Awaiting my medical.

After my last post, I was very good and went in to get my PPL medical.  One of the bits had to be followed up, but the doctor seemed confident there wouldn't be a problem and that I'd receive my medical in the post soon.  It's been several weeks now and a call today reveals they are still waiting for follow up.  Frustrating!

On the plus side, I found this cute air plane shirt :)

The design is called "Waiting for William" and it's available in 3 colours from Friends of Couture!

Happy New Year

Once again, I've taken a bit of a break from my flying lessons. After my last lesson, my husband talked to the instructor who said I best get my medical and go up with out B-Cat on my next session.  This has posed somewhat of a problem as I haven't made the time over Christmas and New Years to go in and get said medical.  Oh well, the weather over the past couple of weeks has been a bit of a mixed bag.

I still like a good flight though and a few days ago on a mint day, hubs and I packed up my father in law's super sporty DynAero and went to Whitianga for lunch.  Well, we arrived there about 3:30pm so it was a pretty late lunch and the food was a bit crap...

Anyway, on to a few photos!

 At North Shore Airfield getting ready to take the plane out.

 Mid-air snap!

 On the ground in Whitianga.

 Back in the plane.

Heading back towards Auckland - so many beautiful sights along the way :)

Since this is a New Year's post, I guess I'm meant to tell you my resolutions...

1.  Get my medical so I can actually focus on going solo :)

2.  Start my new job.

3.  Strike a positive work/life balance with plenty of flying!

4.  Complete my PPL this year.

Merry Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp, Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ. The aircraft were fastened to tiedowns with care, in hopes that come morning, they all would be there.

The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots, with gusts from two-forty at 39 knots. I slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up, and settled down comfortably, resting my butt.

When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter, I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter. A voice clearly heard over static and snow, Called for clearance to land at the airport below.

He barked his transmission so lively and quick, I'd have sworn that the call sign he used was "St. Nick"; I ran to the panel to turn up the lights, the better to welcome this magical flight.

He called his position, no room for denial, "St. Nicholas One, turning left onto final." And what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!

With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came, as he passed all fixes, he called them by name: "Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun! On Comet! On Cupid!" What pills was he taking?

While controllers were sitting, and scratching their head, they phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread, the message they left was both urgent and dour: "When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower."

He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking, then I heard "Left at Charlie," and "Taxi to parking." He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh and stopped on the ramp with a "Ho, ho-ho- ho..."

He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk, I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks. His red helmet and goggles were covered with frost and his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.

His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale, and he puffed on a pipe, but he didn't inhale. His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly, His boots were as black as a crop duster's belly.

He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red, and he asked me to "fill it, with hundred low- lead." He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump, I knew he was anxious for draining the sump.

I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work, and I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk. He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief, then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.

And I thought as he silently scribed in his log, these reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog. He completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear, then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, "Clear!"

And laying a finger on his push-to-talk, He called up the tower for clearance and squawk. "Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction, Turn right three-two-zero at pilot's discretion."

He sped down the runway, the best of the best, "Your traffic's a Grumman, inbound from the west." Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed through the night, "Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight."

Going Somewhere

As I mentioned in my last post, I was doing a flight plan.  I even used that flight plan and flew to Raglan and back.  How exciting to say that I've now used my own pilot skills to fly myself somewhere for a little mini holiday!

Now, I didn't go all by myself of course.  My husband is an instructor in the microlight class, so he took the title of Pilot in Command while I did all the work. 

We packed up one of the "microlight" aircraft the flying school has on offer, a Tecnam P92 Echo Super.  Now, some of you may be thinking I'm talking about a low performance, open cockpit, fabric construction plane when I say microlight but instead I mean one of these:

 

You may also remember my post on aviator chic "Flying in Style" in which I kinda promised an outfit shot when I thought I was doing all right looking "casually glamorous" when heading off for a lesson and this is about as close as we're going to get.  It was a warm day out so I went with black trouser style shorts, belted with a brown leather belt, topped with a light weight leopard print cardi worn as a blouse and little brown ballet flats.  Not exactly an Amelia Earhart look but better than my usual!

And before I get side-tracked onto a style post, onward to an in flight photo (where, incidentally, you can see my rhinestone headset doing it's job...)

 

And here's my husband, moving the plane to a suitable spot to tie it down overnight.  The wide expanse of grass to the left in the photo is where I landed the plane.  It was my first grass landing, and a bit tricky as there is no "runway" to aim for - just a big ol' paddock.

That night in Raglan, we stayed at a nice little bach and had a night out to see the One Man Ska Band, Chris Murray (all the way from LA), and supporting act from Auckland Atsushi and the Moisties.  A great night of ska and many impressed people around when they found out we flew down for the show :)  Just one photo of Chris Murray jamming with this guy Nate who played the harmonica...it was awesome!

In the morning, we were happy to find the plane still tied down, exactly where we left it...

 

On the way home, my husband was so relaxed, he spent most of his time taking photos of the rugged west coast as we flew along.

I must say, there is something quite satisfying about having completed a successful cross-country flight...and not just any cross-country but one that took me somewhere I needed to go for a specific event.  This little jaunt was quite possibly just what I needed to get back to my PPL lessons.  Looking in my logbook, it's sad to note that my last PPL lesson was on 10 Oct - over a month ago.

