Which Instruments are Required?

Flying is such an exhilarating thing to do, but with so many pilots doing not-so-smart things in the past, we have the FAA to deal with now.  We have to make sure we have all our i's dotted and t's crossed so we don't get fined (or whatever punishment they decide on) by the FAA.  

In order to fly in an airplane during the day or night in VFR conditions, there is a list of items that must be operating on the aircraft for it to be airworthy.  For a checkride, you'll need to have all of these items memorized, but for every day pilot life, I would recommend creating a 'cheat sheet' for yourself.  

Following is the 'cheat sheet' I made for myself and still keep on my kneeboard when I am flight instructing or flying solo.  That way if something is inop, I can quickly look down at my sheet and see if I am legal to fly or not.  The acronym I used to help me memorize this is TOMAATOFFLAMES for the required items during day, and FLAPS for the additional items required at night.

Required Equipment: FAR 91.205

Day VFR

Tachometer for each engine

Oil pressure gauge for each engine using a pressure system

Magnetic direction indicator (compass)

Airspeed indicator

Altimeter

Temperature gauge for each liquid-cooled engine

Oil temperature gauge for each air-cooled engine

Fuel gauge indicating the quantity of fuel in each tank

Flotation gear if flight is for hire beyond gliding distance from shore

Landing gear position indicator

Anti-collision light system, if certified after March 11, 1996

Manifold pressure gauge for each altitude engine 

ELT, if required by FAR 91.207

Safety belt for each occupant over 2 years old, Shoulder harness, if after July 18, 1978

Night VFR

All equipment listed above plus….

Fuse: a spare set if accessible to the pilot

Landing light: electric if the flight is for hire

Anti Collision light system: red or white

Position navigation lights

Source of electricity for all electrical and radio equipment

You are welcome to copy and paste this list into a word document and use it for yourself; in fact, I hope

you do.  As pilots, we help each other out- that's the great thing about being a part of such a great community of people.  Keep this list with you at all times while flying so you never have to play the guessing game again.  

My Biggest Challenge

Of course I'd like you all to think that I was a natural born pilot who has always had it easy, but that isn't the truth.  Flying with precision is something I have had to learn over the years.  I have done enough intro flights to know there are those who are natural aviators, and those who are not.  There's nothing wrong with either one, but for some of us, we have to work a lot harder to master the maneuvers than others.

Though my first flight with my instructor was such an adrenaline rush, I remember having a difficult time holding altitude.  I felt like I was keeping the nose of the aircraft where the instructor told me to, but the airplane, against my will of course, kept climbing or descending.  At the time, I didn't realize that some pilots can hold altitude within 10 feet on their first flight, so I thought I was the most amazing pilot that there ever was!

Thankfully my instructor never said anything discouraging to me, and never compared me to his other students, so after a few flight I had mastered the basic maneuvers.  Next up?  Takeoffs and landings.  The takeoffs didn't seem too difficult, but the landings gave me some grief.

I had over 15 hours before I soloed because I could not get a good landing in.  If it was a 'common error' I struggled with it.  Flaring too high?  Yep.  Coming in too fast or slow?  Yep.  Leaving power in too long?  Yep.  Landings were my nemesis.  But I was determined to get it.  I spent a lot of time in the traffic pattern with my instructor.  I'm sure he got bored of flying traffic patterns for over an hour/three times per week, but he never complained.  I saw myself improve each and every time, which is what kept me going.

After a million or so landings (okay, maybe not that many... but it was a lot), my instructor finally felt I was ready for my solo.  I was nervous, but I acted the part and told myself that if he thought I could do it, that I could do it.  I did three touch and go's and survived every single one- in fact, the landings weren't so bad after all.  I could hear my instructor in my head, coaching me through it.  It was awesome!

