tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79431305017612705572024-03-14T00:07:57.049-04:00From Private to Professional PilotThe goal of this blog is to show the steps which I will be taking over the next few years in my pursuit of a Professional Pilot career. I will show step by step my path towards this goal, beginning with my first Flight Lesson. In addition, I will show you what inspires me in aviation from the flights I have taken to the people I have met. Along the way, I hope to inspire young or new pilots to follow their passion and take it to the next level. Swayne Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01264468709465838334noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-77841304669179413922014-07-21T23:45:00.004-04:002014-07-21T23:46:56.699-04:00I've Moved! -- To A New Website <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been a long time since I've changed anything with the blog, and it's time for an upgrade. Over the past few weeks I've been building a new website for the blog and myself. It has every post, section, page, and comment that you'll find here... with more AND on a much better platform. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><i>All traffic to this website and its posts will soon be re-directed to the new website.</i></u> So if you've subscribed here to get posts by email, please subscribe on the new site to keep receiving emails. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Are you ready? HERE IT IS: <a href="http://www.swaynemartin.com/">http://www.swaynemartin.com/</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.swaynemartin.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68XWHf0nKfhyphenhyphene_THjIVx2YxmWeRXp7uMCMIWbblW1cUenXMjagoS45V84f9fGzNIPWrZiJfYn6CtiwGztKTL9bRtoSlaCGKf4ymRWfEktyJbLc31lyTAVoEkRX0Vb2hCDskcMATQZm8p4/s1600/Swayne-Logo-Top-Menu-1.png" height="71" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am so excited for the change and promise that I'll be updating the feed with cool posts more frequently now that I'm on a better platform! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks to all of my long time readers, I know you guys will love the new site,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-17906806053067736722014-07-13T16:24:00.000-04:002014-07-13T16:24:48.170-04:00Blog Update <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hey everyone! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I just got back from a trip out to Boulder, Colorado to work with the guys at Boldmethod. It was a great time! We did some preparation for Air Venture 2014 and even got to do a little flying. There will be more on that soon! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There was an issue with my video from the trip to Jordan, so I had to delete the video and re-upload it. Here it is: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm looking into re-designing the site and moving it to a different platform, so haven't had much time to publish updates from the summer. Hopefully things will get organized soon! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope you guys have been doing well and have had an amazing summer,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-60046468672945654142014-07-02T10:06:00.001-04:002014-07-13T16:46:27.971-04:00Back From Jordan!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm finally back in the United States after an amazing trip to Jordan! It was definitely the trip of a lifetime, I hope it won't be my last trip to that incredible country. It's hard to describe everything we did with words, so I'll give you a glimpse of some of the coolest activities via this video. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you're considering a trip to Jordan, by all means GO. You will not regret it. It is an absolutely amazing place, with some of the coolest activities in the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll have more posts soon about my flight with Ayla Aviation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for watching!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-47587448260210956112014-06-09T18:42:00.001-04:002014-06-09T18:42:42.624-04:00Blog Pause - Traveling To Jordan! <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's time for a little pause in the blog. I'm headed off tomorrow to Jordan in the Middle East with a good friend of mine from school, to stay with his family for a few weeks. I will be there until June 28th, when I arrive back in the United States. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the way over, I'm flying the following routes (I've included links to flightaware tracking so you can see where we are, live!): </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Washington IAD - Amsterdam AMS (KLM A333): <a href="http://flightaware.com/live/flight/KLM652">KLM652</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amsterdam AMS - Amman AMM (RJ A320): <a href="http://flightaware.com/live/flight/RJA152">RJ152</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amman AMM - Aqaba AQA (RJ E170): <a href="http://flightaware.com/live/flight/RJA302/history/20140610/1810Z/OJAI/OJAQ">RJ302</a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Experiencing Jordan and the Middle East for the first time should be pretty amazing. I can't wait to see and experience some pretty unique things while we are there! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And best yet, when I'm in Jordan, I'll have the opportunity to experience flying in the Middle East with Ayla Aviation Academy. I'll be flying with an instructor out of King Hussein Airport, Aqaba in a DiamondStar DA40 over the area, which should be incredible! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stay tuned for more when I get back, it should be amazing! I'll have tons of videos and photos to share soon :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-21585689658629207232014-06-07T22:40:00.002-04:002014-06-07T22:40:51.322-04:00First Flight With My Mom <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With school being so busy, I still hadn't gone flying with my mom... until now! She had flown in the plane with me before, but when I was with an instructor. So this was truly the first time we had ever really flown together. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's actually really fun flying with mom because she isn't a pilot. It's one of the few times as a teenager that my mom hasn't had any advice for me! She told me afterwards that it was a completely strange feeling for her, putting her life into my hands. Sure, in a car I'm in control too, but she can always grab the wheel. It would probably be a little bit difficult to learn how to fly in an instant! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So since I received my PPL, I hadn't yet flown with a parent solo. I was in all honesty pretty nervous, having the life of someone you love in your hands is a tremendous responsibility. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is a short clip of our takeoff that my mom recorded on her iPhone: </span></div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzrSo5isQba7Wrs7yGlR1VK3pU5Jg8DLU0vVyHINe1Gy1A7imkYgzceYrC9sHXpN-R7hOMn21mdi18qiIAknw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As is typical with summer weather, it was pretty bumpy. The plan was to fly around for a little over an hour, around Richmond, Jamestown, to the James River, and back. After flying over our house and school, I decided to cut the flight short and head back. It was beginning to be uncomfortably bumpy... No use in wasting time and money on an unpleasant experience! It was still a fun flight though, here are some pictures: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCqegHdsUYPa_cy80wZIJS6mApq43lzaWIbLYoFogZzofkvrByLVJhYSg79MbUMIen4nNPQAkGOwbReCMew6RItZCwXkguiYd9BX7zbHyf-ZDdqI-68NBp9X8KxeHhUuwDYEA6w1Rq9w_/s1600/IMG_6425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCqegHdsUYPa_cy80wZIJS6mApq43lzaWIbLYoFogZzofkvrByLVJhYSg79MbUMIen4nNPQAkGOwbReCMew6RItZCwXkguiYd9BX7zbHyf-ZDdqI-68NBp9X8KxeHhUuwDYEA6w1Rq9w_/s1600/IMG_6425.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our route of flight is shown below via CloudAhoy (I recorded it on my iPad, using my external XGPS160): </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DPty5ySocRhaac8l8VXVVphurYxdVVtcKftYMzOo_vUM68mXxg-OgdCqLc78TZ7_j4H1PmfeK3xqNpLnH1FFExVlAczGVxit5GsQfD1S1iWzqcSDWBA_S9jQvtyWSOYMe7ilfnieV55x/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-30+at+3.15.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4DPty5ySocRhaac8l8VXVVphurYxdVVtcKftYMzOo_vUM68mXxg-OgdCqLc78TZ7_j4H1PmfeK3xqNpLnH1FFExVlAczGVxit5GsQfD1S1iWzqcSDWBA_S9jQvtyWSOYMe7ilfnieV55x/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-30+at+3.15.14+PM.png" height="324" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After such a bumpy flight, I was a little concerned that it would be a windy, rough landing. On final approach it was gusty, but nothing too bad. And then... We greased the landing, making an awesome ending to a turbulent flight! My mom said "I've never felt such a smooth landing, not even on commercial planes." ... Thanks, Mom! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hopefully we will go flying again soon, just for a little longer next time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-10946088850444019412014-05-30T15:28:00.002-04:002014-05-30T15:28:44.069-04:00Share Your Story: Chris Horak, Future Air Force Pilot<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Welcome to the 34th "Share Your Story" post. Pilots from around the world write in featuring their flight experiences, promoting their blogs, websites, social media, novels, etc. These posts show students the diverse range of experiences/careers available to them in aviation. More details + how to participate can be found via the following: <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html">Click Here and Get Involved</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hey everyone, my name is Chris Horak and I am a 21 year old upper gulf coast native. I began taking flying lessons in October of 