I'm Qualified...And On To The Next Phase

The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to get brighter. I had my initial qualification checkride on Wednesday and passed. Thanks to all who sent up a prayer or two on my behalf...they must have got through the shingles. It wasn't the best checkride ever, but on paper it looks the same as the guy who was perfect. I almost did some poaching while flying. I about hit a deer that ran across the runway while I was trying to land...that would not have been good for both parties. Putting a deer through four jet driven propellers would have been the equivalent of putting a single piece of celery in a salad shooter. Bambi would have been pureed to the point that senior citizens could have eaten venison without their dentures falling out.

Now that the checkride is over, I have been studying hard for the next phase which starts Tuesday. Photos were taken while I slaved over the new material.

I "studied" twice this past week/weekend and realized that I got the wrong course material. Once I get the new material, I expect to find it explaining how to drop cargo out the back of a C-130 rather than how to drop in a golf ball from 130 yards out. The next phase in our mission qualification phase and it is where we learn how to drop cargo at certain locations. It sounds pretty easy, but getting cargo through a hostile area and dumping it out the back of an airplane while making sure it parachutes down to the exact location can actually take some planning. In the next phase we will learn all about the planning and how to do these types of missions. It should be pretty cool, since this is the whole reason the Air Force uses a C-130.

In other news Candi and I tried to go to a MercyMe, Skillet, Barlow Girl, etc. concert on Friday night. We got there a half an hour after the doors were open and it was sold out. It was a bummer because I really wanted to see Skillet, but the poor youth groups that traveled 16 hours just to find out the same news were the ones that made me feel sorry. In addition to my golfing on the weekend, we had a Super Bowl party today. We had several friends from pilot training over for some food and fun. I cheered all day for the Dallas Cowboys, but they didn't win.

Candi is doing well and continues to work from home. She is busy but still finds time to make it to the gym each day. She has been really committed to going to the gym daily, but it might be more to get out of the house than to get in shape...although, she is getting quite the hard body. Now if I could just lose a little myself...sitting in a classroom or a cockpit doesn't lend itself to high intensity cardio workouts. Well, until next time...C-YA!