05/03/02 Instrument Review Lesson - Today was my last day of classes for the semester. I skipped my next cross-country lesson and did an instrument maneuvers review lesson instead. I practiced some "extreme" slow flight at 40 knots, then at 55 knots. I practiced some partial panel flight again (which I never enjoy), doing compass turns and partial panel unusual attitude recoveries. After the unusual attitudes, my stomach was upset and I only managed to do a few minutes of a DME arc before calling it quits and heading back in. I didn't like leaving the clear sky early, but it was better to do that than decorate the cockpit... I logged an hour of flight including 0.9 simulated instrument time. I passed the 130-hour mark today!

05/05/02 Final Exams Week - This week I will have five final exams including my commercial pilot written test. I hope to fly later in the week and do another IFR cross-country. After that, I only have a couple more lessons before taking my instrument checkride.

05/10/02 Written Test, Flight Lesson - I did very well on my FAA Commercial Pilot written test this morning. This afternoon I diverted from the instrument syllabus for a while. With my instructor, I flew without wearing the foggles for once! I did steep turns. Then I learned how to do a chandelle (one of the commercial maneuvers). Steve was excited because he actually got to fly. I did four chandelles after he demonstrated. Then I practiced doing an emergency descent (fun!). I got back to business, donned the foggles and did a full NDB runway 31 approach as part of an instrument review lesson. My flight time was 1.2 hours.

05/14/02 Instrument Cross-Country - My instructor and I flew in and out of cumulus clouds today during an IFR cross-country flight to my hometown. I flew via airways and radar vectors to Clintonville, where I did an NDB approach. I visited my co-workers at Airtronics. On the way back to Dubuque, I did a VOR approach at Madison without landing, then I did the ILS approach at Dubuque. I logged 3.8 hours of flight time which includes 1.3 hours of actual instrument (in the clouds) and 2.3 hours of simulated instrument time (wearing the foggles).

05/17/02 Solo Fun - I took out a 172 at about 7 pm tonight and flew it solo for about an hour. There was a broken cloud ceiling over Dubuque but I could see that it was clearing in the west. I flew west and climbed up through a huge hole over Dyersville. The cloud bases were at 7,000 feet MSL and I found out that the tops were at 9,000. I leveled off at 9,000 feet in the hole and paralleled the clouds for a while, taking pictures. I had never been that high in a 172! It was a beautiful evening.

05/18/02 Holding and Approaches - This morning (morning, what's that?) I flew with my instructor and reviewed NDB holding, then did an NDB approach and a VOR approach. I was outbound getting set up for an ILS approach when the alternator failed! We returned to the airport then. I logged 1.4 hours total time and 1.2 instrument.

05/20/02 Three Approaches - I flew three approaches at Dubuque: the NDB 31, ILS 36, and LOC/BC 13. I logged an hour.

05/21/02 Short IFR Cross-Country South - I flew with a different instructor this afternoon and flew a short instrument cross-country to the Quad Cities. I did an ILS approach there without a landing. Back at Dubuque, I did the NDB 31 approach and circled to land on runway 18. The flight lasted an hour and a half.

05/23/02 Internship! - After about a month of anticipation, tonight I found out that I have been given the internship that I applied for! I am this summer's Everett Weekly Intern at EAA! I will be working at Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh on weekdays from June through mid-August.

05/29/02 Preparing for Instrument Checkride - I spent the last three weeks re-reading my instrument flight manual and just finished. I will double-check tomorrow but I'm almost sure I'm done with my instrument flight syllabus except for the last stage check, some ground time, and the checkride. I'm trying to get these things done ASAP so I can leave for my internship. I don't want to leave without my instrument rating.

05/30/02 Problems - It has been storming for what seems like forever. Haven't flown in over a week. Next week is supposed to be stormy too. I went to the airport today to go through my syllabus and make sure all the numbers were correct. I had to fix a couple of things. I might need one more flight lesson before taking my stage check and checkride. Also I found out that the chances of taking both a stage check and a checkride by next week are slim. Tonight I went through my entire logbook, re-totaled everything, and fixed a few errors. I need to pack to go home, my internship is supposed to start next week, and my car just overheated and needs to go to the shop. Problems, problems!

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