Once I had my solo endorsement, I went up frequently by myself to work on my landings.  I put in a lot of time and spent a lot of money before I felt my landings were up to par, but I distinctly remember the day when it all clicked.  My traffic pattern was perfect, my approach was stabilized, I reduced power at the perfect time, leveled out, and flared exactly when I needed to- I'd finally gotten the sight picture correct.  I'm sure I still had some less than beautiful landings in that plane before my checkride, but I now knew how to land the airplane safely each and every time.   I had finally mastered the normal landing.

What's the point to this story?  It's that not every pilot is perfect, and that's okay.  If you are having a difficult time learning a specific maneuver, don't just give up.  Keep working at it until you get it.  Don't compare yourself to your peers- your only competition is you.  Study harder so you can be better than you were the day or the flight before.  If you beat yourself up, you won't be able to improve.   Some pilots are naturals, and some are not; it's nothing to be ashamed of.
 If this is something you really want to do, then do it.  There were many times I could have easily given up, but I didn't.  I kept working through it.  I had to study a lot more than most, but that didn't stop me.   Don't let it stop you!

If you have questions about becoming a pilot, or would like to share your story on my blog, email me at trendyprivatepilots@gmail.com.

Fuel- Top if Off, Please!

Getting back into the General Aviation world has re-opened my eyes with how important fuel is.  Of course we pay attention to it at the airlines and check it a bazillion times before we takeoff and during the flight, but the amount of fuel we need is figured out by dispatchers and then put into our planes from fuelers who are paid to do it.  Fuel is burned evenly from each tank into each engine, so we don't have worry about switching fuel tanks throughout the flight.  And the fuel gauges are very accurate on a commercial airliner!

Many GA airplanes are not quite the same, as far as fuel goes.  Fuel gauges only have to show accurate when they are empty, which is not something I want to test out!  Because of that, we need to visually inspect the tanks to make sure they are full before each flight, and sump it to make sure there are no contaminants (including water), in our fuel tanks.  Water weighs roughly 8 pounds per gallon, whereas fuel weighs only about 6 pounds per gallon; if there is water in your fuel tank, it will separate and sink to the bottom of your sump.  If you see this, continue summing until all of the water is removed from your fuel tank.

While sumping fuel, you have probably noticed that the fuel was either a blue (100LL), red (80), green (100), or clear (Jet-A).  Dyes are added to the fuel to help us identity which grade of fuel is in our tank.  Most of the airplanes I have flown have used 100LL, which is blue.  (As a side note, after you sump the fuel, hold it next to something white so you can verify the color.)

My one exception (minus my airline flying) to that is the Diamond Twinstar, which takes Jet-A fuel.  One important item to note is this: When two grades of fuel are mixed, it will turn clear.  I got asked that question on my commercial checkride and I had absolutely no idea.  The examiner was kind and let me look it up afterwards... whew!

Though many smaller airplanes have only one fuel tank, or two fuel tanks that can be used at the same time, some are not designed that way at all- in fact, you may have to watch your fuel and switch it from one tank to the next every 30 minutes or so.  Make sure you know which type of fuel system you have in your aircraft.  I have heard stories of pilots running out of fuel in one tank, doing an emergency landing, only to remember they still had another tank completely full of fuel.  Don't be that guy (or girl)!

As long as taking full fuel won't put me overweight, I 'top it off' before each flight.  I'd much rather have too much fuel than not enough.  What are your personal minimums regarding fuel?

Back to the GA World

Before today,  it had been 1,324 days since I flew a single engine airplane.  In 2012 I was hired by a regional carrier and completed my last flight as a single engine certified flight instructor (CFI) on August 4, 2012.  It was hard for me to leave flight instructing, as it was my passion, but I had to give the airlines a try.  Maybe I would like the lifestyle more?  Maybe I would become a better pilot?  Maybe I would LOVE the travel benefits?  Plus, it had always been my goal, and I knew then was the perfect time for me to give it a try.

