The PDK CAP

Hello to my new readers! Thank you for joining me on this journey. I'm happy to have you along. Questions and comments always welcomed. =)

2nd meeting tonight with the PDK CAP (Peachtree Dekalb Civil Air Patrol). I had an absolute blast. Normally it takes me quite awhile to warm up to people, but with some of these guys, it's like they've been in my life all along.

Tonight just proves that no matter how bad things are - things ALWAYS happen for a reason. I believe that with my whole heart. I just read a saying the other day about how an arrow needs to be pulled really far back in order to fly and that's what happens when things seem bad to us. We're only being pulled back in order to soar. =)

So same setup as last week - everyone wanted to talk to me and get to know me. They welcomed me back and said after two meetings and a SAREX (search and rescue exercise), they hoped I would stay.

Two guys gave a presentation on a tiny little aviation museum they found on a BBQ run one time. The planes there were amazing! (Sometimes to get certain ratings, we have to make a presentation to the group)

Afterwards, they went for drinks again and told me they hoped I'd go... and I did. :)  Not gonna lie - my ego kinda loved the attention they gave me:

"So you ARE joining right?"   and "WOW. You are almost a Mission Observer? Commander, we could really use someone like her, please make her join!" and "I've heard so much about you. We'd be lucky if you joined us" and "We'd have so much fun together! You can't possibly leave now that you've met us" and "I'd really like to fly with you sometime".

They asked my goals and said they'd help in any way possible. I told them what I wanted to do and they pointed me to the right people. Again, the offer was presented that when I was ready to fly again, they had many CFIs (instructor pilots) there. All I had to do was say the word.

There's opportunities ABOUND! They are setting up Scanner/Observer classes on one Saturday a month and the guy wants me to help teach them. The woman (only other woman) who does the comm radios needs an assistance and she's kinda already buddied up to me. I asked about first aid/CPR and yep, they've got me covered.

I'm just hoping that they aren't just being like this trying to recruit me. :/  However, I think they are pretty genuine for the most part.

I promised Archie I'd fly with him before I decided to join... however, I think I've pretty much decided. Was going to stop by another squadron too... but I just <3 these guys soooooooo much already! My joy & enthusiasm is back and I'm looking forward to meetings again. It gives me such a boost that this squadron that has won so many awards and only wants the best, hard-working people... wants me. Me, the hot potato, that everyone wanted to drop supposedly... the type of person that this squadron makes fun of other squadrons for having. According to Merlin anyways. :/

I talked to him tonight incidentally. It actually went well. Short, but good. He congratulated me on finishing the King videos and I told him about getting an 80% on one of the tests. He said that was pretty good and quizzed me a little about what to do if you were lost - climb, cover, communicate and comply. I couldn't rattle those off and only knew part of it. But it's okay  - just keep plugging away. He ended the convo with "let me know if I can help with anything", which is good, I guess.

But those pilot boys get wild when they are in a room together with a pitcher of beer! LOL They were fun though. A number of times the commander had to tell them to calm down and said "We've got a young lady present!!!" haha like I'm 12 or something...

One guy told a story about how he went over a bombing MOA (Military Operations Area) and was escorted by 2 F-18's. Told his wife that they do that for everyone in that area. LOL omg...  The things these guys tell their wives!!!  Anyways, the guy was in a Bonanza and the others were asking how the F-18's kept up with it. haha (his particular type wasn't very fast... at least not compared to an F-18)

And then one guy was asking me questions and another guy tells him to stop monopolizing me because they all want to talk to me. So he says "You are shameless, man!! Carrying on like this and for godssakes, you are married!!" lol The guy shrugs and holds up his hand to show there was not a ring. I don't think he was flirting - ewww. I certainly wasn't.

Another guy asked what we should do if the stall horn in the plane in broken. There was a silence in the room and someone else asked "How did you find this out? How high were you?". "8,000 feet" he says. "Only you would test the stall horn" they jeered back. "At least you didn't test it at 80 feet!"

So the commander goes to leave and tells me to give him my CAP ID because we're doing this transfer now, so we can get started training me in everything I want to be trained in. I told him next time, so that means we have 2 weeks until then. Next week is the presentation by the F-16 pilot who went to the real Top Gun!!!! :)

Okay, past my bedtime, but in study news (as I haven't updated in a bit) - I'm on Chapter 6, Section B. Missed last night because I was tired and tonight because of the meeting. But tomorrow night, I need to get back to work again. Planning to work on the G1000 as well. I only have 3 searches I need to preform before I'm a Mission Observer. Need to get those down cold before I go for my flight!!

