11/07/01 Great Weather, Flight and Sim Lesson - The weather this week has been wonderful. It has been sunny and unseasonably warm. I had an instrument flight lesson on Monday, practicing VOR approaches. The air was smooth as silk. Today I practiced ILS approaches on the simulator. I reserved a Cessna 172R for this coming Sunday and hope to do a cross-country. Destination? I don't know yet.

11/11/01 Flight to Madison with a Friend - I flew a cross-country flight from Dubuque to Madison and back. I hoped to visit the East Towne Mall with the friend that came with me. But I had to leave Dubuque much later than I wanted and didn't have time to do that. We had to come right back after I got fuel in Madison, and squeaked onto the runway in Dubuque at sunset. The ride was unbelievably smooth, especially for a sunny afternoon. In fact I actually made a pilot report to flight service stating that it was "smooth as silk." It was fun.

11/12/01 First Flight with New Instructor - Because of a scheduling conflict with my primary flight instructor, I switched to a different one and had my first flight with him today. I practiced a DME arc and a localizer approach. I also did some basic turns, climbs, and descents so my new instructor could see how I fly. The weather was again incredibly great: smooth air and light winds. I don't remember the last time the weather has been this good for this long. It almost makes flying too easy.

11/16/01 Simulator Lesson - The thick fog that hung in the air the whole day didn't get me down, because I didn't have a flight scheduled anyway. I had a simulator lesson on NDB approaches and unusual attitudes. I'll practice these things in the airplane on my next lesson, which is scheduled for Monday, if the weather holds. I didn't reserve a plane for Sunday (tomorrow) because the weather won't be good for flying.

11/26/01 Bad Weather, Upcoming Stage Check - No flying today. A storm system over the Midwest has turned the weather crazy. Wind, clouds, rain, snow. I have an instrument stage check coming up two lessons from now, so I am hoping for a week of good weather where I can do the two lessons and the stage check in one week. But in November, in the upper Midwest, that might be asking too much! I haven't flown since the 12th. There were a couple good days since then, but circumstances didn't work out.

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