It is now 3 1/2 years later, and I still absolutely LOVE flying at the airlines.  I started at the company flying a turboprop, but last year transitioned over to the jet.  The benefits of working for an airline are pretty fantastic- free flights, great health insurance, traveling all over the place and getting paid to do it, and [after the first year] making more as an airline pilot than I ever did as a CFI.  I would never leave the airlines to go back to a full time flight instructor, position but I do miss teaching!  I have seen people do some pretty incredible things, so why couldn't I do both?  Be an airline pilot and a CFI?

Last week was my last flight at the airlines before I left on maternity leave.  I wasn't ready to go, but sitting for 8+ hours was getting incredibly uncomfortable (as in, my entire body would be sore by the time I got to the hotel each night), and using the lav more than once on a 2 hour flight is quite inconvenient.  I have had so many people tell me to take this time to just relax... you mean laze around?  Not my style!  So I found a great flight school near me and got checked out in their little Piper Warrior today.  I had a mix of emotions in that one hour flight, I thought I'd share... maybe some of you have felt the same way.  But we don't just give up when things are a bit out of our comfort zone- we push through it until we are great, and then we keep on going.

Before I left for my checkout flight this morning, I was a bit nervous/excited.  Nervous because "what if I fly the wrong airspeed, or approach the runway too high, etc, etc."    I am a recovering perfectionist and sometimes I am my own worst enemy.  I finally realized, however, that I WAS going to make those mistakes.   I WAS going to fly too fast at some point; I WAS going to have an imperfect traffic pattern, because mistakes are a part of learning.  Also, I hadn't been in a small plane in years, it's ridiculous to think I could just get in the plane and fly it perfectly- nobody can do that.  In aviation, we all make mistakes, but we learn from them, fix it, and move on.

My first traffic pattern was all over the place (at least in my opinion)!  I was late on the flaps, high on final, and ended up just doing a go-around (ain't no shame in that).  My CFI showed me the second traffic pattern and approach to landing and I thought she was going to kill us- "Whoa... why is she waiting so long to level out and flare... she can see the ground, right???"  But her landing was right on the money- perfect level out and flare.

She handed the controls back to me and I was on my own now.  However, during my first full traffic pattern, approach, and landing, these thoughts did cross my mind "it's easier to just sit at home; why am I doing this to myself?  why am I making myself learn to fly a small airplane again?  this isn't fun;  I'm not good at it; I miss my jet."  If you have ever had these kind of negative thoughts enter your mind, GET THEM OUT IMMEDIATELY.  You will be so much happier after you accomplish your goal instead of just giving up.  You will have more to look forward to each day.  You will feel better about yourself.  It will all be worth it in the end.  Once I told myself I could do this, each landing got progressively better.  They still aren't perfect, but that will come.

I did seven more landings after hers, and by the end, I was feeling pretty good about myself.  I took myself out of my comfort zone and did something that was hard for me (hard for me because I wasn't perfect at it).  I think every pilot going through training feels this at some point, and that's okay... as long as you recognize it and keep pushing forward.

During my flight instructor days I saw so many students try to give up after a bad day of flying.  I often wondered why they were so hard on themselves, because I had forgotten what it's like.  But now I remember.  I am glad I got to experience those emotions again today, because I will understand what my students are going through, and how they feel when they don't have the perfect day of flying.  I'm excited to start flight instructing again, and can't wait to  make a difference.

Private Pilot Training, Part 141

Thinking of earning a private pilots license?  Confused about the differences between a part 61 and part 141 flight school?  Read this post to learn about the requirement for part 61, and continue reading on to find out about the requirements for part 141.

I did all my flight training and flight instructing at a part 61 school in Utah; because of that, I am  more familiar with getting a license under that part of the regulations (if you find any errors or anything missing from this section, please let me know).  There are pros and cons to doing your training under part 61 versus part 141, so make sure you do the research and pick a flight school that will work best for your future goals.