Blue Skies and Happy Thoughts!!! =)

CHECKPOINT!

Checkpoint - landmark on a cross country flight to help gauge direction, timing and fuel.

A minor, yet important, accomplishment was achieved this evening-  I COMPLETED ALL 25 HOURS AND 6 MINUTES OF THE KING FLIGHT TRAINING VIDEOS!!!

It honestly didn't sink in right away and I was more excited to have one hour of video remaining last night. Then as I fixed my leftover turkey dinner, I began to think about it more and more... and started dancing like a goober in my kitchen with Nikki watching me and with my slipper socks on. It's a great feeling and I'm going to bask in it as long as possible.

But bask doesn't mean relax. I'm hitting the Jeppesen book tomorrow and work towards another minor yet important checkpoint in the near future.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Weathered!

Guess who just made it through the lesson on weather (finally!)?

Yep, we are now at lesson 19 out of 20! Not long to go now! :)

Got my fan page in full swing on Facebook, making my way to the finish line of videos and got the green light to stop the antibiotics today. Things are definitely looking up!

There's only 2 hours and 10 minutes of video remaining. Wonder if I'll be able to plow through all of them tomorrow night? How awesome would that be?!?! Then I'd be able to get some SERIOUS mileage through the Jeppesen textbook during this 4-day weekend!

ALMOST THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

The PDK SAREX

Today was an overall great day. I arrived at the SAREX (search & rescue exercise) bright and early. Everyone was happy to see me. I even ran into an old buddy from my last squadron.

The objective was to show me as much as possible, including flight crew stuff AND mission based stuff. I always wanted to be trained in both - the more skills the better, amirite? But Merlin never wanted me to as he thought it took away from my main task. The qualifications to be Mission Base Assistant are minimal, and I could actually get those done while I'm sitting waiting on a flight. Only one or two teams go up at a time and if I just so happen not to be on one of those teams at a particular time, then why not try to make things run as smoothly on the ground as possible, too? I help them out and I'm not just bored, sitting there like a bump on a log = win/win.

So from the get-go, I'm suddenly popular and everyone wants me to come with them so they can teach me something new. Awesomesauce.

The mission today was power-off. Meaning something occurred and there was no power, no cell phones and we had to get creative with the radios. A group went out to the far side of the runway to set up a make-shift tower. They said if you weren't busy to come join them and it was like putting together legos. I made a mental note to join them if I wasn't in one of the first flight crews called up.

I wasn't... but I was called away to do safety checks on the plane. Usually a Mission Pilot job, but since that's my ultimate goal, they figured it was time well spent. Also, it's a good thing to know for Mission Observer.

Winds were high today, sometimes gusting to 30 knots! I walked down the flight line, trying to not fly away myself and saw a variety of planes - jets, military jets, and biplanes. I smiled and sighed happily; I <3 PDK. We've been separated far too long, my friend.

Another member and I start doing safety checks on one of the planes that will be flown today. Halfway through, someone else walks out to find me - I've been called for a flight crew. They need a Mission Observer who can operate the G1000. Now hold on, guys... let's not get hasty... I know of the G1000 and have flown in planes with it before, but I'm not proficient... Besides, it's been like 2 months since I've done ANY Mission Observer training and I'm shaky at best... Can't I ride as Mission Scanner to watch the Observer?

No Mission Scanner on this flight and the pilot supposedly doesn't know the G1000 well and needs help. Holy crap, I'm certainly not the person you need then...

Alarm bells go off in my head. I look at the pilot I'm suppose to fly with and my legs buckle - the familiar feeling that happens when I don't trust the person enough to fly with them. Wind reports are coming in left and right - 20 knot crosswind and we're not supposed to go up higher than 15 knots, and that's even a high threshold. I sigh with relief - they are going to call it. Thank god. The pilot has packed up his things and is ready to go - wait, what? No no no no... "Well, if they wind is coming from 090, then we'll go on the other runway."  So in the plane we go.

Traffic was insane at the airport and we had to wait 30 minutes before takeoff. The line ahead of us included a Cirrus, a Gulfstream, a Piper, a Cessna and a Biplane. During run-up, the engine cylinder temp gauge was running high and when the pilot tested the magnetos, the left one ran really rough. He said we might have to turn back if he can't get it to smooth out and messed with it by leaning out the mixture to run out all of the carbon. We were sitting there awhile for take-off and he was able to get it running smoothly.

