What A Week!

As I told you last week, I battled the air sickness thing, then I was over it. Well, I got sick again on Monday. I didn't fly first, so I had to sit back and wait for the student pilot to complete three routes before I could fly. I did well for the first two routes, but by the third one I had my head buried in my Hefty bag. They let me off the airplane and I had to go to the flight doctor again. I was pretty down because I thought I was over this and I was thinking that the first time I got airsick was because I hadn't flown in a while, but now I had no excuse. Thankfully, prayers were answered again and I flew twice more during the week and didn't get sick either time, so now my roller coaster is back up at a high point. Unfortunately, Peaches (Jamie) wasn't as lucky. He had to ride while I flew first Friday and he got sick before he even got to fly and by the time he did get to fly, it didn't take long to manifest itself. The wind was really strong last week and that is what makes it so bumpy when you are only a few hundred feet off the ground. Unlike being at 40,000 feet, 300 feet is very unstable and turbulent air, so when the wind is blowing at all, it can really be felt. Long story short, please keep both of us in your prayers and thoughts that we can get through this without any more incidents. As long as we don't have to ride along while someone else is at the controls, I think we might be alright.

When they have a bunch of students and we have to ride in the back, this is what we get to see. This is what is called a CDS (Container Delivery System) bundle and this particular load slides out the back of the aircraft and on the way out, a chute attached to a static line is deployed to keep the load upright on its fall down to the ground. The chute doesn't really slow the fall, it just keeps it upright. We can hold up to 16 of these bundles. It is pretty cool to be flying 2,000 feet behind another aircraft when they drop multiple bundles like these right in front of your nose.

Well, as I mentioned, I did get to fly three times this week. That in itself is pretty amazing considering the weather we have been having. Thursday was supposed to be one of the worst days in recent history due to the weather forming that looked to produce many tornadoes. Fortunately, it mainly passed to the north of the Little Rock Air Force Base. Of course we had the rain, lightening, and wind, but we didn't have the destruction that the weather guessers predicted we would have here in the Little Rock area. The whole storm system was actually a lot weaker than they had thought, but it still cancelled us twice last week. We continue to get large amounts of rain to an already flooded area. Arkansas has received more rain in the last two weeks than Idaho does in the whole year.

The weather has been keeping us from getting out and doing much (like golf) and I am getting a little tired of sitting in the house. But when life gives you lemons, you got to make lemonade...which is how I justified shopping for a few new pair of shoes. Candi gave me the green light, so I really can't be blamed. After all, it was her cat that went to the bathroom in my shoes rendering them unwearable. I guess I could have worn them around, but everyone would start calling me the "old cat man" after the smell that would follow me around.

I am starting to get close to the end of my training. I start night flying this week and I have two academic events and nine flying events left. It is possible that I might be able to be done on time (April 29th), but I figure it will take me a little longer because the class ahead of me are about at the same place as our class due to the bad weather. The squadron is also going through a huge inspection this week, so I am thinking that will put us a little behind as well. I am looking forward to getting done and getting home, but I am enjoying the flying...AS LONG AS I AM NOT PUKING!