When I finally have a few hours of free time, I'm going to conduct an experiment: who sweats more profusely, the atomic, Baptist-style preacher at church this morning, or me, while taxiing from tarmac to runway under the blazing Texas sun. No joke, it felt like
Mount Vesuvius in the cockpit today, even though I chose the 8AM flight slot. The conditions were otherwise ideal for flying: calm winds, unlimited visibility, and smooth air. Everything seemed to come together on my takeoff and initial climb, so much that I found myself searching for the instant replay feature that only exists on my cheesy laptop flight simulator. Learning to fly has been a weird process; one minute, my confidence level soars and everything feels so natural, and an instant later, things can deteriorate so fast that there may as well be a walrus at the controls. When something goes incredibly right, I brace myself, for I know that in only a few moments, I'm likely to botch another maneuver. More than anything else, I'm longing to be a more consistent pilot.
After surviving the first week of flight school, the magnitude of what I'm attempting to do has really manifested itself. I see the students who are a few months ahead of me and wonder if I'll ever be at their level. I watch as the
CFI's dispense knowledge and am curious how they became so proficient. I stand frozen as the old, greybeard captains stroll confidently from hangar to big, shiny jet and ponder if it'll ever happen for me. Rarely is there a day that passes without my mind allowing the doubts to creep in; it is in these gut check moments that I remind myself of my abilities and motivation, of the immense sacrifices I've made and will continue to make, and that nothing will stand in the way of my ultimate goal. There are plenty of
uncertainties out there, but this much I do know: in 144 days, I will be a pilot. Getting there will be a turbulent ride-I'm prepared for that at the very least. In the meantime, I guess we'll see what happens...
PB&J Sandwiches Consumed: (to date) 11
just wanted you to know that I read your blog :) and that even if people don't leave comments...they're still reading your mindless wanderings.
ReplyDeleteLorri is right...I'm here too...checking on you! (It's a Mom thing.) Was it hot enough for you yesterday? My first summer in TX, we had 69 days over 100 and 42 of them were consecutive. Hang tough, Gabe! Drink lots of water!
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