We took off and everything was fine. I kicked myself for flying in an airplane where I didn't feel safe and the alarm bells went off in my head, but I guess it was just nerves and lack of confidence from all the crap before. How are you supposed to tell the difference?!?!

Anyways, we had this 60 lb thing in the back seat that I had to help hook up and activate from the front panel with all the other gadgets I have to operate. It was called a "Repeater" and it helped broadcast a signal all across the state, even to Tennessee if we were high enough. If power goes out and communications are down, this device helps radio communications. Basically, our plane was acting like a big antenna in the sky. We had to go up to 5,500 ft and just fly in circles. Once we got everything set up, there wasn't much to do but look out at the pretty scenery (Lake Lanier!) and just listen on the radio. I communicated with them at first, but after, they didn't need us much at all. I could hear them over the radio and monitored them. At one point, they couldn't hear each other and I could just hear the ground communications. They told me after that I should have tried to relay between the other plane and the ground, but I didn't even know how to go about doing that if no one could hear the other plane. I guess you'd agree on another frequency with the other plane ahead of time or something. It's okay - they said that's why they run this exercise; to find out what you need to work on before a real emergency.

Seemed a little boring to fly around in circles and just monitor the radio waves. I wanted to look out the window for targets. But this is considered one of the most important because everyone is relying on you to communicate. Another plane came into the grid later and we had to switch off. Timing had to be perfect in order to do it and we did it successfully.

By the way, all the communications between the ground and our plane had to be done by me. The pilot was on one frequency with ATC (Air Traffic Control) and then when we left the airport, he was on another frequency with Flight Following, because the traffic was so busy and they helped us keep an eye out for them. There was no way he could be on the ground frequency, too, so it was all me. In fact, he couldn't hear what they were saying to me and what I was saying to them. We had to split it because it would be too distracting to him.

I still heard Merlin's voice in my head - "Isn't there something you should be doing right now?!?!" and my fingers moved all over panel. The pilot seemed content on doing his own stuff on his panel, but I asked him what I could help him set up anyways. Merlin always said it was the pilot's job to fly the plane and the Observer had to set up everything else.

Best part about the flight? Gaining confidence to go back in a plane again. Not to mention, I have a few more tasks signed off for my rating, too.

I got back and talked with my buddy from the previous squadron. He asked what I was up to these days and I went into it a little bit, but not much. Told him I was thinking of transferring. He asked about flight training and I laughed sadly, saying I was on a "break". He seemed to clue in after that and knew who my instructor had been. He asked me about my experience and I said "I take the 5th". haha He thought that was funny, but I said I didn't want to say anything bad, but... *shrug*. He understood. Then he said that Merlin was a "nice guy, a great pilot and really smart, but his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality just ruins it". I've never heard it put better than that. Very, very true. He said he heard some rumors about him and without elaborating, asked me if I was okay. I got what he was alluding to and Merlin never hurt me *that* way... I became sad again. Why are you like that, Merlin?? When things were great, they were awesome. Before I left for Oshkosh, you were like a brother to me. And after... you just became so jealous with Oshkosh and aerobatics... I wish things were different. We could have had so much fun flying together.

But the sucker punch came when he said: "Good thing for Georgia that he's gone, right?".

You could have pushed me over with a feather. Gone??? What do you mean 'gone'??  Apparently, he just disappeared a few weeks ago. Just POOF! gone. His online record started listing a squadron in North Carolina as his new home base. Gone, just like that...  I'm stunned; I don't know what to think. I'm numb, actually. I guess I'm an idiot, but I had a scenario in my head that he came to me to apologize and we talked everything out like that heart-to-heart we had before. It took some work, but we were able to patch things up and he fixed his Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde complex, so we were able to fly together again. And then all of the animals joined hands while singing "Kumbayah". Yeah... too bad this isn't a Disney movie, right?

I'm sure it's because I never actually got closure and that's what I'm looking for. Now it's pretty much a certainty that I won't get it... at least from him. I'll have to do that on my own.

