I'm a real pilot now!

Well It is official I passed my private pilot check ride! I thought that I would struggle through it and be nervous, but it turned out to be a great experience. I am so happy to be done with that and I actually have a real pilot's license now. I want to thank everyone for your encouragement, prayers, and support. Ive actually been done now for two weeks ( I obviously need to be better posting updates) now and I'm working on transitioning into a new helicopter the R22. It is real different than the Schweitzer 300 and requires a finer touch on the controls and more power management, but it is fun because of the new challenges it presents. I will also be starting on Instrument ground school next week which from what I hear is no walk in the park.

Believe it or not but I do miss rainy days in Alaska, and of course everyone there. Ill be home for Christmas.....but until then keep me in your prayers! I love you all....

Below are some pictures of some of the fun nights with all the guys:

Here is a quick youtube video I made of my solo....

My first solo!

My first solo was yesterday! What a blast!

I passed my pre-solo stage check! My first solo is on Saturday!!!

Ive been flying for the last six days straight!

Okay, so this is my sixth straight day of flying. So far Ive logged 7.8 hours, and I'm having a total blast. When I first met my instructor I was a little bit hesitant because he was so foreign and seemed a bit shy. Luckily he has really opened up and has helped to push me at a pace that continues to challenge me everyday. I was surprise to actually be able to hold a pretty decent hover on my first flight. The Schweitzer is a little bit more forgiving and it makes it a fun helicopter to train in. Every day here is Florida is about 100 degrees and high humidity so we always fly with the doors off. This seems to give every maneuver a "real" feeling. So far my favorite thing to do besides hovering are simulated engine off auto rotations. The Schweitzer doesn't glide too much in an auto and falls about 3000 fpm, this tends to make the ground rush up at you super fast, but with a nice aggressive flare at 50 feet you can level off in about a 3-5 ft hover....what a riot! Below are some pictures of me hovering and flying, yes I do have a bit of a jarhead cut but it should grow out soon....

Groundschool

Hovering on the tarmac

My roommate sure can cook a mean English roast!

Space shuttle launch!!!!

Below is a sideshow from yesterdays rocket launch and a bit of fun we had afterwards....

Welcome to Bristow Academy!

My future office in the sky!

My new instructor and I. His name is Ingar from Norway and he's pushin 7 feet tall!!!

Me and my new flat mate Paul from England

These guys like to fly helicopters and hang out by the pool...and their all from England....too many bloody Englishmen! Is there anyone here who is American????

I'm off to fly Helicopters!!!

Holy smokes I can't believe that I can say that this Monday I will be living in Florida training to be a Helicopter Pilot! It has been an extremely long and bumpy road getting to this point. The hook to want to fly helicopters was set early when I was eight years old. Michael Bucove is in my opinion one of the best helicopter pilots in the world. He would show up at my door randomly and take me up flying. I remember the first time he took me, my friend Alex and our exchange student up over the ice field. I felt lucky being able to sit up front with a set of controls between my legs. I really wasn't expecting to have the chance to fly, but I remember Mike grinning and saying for me to put my right hand on the cyclic, left hand on the collective and feet on the pedals. The helicopter immediately got a bit bumpy and there was a general yaw left and right as I was battling with the wind and turbulence. Landing back in Juneau I was feeling really good about my new flight skills....that was until my buddy Alex got out looking like a ghost and upset with my flying. Sure enough His lunch was all over the Helicopter! Needless to say my flying ego was short lived, but the hook was set.

It has been 14 years from my first helicopter flight and I finally have my chance to live out my childhood dream. I had always thought that I would go straight from high school to flight school, but my heart, the FAA, and most importantly God had other plans for me. It has all worked out for the best now. By waiting Ive had the opportunity to go to Bible College, live in California and make some awesome friends. After battling back and forth with the FAA I finally have my class 2 medical certificate in hand. This has also given me the time to find the right flight school, after a couple of demo flights, lots of questions and forum browsing Ive chosen Bristow Academy to take my $60,000 to fly!

Its going to be an exciting time and I will be dedicated to diligently study and train. I will update this blog as I go throughout my training to keep everyone up to date. Please pray the God uses me to reach out to this industry and that I will stay focused. Thank you all for all your support!