There are a lot of similarities between 61 and 141, but also a few major difference.  In a quick summary, part 61 is less strict, but requires a few more hours in the long run.  Part 141 is more regimented, requires an exact syllabus to be followed, but has less flight hours required.  Either program is going to be a great way to train- just find one that works well for you and go for it.

Keep in mind, in this post I am only discussing the requirements to get a private pilot's license, airplane single-engine land. I have also paraphrased some of the information to make it easier to understand,  but if you want to the exact wording, you can refer to the FARs Part 141. 

Following is information taken from the FAR/AIM Part 141 section:

If you attend a Part 141 flight school you must have a minimum of 35 hours of ground training in the following areas (part 61 does not have a time limit on the ground hours, the only requirement is that you cover all the ground areas with a flight instructor):

Ground Training Aeronautical knowledge areas:

(1) Applicable Federal Aviation Regulations for private pilot privileges, limitations, and flight operations;

(2) Accident reporting requirements of the National Transportation Safety Board;

(3) Applicable subjects of the “Aeronautical Information Manual” and the appropriate FAA advisory circulars;

(4) Aeronautical charts for VFR navigation using pilotage, dead reckoning, and navigation systems;

(5) Radio communication procedures;

(6) Recognition of critical weather situations from the ground and in flight, windshear avoidance, and the procurement and use of aeronautical weather reports and forecasts;

(7) Safe and efficient operation of aircraft, including collision avoidance, and recognition and avoidance of wake turbulence;

(8) Effects of density altitude on takeoff and climb performance;

(9) Weight and balance computations;

(10) Principles of aerodynamics, powerplants, and aircraft systems;

(11) If the course of training is for an airplane category or glider category rating, stall awareness, spin entry, spins, and spin recovery techniques;

(12) Aeronautical decision making and judgment; and

(13) Preflight action that includes— 

(i) How to obtain information on runway lengths at airports of intended use, data on takeoff and landing
distances, weather reports and forecasts, and fuel requirements; and 

(ii) How to plan for alternatives if the planned flight cannot be completed or delays are encountered.

You must also have a minimum of 35 hours of flight training. 

Flight Training areas:

(1) 20 hours of flight training from a certificated flight instructor 

(i) 3 hours of cross-country flight training in a single-engine airplane

(ii) 3 hours of night flight training in a single-engine airplane that includes— 

-One cross-country flight of more than 100-nautical-miles total distance; and 

-10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop

(iii) Three hours operating the aircraft solely by reference to instruments

(iv) 3 hours of flight training in preparation for the practical test within 60 days preceding the date of the test.

Some of the flight hours can be completed in a simulator.  If you decide to attend a part 141 flight school they can give you the details of that (if they have an approved sim), or you can refer to the Regs.

Following are the areas you have to demonstrate proficiency on for your checkride (same as part 61):

(i) Preflight preparation; 

(ii) Preflight procedures; 

(iii) Airport and seaplane base operations; 

(iv) Takeoffs, landings, and go-arounds; 

(v) Performance maneuvers; 

(vi) Ground reference maneuvers; 

(vii) Navigation; 

(viii) Slow flight and stalls; 

(ix) Basic instrument maneuvers; 

(x) Emergency operations; 

(xi) Night operations, and 

(xii) Postflight procedures.

You are still required to have solo time to earn a license under part 141.  You will need at least 5 hours of solo time.  Following are the requirements for those hours (these hours go towards the minimum 35 hours needed to get your license):

(1) One solo 100 nautical miles cross country flight with landings at a minimum of three points and one
segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff
and landing locations; and

(2) Three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at
an airport with an operating control tower. 

In a part 61 flight training program, stage checks and end-of-course tests are not required; however, in a part 141 flight training program, they are.  The school you attend will have the information for the stage checks- how many they require and the ground and flight training for each one.

