I have an additional goal for my flight training – complete all flights without escort by armed aircraft.  I added this goal after looking at all the lines, shading, rules, restrictions, etc, for flying in the Washington DC ADIZ.  CFI Mike assures me that it will all make sense and I’ll manage it just fine.  He also assures me that I’ll be able to find my way back to the airport after each flight as well.  We’ll see.  There’s a lot of green on the ground (despite all the building around here) and none of the boundaries on the map are actually painted on the ground.

Preflight was fairly uneventful, though thorough.  CFI Mike is the club safety officer and pays great attention to details.  That’s exactly what I need…I don’t want to develop any bad habits.  I missed a couple of items on the checklist today – one on preflight and one on shutdown.  That’s annoying – I was holding the list in my hand, how hard could it be?

The flight was uneventful as well, the best kind.  We took off, flew for a bit, turned around, came back and landed.  As simple as that sounds it was overwhelming.  I don’t have any filters in place yet so every little noise and bump commands as much attention as maintaining my altitude, speed, and RPMs.  And the radio calls…I’m pretty sure it was english being spoken but much faster than I could interpret.  Legs tired (I guess I was working the brakes too hard taxiing back) we tied up the aircraft and retreated to the clubhouse to attend to my logbook and my block time.  $1000 should last a few lessons at least.

Back firmly in the surly bonds of Earth my beloved awaited with a laundry list of mundanities, including, well, laundry (just mine).  I’ve largely neglected our yard other than mowing, and now have a child-sized weed forest to battle.  The catch-all “pick up after yourself” is on the list too.  That item’s a permanent fixture on our children’s lists as well as mine.  Coach-pitch baseball starts next weekend – “teach Cole to catch a ball” is on my agenda, though it’s certainly not a chore.

A note about equipment.  The headset (Pilot USA PA-1771T) performed fine; I just have to remember to speak up a bit when I talk on the intercom.  I picked up some new sunglasses too – my old (expensive) Ray Bans have been heartily abused and one of the lenses is prone to falling out.  I read on a forum that the Oakley Crosshair sunglasses are comfortable for flying and not as expensive as other headset-friendly models.  The local Oakley store put together a pair for me last night with the VR28 Black Iridium lens.  It’s a long, uninteresting story, but after two trips to the Oakley store and much wrestling (by them) with the screws in the frames I ended up with the silver (not chrome) frame.  They’re pretty sharp and extremely comfortable, much more so than the sunglasses I wore during my previous flight training.  On my second trip to the Oakley store the employee mistakenly put in polarized lenses, something I didn’t discover until I got home.  I called her at the store to let her know and ask if I should come back for a swap (for the polarized glass is a $50 upgrade which I didn’t want to pay for) and she said she’d swap it in the computer and not to worry about it.  Karma pays off.

And that’s enough of that.  I’m not one to carry on about what I feel, analyze my childhood, etc etc.

Before I’ve logged my first hour (this go around – I do have some time under my belt but that’s a story for another day), I’ve shelled out a few dollars in preparation:

• Membership for 1 year and one month at the Fort Meade Flying Activity: $390
• Pilot USA PA-1771T headset.  I wanted something with ANR, under $400, made in the USA.  I was initially going to go with one of the highly-regarded Lightspeed Aviation models.  While they’re designed in the US they’re made in China (in the factory owned by one of Lightspeed’s principles).  I try to keep as much of my money in the US as possible so I went with the PA-1771.  I’ll write more about the headset as I accumulate hours with it.  Purchased from Gulf Coast Avionics: $369.00 ($360 + shipping)
• ASA Private Pilot Test Prep, version 3 (widescreen).  I prefer to study on my own rather than go through ground school so I opted for a DVD course.  Sporty’s and King’s are the heavy hitters in this category, and I almost went with Sporty’s – their guarantee is pretty sweet.  I really didn’t find much online about the ASA offering, but what I did read was positive.  From Marv Golden Pilot Supplies: $152.75 ($135.95 + shipping)

And on that note, time for bed.  I’ve got a plane to catch in the morning.