it was quiet enough that we didn't wear headsets. On our long trip I'll really like the comfy leather seats, Garmin GNS 430 GPS, autopilot, and traffic advisory system. I'm getting excited and there is still over a month to go!

cruising back to Neenah

2/23/06 Exhibiting at a Conference - The Wisconsin School Counselors Association held a conference in Stevens Point this week. I helped set up a table with information about Cavu Aviation and Utah Valley State College. We sat at the table Wednesday evening and Thursday during the day. We gave out lots of information and collected names. We'll be following up by visiting some schools.

2/25/06 Appointed to Webmaster Position for Civil Air Patrol Wisconsin Wing - When the previous webmaster for the Wisconsin Wing CAP site stepped down, I was chosen to fill his shoes. I am the new person in charge of maintaining this statewide web site. It will be a good way to apply my skills and learn a lot about CAP.

2/28/06 First Solo Student - Nothing really prepared me for how it felt to stand on the ground while one of my students took off into the air today! I soloed a student for the first time. It was exciting to watch Eddie do three takeoffs and landings all by himself. I have been instructing since last June, but due to a few quitters and students who don't fly often, I've been waiting all this time to finally solo someone. It was like reliving my first solo all over again. A few jitters and a lot of pride. Everything went okay. Big smiles afterward.

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