I flight instructed at a part 61 school that did stage checks, even though it wasn't required.  For example, the private pilot training was divided into 3 stages with a stage check after each one: pre-solo, cross-countries, and checkride prep.  I think stage checks are great- for the instructor and the student.  It's a good gauge for the flight instructor to make sure they are teaching all the required information, and it's good for the student (YOU) to make sure you are learning what you need to.  Also, doing stage checks makes the checkride less stressful because you will be used to flying and getting tested by someone other than your flight instructor.  Stage checks are there to help you, so don't be too nervous about them.

I hope that clears up some of the confusion between part 61 and part 141 flight training.  I paraphrased quite a bit here, so if you want to read the exact wording, refer to the FARs.  Have fun finding a flight school, and make sure you find one that fits you well with your future goals.

The All-Mighty Checkride

I originally posted this on my other blog, trendypilots.blogspot.com, but I thought my new readers might enjoy the post.  I had a lot of questions about what the checkride even was in the beginning, and I thought you might too.

What is a checkride anyways?  I remember asking this question when I first starting training, so here is your answer: It is the final test you take, including ground and flight, to get your license or rating. In this post, to keep it simple, I'll talk only about the private pilot checkride, but keep in mind that all checkrides follow the same basic principles.  If you are ready, checkrides don't have to be nerve-racking or stressful.  If you are prepared, they will be no big deal.

Once your have completed all the required training (I talked about Part 61 training in THIS post), you should be ready for the checkride.  Before I ever sent my students to their checkrides, I did a mock checkride with them; I asked them questions similar to what an examiner would ask, and treated the flight like I was an examiner, not their flight instructor.  This gave me and my students a good gauge as to whether or not they were actually ready.

Before you go to your checkride, here are a few things to keep in mind.  Most examiners want cash, so make sure you hit up an ATM before you meet with the examiner.  Bring everything you can think of that you have used in your training with you.  Some things may include: Foggles, Headset, Weather Charts, Flight Planning Tools, Logbook, FAR/AIM (and know how to reference it)... I am sure there are a few things I am forgetting, but if you are in doubt, bring it.  Other things you also need to bring are your completed IACRA form, your driver's license or govt. issued ID, current pilot's license, and your medical.

On my private pilot checkride, the examiner stumped me on a question.  As it was the first one I didn't know, he said I could use the FAR/AIM to look it up; problem was, I didn't even know how to reference this book.  It probably took me 20 minutes of pure stress to find the answer.  Not fun!  After the checkride I went through and tabbed some of the important stuff so I could find the answers, if I needed, for my next checkride.  It might be a good idea for you to do the same.  There is a list of pertinent FARS for each phase of training in the front of your book that you could use as a starting point when tabbing your FARs.   

Though this isn't required, I would recommend that you dress nice for a checkride.  No jeans with holes or sandals or baseball caps.  The nicer you dress, the better you feel about yourself, and the better you will most likely perform on your checkride.  You are taking a test to become a professional pilot, so dress like one.  I always wore nice black dress pants and a white button up shirt for checkrides.

Plan to show up for your checkride at least 30 minutes in advance so you have time to de-stress and make sure you have everything in order.  You could also do a quick preflight of the airplane to make sure there isn't anything major missing or damaged before you go out there with examiner.

The checkride consists of 2 segments: ground and flight.  The ground portion must be passed before the flight portion can begin.  The shortest ground portion I ever had was 1.5 hours, and the longest was 4 hours (that examiner was particularly chatty).  Most examiners try to keep it around 2 hours.  The examiner can ask anything from the PTS during this ground portion, so it is important to thoroughly study all the material outlined there (including all the information in the Introduction).  Click HERE to go to the FAAs website where all the PTSs can be found.