Wish today didn't end on a really sucky note because it was great overall. I still have a few more tasks I need to get signed off for my rating of Mission Observer. I need to be in a plane that has a VOR and DME (VHF Omnidirectional Range and Distance Measuring Equipment), which our plane didn't have today. Also need to set up a few more searches that weren't called for in today's simulated mission. And that's all. The only reason that I didn't get completely signed off today was that we didn't have the equipment available or the searches I needed weren't needed. That's all. So that's a pretty good feeling. My old squadron is having a SAREX on December 1st and 2nd. Considering Merlin's gone, I may check to see if the Commander is gone too. If so, I may join them just to get everything signed off.

Debating on trying to trudge through some more videos on weather tonight or to just crash early...

Slow Moving Cold Fronts

A front is a boundary between two air masses with differing temperatures. The cold front has cold air behind it and warm air in front. A slow moving cold front has a shallower slope than a fast moving cold front, so warm air isn't thrust up as rapidly and as a result, not as violent. Rain and colder weather will remain around longer as the front passes through. It can move so slow that it almost resembles a stationary front.

Uggh, this weather stuff is moving soooooooooooo sloooooooooow. There's so much information that I'm constantly pausing, rewinding, replaying and am up to my eyeballs in notes. The last 6 minute segment I just watched, took me an hour to complete.

Now granted, halfway through my A.D.D. kicked into overdrive and I got bored causing me to wander away for a few or peek on facebook. It's making my brain feel like mush.

I start watching and the lady on the video mentions something or defines some key term. Great, I pause it and write it down. Wait - what did she say again? Rewind, replay, pause, scribble it down. Repeat for the next term given. Now she combines the two terms and relates them together. Wait - what just happened. I pause and rewind so often that I forget what she is talking about and have to go back to watch AGAIN because all the pausing, rewinding and replaying is chopping it up too much.

It gets highly discouraging at this point to look down at the seconds counter and see only 20 seconds of video has passed. lol And then A.D.D. kicks in and I wander off...

I feel the need... the need for SPEED! I loooooooove when things go fast!!! This is c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g by. I'm STILL on Chapter 18 when I shoulda been done by now!!!

I think what I need to do is after I've watched a segment all paused and rewound to pieces is to go back and watch it again a second time without any pauses. Maybe it'll sink in then and I won't feel so held up.... but my brain is rebelling. It says it's tired and it's time for bed. No other warm fronts or cumulus clouds are going to fit in there this evening.

Now what I'm hoping is that it's slow moving while I get all these terms down and figure out what all of them mean. Once we move onto processes and patterns and such, hopefully it'll go MUCH faster because I know all of the basics. I'm hoping, I'm hoping, I'm hoping.

Anyways, my cloud-filled brain and I are off to bed. I think I will join the new CAP group for their SAREX this weekend.

The PDK CAP Meeting

I'm happy to say that tonight's meeting was a success! :)

The meeting started off with promoting members that obtained a new ranking, then announcements about how they were setting up a rotating schedule about who was on call for missions and placing members in aircrew teams, then a safety briefing (a REAL one!) and then the main presentation was a guest speaker who was the head of the police safety division to talk about safety/preparedness.

All of that only took about an hour and they operated like a well-oiled machine. About 30 members were there; two being women. They still had rankings and such, but there a few guys in leadership roles and they all worked together. The main commander of the group gave the talk on safety, based on his experiences in the military.

A couple of things I took away from his talk (which were very timely, I might add):

1) If you EVER don't feel safe enough to go in an airplane...for whatever reason, trust that reason and politely say no. They will understand.

2) Another one had to do with leaving the last squadron I was in and I don't remember how... guh, I'm tired! But something that made me smile and think how I made the right decision.

The guest speaker was neat too. He mentioned how everyone needed to be prepared for an emergency and especially people my age were really unprepared because they never thought anything could happen to them and weren't prepared for it.

I recognized some guys from past SAREX's and from air shows. I stayed after to meet the people I had been emailing and other people wanted to meet me too. My last squadron, mostly everyone ignored me, although some would say hi... and only one really took an interest in me... and we all know how that turned out.

Mostly everyone here wanted to shake my hand and talk with me. I shook one guy's hand and sort of recognized him. I asked if he was at a SAREX I was apart of and he answered that he was... and other events we had been too together and he knew of me very well. I helped put away some chairs and one of the guys who got promoted started talking with me. They all went out for drinks after the meetings and he invited me to come with. I declined, not being the drinking type and was just visiting the squadron anyways. He insisted, so I spent the next hour hanging out with them and chatting. The commander even joined in. He said they were friends outside the squadron too because they worked so hard together inside the squadron.

