http://www.dminor.com/blog/articles/2006/01/21/the-flying-leap en-us 40 variations on a short vamp in d minor <p> Today marks the completion of a dream that I&#8217;ve had since childhood. One in which I know I share with a lot of people. I feel very honored to be able to say that, as of today, I am a <strong>private pilot</strong>. </p><p> It may have taken 8 scheduled days to get the winds to cooperate, but today was a beautiful day finally! </p><p> I spent the morning taking the practical test and hanging around the airport hoping to find an instructor on the field who had time to check me out in a larger plane then the Cessna 152 I&#8217;ve been training in. My hopes were to take my boys up this afternoon in a Piper Cherokee 140, but the schedules didn&#8217;t work out today. Probably for the better. </p><p> After lunch, I gave short rides to very special people in my life. First, I got to take my dad flying. He is the man who I got the flying bug from when he went through this process years ago. He hasn&#8217;t flown in about 15 years, and I was almost as nervous with him flying with me as I was with the examiner! </p><p> Next, I took each of my older boys, one at a time for a short ride over our neighborhood and through a couple of landings. They all had a good time. Sarah was taking care of the Kyle, so I&#8217;ll have to steal her away soon to go with me on a special day trip. </p><p> I noticed that Weston immediately figured out what the yoke controlled and how that would affect the direction of the plane in the air&#8212;even while we were on the ground. He&#8217;s definitely got some engineering blood in him! </p><p> Hopefully one day soon, I&#8217;ll have the opportunity to take you on a ride in the sky! </p><p> <a href="http://www.dminor.com/blog/files/IMG_0472.jpg" onclick="window.open('http://www.dminor.com/blog/files/IMG_0472.jpg','popup','width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=yes,left=0,top=0');return false"><img src="http://www.dminor.com/blog/files/IMG_0472-tm.jpg" height="100" width="133" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" alt="dad,me,weston,152" title="dad,me,weston,152" /></a> <br /><a href="http://www.dminor.com/blog/files/IMG_0476.jpg" onclick="window.open('http://www.dminor.com/blog/files/IMG_0476.jpg','popup','width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=yes,left=0,top=0');return false"><img src="http://www.dminor.com/blog/files/IMG_0476-tm.jpg" height="100" width="133" border="1" hspace="4" vspace="4" alt="co-pilot weston" title="co-pilot weston" /></a> <br /><a href="http://www.dminor.com/blog/files/IMG_0484.jpg" onclick="window.open('http://www.dminor.com/blog/files/IMG_0484.jpg','popup','width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=yes,left=0,top=0');return false"><img src="http://www.dminor.com/blog/files/IMG_0484-tm.jpg" height="100" width="133" border="1" hspace="4" vspace="4" alt="co-pilot garrett" title="co-pilot garrett" /></a> </p> Sat, 21 Jan 2006 21:05:57 -0600 urn:uuid:a38985eb-5d8e-4ccf-ba18-4c7355463520 Dave Minor http://www.dminor.com/blog/articles/2006/01/21/the-flying-leap Family Flying Look Inside Congratulations David!! I was hoping to see that you were 'official' when I went to your blog today & WAALAA! We're excited to come for a visit sometime this spring & go for a ride in the sky w/ you. Tue, 24 Jan 2006 16:24:47 -0600 urn:uuid:5ec9e559-3a74-48ca-badb-2396ed7503c8 http://www.dminor.com/blog/articles/2006/01/21/the-flying-leap#comment-145 Congratulations! I know you've been working hard on this. I'll look forward to trips from AR to OH. See you soon! Sat, 21 Jan 2006 21:39:40 -0600 urn:uuid:e4f1a846-469b-4677-b9cc-80578f561a9e http://www.dminor.com/blog/articles/2006/01/21/the-flying-leap#comment-144