The Sky's the Limit

After roughly six months I took my checkride last Tuesday (June 15th), which consists of an oral and practical examination. I successfully passed and now have my private pilot license! Yeeeeeha!  The process involved lots reading, testing, perfecting flight maneuvers and logging minimum flight times for night, solo, instrument and cross country flying. Airplanes and flying always fascinated me as a kid and learning has been one of the most rewarding and fulfilling challenges I've ever experienced. There's just nothing like being in the air. I only wish that I learned sooner, however I never could have afforded it. Well, it's not like I can now either... but I have a goal in mind.... anyway, it's great to finally have this first step completed of what some call the "license to learn". Aviation is a complex world and there's some amount of learning to be done every time you fly.

Mom and Dad were out here last week, on the way up from FL en route to NM, so Dad and I went out for my first passenger, non instructor, flight around Chattanooga.  I can't wait to start my next school near Atlanta in early July.  I'll begin their program with 85 flight hours and I'll receive my Multi-engine, Instrument, Commercial and Instructor ratings in about 90 straight days.

This is Todd Pettibone waving to someone I think (sorry I don't have more of him in the photo), my instructor at ASI in Collegedale, TN, where I flew N5469K (shown here), a Cessna 172P each lesson when the weather was nice enough. Todd is a great teacher with over 10,000 flight hours.

Layton helping me plan a cross-country flight with a plotter and aviation sectional...

The required reading list for my career pilot program.

Without immense support from my loving wife Melissa, as well as Layton and Kestrel, there's no way I'd ever be able to do this. So thanks Honey! Also, special thanks to Mom and Dad for helping me get there.