Most checkrides require that a flight plan be completed beforehand- the examiner will give you a cross country flight to plan, which will include the amount of bags and passengers you will take on this pretend flight.  Bring everything you used to plan the flight to the checkride in case he asks you to show how you got a specific number, such as distance from point A to B.  This is not required, but a good idea in my opinion-- also bring all the weather charts you used in your flight planning.  These charts include (from the PTS):

1. METAR, TAF, and FA. 
2. surface analysis chart. 
3. radar summary chart. 
4. winds and temperature aloft chart. 
5. significant weather prognostic charts. 
6. convective outlook chart. 
7. AWOS, ASOS, and ATIS reports. 
8. SIGMET s and AIRMET s. 
9. PIREPs. 
10. windshear reports. 
11. icing and freezing level information. 

Why is it good to bring all of these?  Because you can look them all over and make sure you know how to read them all.  If you have your own weather charts, the examiner might just use those for the testing, which is great since you have those charts studied to a "T".  I always had my students do that and none struggled with the weather portion on a checkride.

The flight planning is usually a big portion of the checkride, as the examiner can tie so many things into the fight plan, such as, "If you get lost, what are you going to do?" or "If you have an engine failure at point X, what will you do and where will you land?" or "What airspace are you in at point X at the altitude you have planned to be at?"  or "How can I find out more information about this airport?"  I think you get the point.  The examiner can check a lot of boxes off during your flight planning portion by asking you scenario based questions.

Make sure you are familiar with all the ground items outlined in the PTS.  It is not a secret what you will be asked.  So study!

Once you have passed the ground portion you will move onto the flight portion, the fun part.  Most examiners will look through the maintenance logs with you and make sure all the required inspections have been completed.  If everything is correct in the maintenance logs, your flight portion will begin.  The examiner may walk with you during the walk around and ask questions about the aircraft, such as fuel, antennas, weight limitations, engine operation, etc.  Know your stuff!  I once had an examiner ask me what color the fuel would be if you mixed two different types of avgas.  I had no idea!  He told me to write it down and look it up later... the answer is clear (much different from the brownish color I had imagined).

After the preflight comes the flight portion.  If you had to plan a flight for your checkride, you will probably fly the first portion of your cross county on departure.  The examiner wants to make sure that you can actually fly the route you planned and that your times match up.  Once you pass that portion, you will move on to the maneuvers, in whichever order the examiner decides.  The flight portion is usually 1.5 hours long.  Make sure you relax.  If you make a mistake (like lose 200' altitude), correct it immediately and don't beat yourself up about it.  The examiner cannot fail you for 1 or even 2 mistakes... you have to consistently exceed tolerances to fail a checkride.  So correct the error, speak positively to yourself, and nail the next maneuver.  Don't dwell on your mistakes or it could most definitely be the downfall of your checkride.

Once you have passed all the required maneuvers and have landed the airplane beautifully, continue to stay in 'testing mode.'  The checkride is not over until you have safely parked the plane and chocked it or placed the tie-downs on it.  Once that's all over, and the examiner has told you good job, you are done!  And you will feel the most relief and success you have ever felt.  Each checkride is a huge accomplishment- seriously.  It takes a lot of time and effort to pass a checkride, so make sure you celebrate afterwards!

If you have any questions about the checkride that weren't answered in this post, feel free to email me at trendyprivatepilots@gmail.com.  I look forward to hearing from you.

How Aviation Found Me

It wasn't until I was a junior in high school that I even heard of a pilot as a possible career choice.  And honestly, I stumbled upon it by accident.  When I was in high school I decided to start taking college classes to try to graduate high school early with some college already under my belt.  I needed one more class to fill up my schedule that semester, and the only one that really fit was an Intro to Aviation Science class.  I wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it sounded interesting, so I registered for it.

On the first day of class the teacher went over the entire syllabus and told us what we could expect to learn that semester.  He also told about his flying background.  I was intrigued.  You mean to tell me that people make a career out of becoming a pilot?  It's not just something from the movies?  That sounds awesome.  As the class continued throughout the semester, I got more and more hooked.  It was the first time in my life that I wanted to know more.  Can women do this?  Can I do it even if I don't have perfect vision?  Where can I go to school for this?  Can I afford it?  I've never even been on a plane, though, will I even like it?