At the table, they kept telling each other to try and recruit me harder. Then we finished the evening with shaking hands and "I hope you stay", "So you are staying right?", "Come back soon!", "Please consider joining, we'll have so much fun!", etc...

In the last squadron, I was all gung-ho about joining from the get-go and no one really said that to me. Pleasantries were exchanged, but no begging for me to join. It was basically "you'll either join or you won't" sort of attitude. Once I remember, Merlin chased a new guy out. Told him that if he was already set on staying, then there was really no need for him to stay during the meeting. He should only stay during that particular meeting if he wasn't sure about staying. That's not very welcoming.

I told them I'd definitely come back and I will. But I sat around that table, watching them all have fun... and I did join in a little, but I'm still a little shy at this stage... and I remember how much fun I had with the people I met at my last squadron and started missing them a little. The commander says they are all like family and it looks like it. I still can't help having reservations.

They are running a SAREX this weekend and invited me to join. I haven't trained as Observer in a looong time. Probably since the last SAREX my squadron had, actually. A month ago? Two months ago? I don't know...

I hesitated and told them how I hadn't trained as an Observer for quite some time and had forgotten a lot of it. They said that's why they constantly train and that's what this exercise is for. I'm just used to Merlin telling me I had to be 1000% proficient before doing something like this or I'd embarrass him.

There are some CFI's in this squadron and they all let me know that they'd train me (outside of CAP) at a reduced rate or even free. All I had to do was tell them I was looking for a CFI. I hate it, but I'm not quite ready. I'd like to study on my own for a little bit more. Maybe I'm a little shell-shocked still, who knows...

Oh yeah... that's another thing I learned tonight - not aviation related, but missing someone(s) doesn't mean you want to go back or want them back. It's just that - missing someone. Maybe missing a time that person represented. And it's okay to miss them, to miss that time... just as long as you aren't looking back and trying to move forward.

OH! Now I remember the 2nd thing he brought up during the safety briefing. I knew I'd remember if I just started typing and tried not to remember it - It's okay to fall sometimes and it's perfectly okay to fail. The more times you fall and fail only indicate your willingness to try. After failing/falling, mourn for a little bit/take some time off if you have to, but get right back up again and try again. I thought it was very timely for now.

In one of my favorite movies of all time, Angels in the Outfield (1994 version), there's a line that Danny Glover says:

"You can't go through life thinking everyone you meet will one day let you down."

So here's to letting in the new and saying goodbye to the old. I'll go to another meeting or two, talk with the commander (perhaps asking pointe blank if there's any drama) and consider going to the SAREX this weekend. They seem nice, well-organized and well worth my time. I'm really glad this meeting went well. Really, really glad.

Under the Weather

I'm on chapter 18 out of the videos. This particular chapter is on weather and as interesting as it is, the information is a little denser and it's been taking me about 30-40 minutes to go through an 8 minute video. As a result of pause to copy down notes and rewind to catch what I've missed.

I never knew you could take temperature and dew point to find out the base of the clouds. That's kind of cool. I honestly didn't quite know what dew point was for before this lesson. haha

"For the water vapor in the air to condense, the air must first cool to the dew point. The temperature at which the air must be cooled in order for the air to become saturated is the dew point." 

I ran a 5k on Saturday and took two naps after. Rolled down a hill to act like a little goober kid and didn't stop to think how that would affect my inner ear problem. Spent all day after recouping. As of tomorrow, I'll have two weeks left of this medication. My stomach has gotten more used to it, but I'm craving a delectable pizza with gooey cheese all over it about now (can't have dairy/calcium right now). And I'd really like to go outside without being afraid to burn (medicine also makes me more sensitive to light).

Above all, I want my ear to get better so I can go flying. Needless to say not only is flying off the radar, but aerobatic flying especially.

My meeting with the new CAP group is tomorrow and I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm excited and quite hopeful about it. Hoping RJ will be there too, but am not sure he will be.

There's going to be a guest speaker in December at Dobbins AFB who trained at Top Gun (Yes, THE Top Gun!!!) and was an F-16. I'm SUPER excited to hear him talk!!!!

Anyways, wish I could say I'd finish up 18 tomorrow night, but as slow as it's going, I'm not sure. But I'm at 18!!! Out of 20!!! And it's taking a bit longer than I'd like... but I'm getting there. Slowly but surely.