Navigation and Flight Planning

Even Spock had to use an E6B Flight Computer once in a while

Today I had my first "lesson" in navigation and flight planning.  My darling husband, who scored excellently on his PPL Navigation exam, and who is a microlight instructor went through a basic flight plan with me today.  

There is some pleasure in this business.  Yes, I have to learn how to do flight planning, and use an E6B Flight Computer, but in this case the flight plan is for a trip to Raglan that we will be doing tomorrow afternoon.  It has been some time since I flew anywhere besides in the circuit so this should be fun.  

The flight computer is a simple, yet complex little tool that I need a lot more practice on.  Today I worked on the basics and I will go again tomorrow with the new weather data for the day.  Hopefully, one day I'll be as much of a master on the E6B as Spock...

Silver Wings - New Zealand Women in Aviation

A little while ago, I got my hands on a copy of Silver Wings - New Zealand Women in Aviation.  I managed to get it for a bargain price but would fully recommend it at the full retail price as well.  It's a beautiful little soft cover book, with 288 pages and as many photographs.

The book chronicles the women flying in New Zealand from Gladys Sanford receiving her pilots license in Dec 1925 up to modern women flying any and every type of aircraft you can imagine at all levels.

My favourite photos were those of the women in the 1960's and 1970's - many of them recreational pilots - dressed in some of the most fashionable items of the times with hair to match and ready to fly!  As I said in in my post Flying in Style, the best clothes for flying aren't necessarily the most fashionable or stylish, so these women are yet another source of Aviator Chic inspiration.

The easiest way to get your hands on a copy of this great book is to order it from NZAWA via this order form.  Alternately, you can borrow it from your local library (if they have it) or scour Trademe and used book stores to find a more modestly priced copy if you really want to own it but can't afford the $50 price tag.

Here's a little sneak peek of photos found in the book.  (Please note, I took these from the NZAWA order form as I didn't think it fair of me to scan and redistribute the images from the book without permission.)

Flying in Style

Harriet Quimby, the first woman in the US to receive her pilot's license once said, "If a woman wants to fly, first of all she must, of course, abandon skirts and don a knickerbocker uniform."  While I wouldn't go quite that far, I do believe that there are certain considerations to be taken when dressing for a flight - you must dress so that you will be comfortable and unrestricted.

My usual flying outfit leaves a lot to be desired in the style department, but fits the comfort and ease of movement conditions to a t.  Generally I fly in a t shirt and jeans with a pair of well fitting flat slip on shoes on my feet and a I wear a light weight wind breaker jacket while I'm outside checking over the plane.  While I'm perfectly happy with this, I do think I could easily dress far more stylishly and glamorously and STILL be comfortable and able to move.

You may wonder what has prompted me to reflect on what I wear while flying.  It's simple, I got an email the other day from BurdaStyle encouraging me to try a new look...that look is Aviator Chic.  I suppose the fact that I'm a real live aviator made me take notice of this, and the fact that I don't really bother with chic at all when I fly.  They cite Amelia Earhart, the "First Lady of Flight", as their inspiration for donning such classic pieces as bomber jackets, wide leg trousers, and button up blouses or being a bit more daring in khaki jumpsuits.  Amelia was also known for wearing slim leg jodhpurs tucked into her boots and scarves, knotted expertly around her neck.

I trolled around and found a few of my favourite images of Amelia Earhart and actresses playing Amelia to share here for your inspiration and my own.

While I probably wouldn't go for the khaki jumpsuit, the wide leg pants, blouses, and light scarves would be easy and comfortable to wear and I already have 2 bomber jackets (one black light weight "fashion" jacket and one real army green flight jacket).  So, I will keep the idea of dressing well for flying in the back of my mind for future lessons...no promises, but you may get a photo of me one day as I'm heading off to a lesson and looking as casually glamorous as today's style icon, Amelia Earhart.

Pilot Gear Makeovers - Headset Bling!

Well, I don't think I'll have to worry about anyone mistakenly walking off with my headset any more.  I had a plan to give my headset a girly makeover and I think I've succeeded.  I picked out some red and white stick on rhinestones and decided on a pattern - checker board...  I feel that checker board is in keeping with aviation (there are lots of planes painted in this pattern) and it ties into my favourite type of music, ska!

It was hard to decide just how to photograph the makeover as I wasn't feeling model-ready (no, that cute girl in the banner up top isn't me).  My 10 month old baby had a go and looked really cute but you couldn't see the pattern on the outside of the ear cups...

So I tried again, this time with a doorknob as my model to get a side-on shot of the red & white checkers. 

Okay, I'm no photographer, but I hope you get the idea!  Maybe my next goal after learning to fly should be learning to properly drive a camera :)

Pilot Gear Makeovers

Yesterday I was feeling ultimately sorry for myself.  I had good reason to; blocked sinuses, massive headache, chesty cough, and aching muscles.  I could have cared less what the flying was like yesterday.

Today I feel a lot better but still haven't gotten over the blocked sinuses and sore back.  So, although it's the first good flying day since I started this blog, I'm on the couch...

On the couch plotting makeovers for my headset and pilot log book.  I'm a bit of a crafty person so I feel it only fitting that I embellish my pilot gear in some way.  I'm thinking a fabric slip cover for my log book (I've seen some cute prints online) and rhinestones all over my headset.

Here before photos of my headset and log book from the websites that sell them (unfortunate photos really, both items are actually more attractive in person although still not my style).

Stay tuned for the "AFTER" photos!