I had tons of questions, so instead of just sitting back, I decided to find some answers.  I began by researching out flight schools and found out the college I was attending in high school offered an aviation program and it was rated among the best- and better yet, it was much cheaper than the others at its level.  I asked my aviation teacher if I could do it without having perfect vision, and he told me yes!  As long as it was corrected by glasses, contacts, or lasik.  Things felt like they were falling into place for me.  Then came the bigger question- are there women out there that do this?  His answer again was yes!  Though women weren't as common in this industry, they could in fact do it.

Now that all those questions were answered it was time to actually step foot on a plane to see if I would even like it.  For my 18th birthday my parents bought me a round trip ticket on Frontier Airlines from SLC to DFW to visit my grandpa.  Navigating an airport for the first time seemed a bit confusing, but I found my way through security and to the gate hours before my flight was to leave.  I was so excited that the time seemed to draw on and on.  After a century or so, the flight finally began boarding.  I found my seat next to the cutest old lady and got settled in.

The flight attendants began their safety briefing and I was all ears.. how come nobody else seemed to be paying attention?  I guess I'll be the only one that knows what to do in an emergency.  And yes, I did read the entire safety briefing guide and knew exactly which emergency exit I would use if I needed to.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when that plane began rolling down the runway... and when those wings finally developed enough lift to get that plane off the ground, it was the best feeling I'd ever experienced up to that point.  It was incredible!  This is what I was born to do; If I could feel this every day for the rest of my life, I would be happy.  I remember the flight being a bit bumpy out of SLC (when is it ever smooth flying out of that airport?), and the lady next to me white-knuckling the arm rest.  What was she so nervous for?  It was just a few bumps and we were flying through clouds, this was awesome, not scary.  I was on an aviation high and I never wanted to come down.

When we made it to DFW (which felt like a 2 minute flight for me), my grandpa was there to pick me up.  I had only met him one time before this, but I liked him instantly.  He is an older version of my dad with the same silly sense of humor.  He calls Walmart 'Wally-World', and when we went there he let me pick out whatever I wanted to eat- what a treat!

My grandpa had gotten his pilot's license later on in his life, and he offered to take me up- not once, but twice!  I was the luckiest girl in the world.  The first time in the plane I was so excited I could hardly contain myself.  He showed me how to do a preflight inspection, how to use the checklists, and then he even let me taxi for a bit. I was all over the place on the taxiway, but it was awesome.  I knew I would get better at it.

The feeling I got when we first took flight in that little Cessna was one I will never forget.  To see the ground get further and further away was incredible.  We were flying through invisible air- life doesn't get more amazing than that.  I thought my grandpa was trying to kill us when he showed me a stall, but his recovery was flawless, so I lived to tell.  And the steep turns- I loved the steep turns; I felt like we were defying gravity.

I don't remember exactly what we did on each flight, but I remember that I had found my purpose in life- I was going to be a pilot!  My time with my grandpa went by way too quickly; after a short few days I was on my way back home.  But I had a purpose now, I had a passion, and I was going to do everything it took to get my pilot's license.

That was 12 years ago, and I am happy to say that since then I have earned my Private, Instrument Commercial with Single and Multi-Engine privileges, my CFI, CFII, MEI, Gold Seal, Ground Instructor- Advanced and Instrument, and most recently, my ATP.  Being a pilot has been such a great career so far and I am excited to see what the future holds for me.

If you are thinking about becoming a pilot, research it out, find answers to your questions, and make sure it is what you want to do.  If the answer is YES, then start doing something about it.  Nobody can do it for you- you have to do it for yourself.  But I am telling you that it will be worth it!  Please let me know if you have any questions by emailing me at trendyprivatepilots@gmail.com.  You can also find me on Facebook, facebook.com/trendypilots, or instragram @trendyprivatepilots and @trendypilots.  Or you can just go to trendypilots.com and find links to all of that in one place.  Happy flying!