2012 with Rod Kellogg as my instructor. I trained in the good ole PA-28 Warrior N8410C out of Jack Edwards Airport. My training was stretched out over a year and a few months due to me trying to juggle flying along with being a full time college student. I took my check ride on 16 Feb 2014 up in Jasper, Alabama at Walker County Airport with Joey "Gordo" Sanders. Gordo is a retired Colonel, U.S. Air Force F-4 Fantom pilot and currently flies for Fedex. He does examining on the side. I had around 60 hours when I took my check ride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of my main goals from the beginning of my flight training, was to eventually get my tail wheel endorsement. I have always had it drilled in my head that "you aren't a real pilot until you can fly a tail wheel airplane." So I went to Ferguson Airport (82J) and took lessons in the good ole Piper Legend Cub, AL-3C-100, N155WB. My instructor was the wild Capt Jimbo Wilson, former U.S. Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk pilot. Jimbo has been a family friend of mine my whole life and used to skydive with my father. I also received some valuable instruction from former NFO John Jenista. After 7.6 hours and 79 landings, I received my tail wheel endorsement on 19 April 2014. I am completely hooked on tail wheel flying now. If you haven't experienced it yet, get trained and you will find out exactly what I am talking about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next fun/educational thing I got myself into was Capt Jimbo's Super Decathlon Spin Recovery/Intro to Aerobatic Manuever training. I learned how to perform and was evaluated on aileron rolls, loops, falling leafs, immelmanns, 1/2 Cuban 8s, approach turn stalls, spin recovery, inverted flight, the Marine Corps way of dropping a nuclear bomb from an A-4 Skyhawk (simulated obviously), and of course Capt Jimbo's way of losing a Mig that's on your tail. That was the coolest experience that I have ever had flying. I am continuing to get aerobatic training from a CFII friend of mine, Dewitt, in a Starduster SA300. That is one heck of an airplane!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next step for me is Air Force pilot training. I graduated from the University of West Florida on 3 May 2014 with a degree in mathematics, and received my commission through the ROTC program, as a 2d Lieutenant on 2 May. I am currently awaiting orders for flight school but am super excited to see what God has in store for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have always been around aviation my whole life. My grandfather flew, my dad flew, and they both were skydivers as well. Being in the sky never was an issue for me growing up. I remember countless family trips taken by air with my dad being PIC. I even have a tandem skydive under my belt. Needless to say, the thought of being a pilot has always stood in the back of my mind but I never took action to it until halfway through college. I know that this is what I am meant to do with my life and I look forward to serving my country while at the same time, doing what I love to do the most! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blue Skies Everyone,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Chris Horak </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks so much Chris for writing in and sharing your story! It's awesome to be hearing more from Rod's students down on the Gulf. It looks like you're just about to get started on an exciting path with the Air Force, which is amazing. I wish you the best of luck and can't wait to hear how it goes! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks again for writing in and participating in the <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html">Share Your Story</a> section of the blog, </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-81907736496312278702014-05-20T15:57:00.000-04:002014-05-20T15:57:12.208-04:00After School Cross-Country Flight <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the hardest parts of being a Private Pilot has been wanting to fly, but being stuck on the ground. With my Junior Year of high school ending quickly, things have been incredibly busy. Finding the time to get into the air has been difficult, but all the more rewarding when it finally works out. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDupcPHAd1PvKVJ4NjFH78iO4-cLw5KmIlnCkQBP5cdKYpfqSabnaEdcY4N4f4p2B8C56NFyGIjQ7-4hi7PqPo5B6tjoMMvNfEIu15hoC6tf3_aRylXv_GQkddakpviumG8pbMYyvx8Q/s1600/IMG_6272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDupcPHAd1PvKVJ4NjFH78iO4-cLw5KmIlnCkQBP5cdKYpfqSabnaEdcY4N4f4p2B8C56NFyGIjQ7-4hi7PqPo5B6tjoMMvNfEIu15hoC6tf3_aRylXv_GQkddakpviumG8pbMYyvx8Q/s1600/IMG_6272.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About two weeks ago, I saw a great weather forecast for a Tuesday afternoon. I don't normally have the time after school to fly, but really wanted to make it work! I called up the airport, and sure enough, they had my old plane, Tecnam P92 N16HV, open that afternoon! <i>(I'm trying to build experience in the Cessna, so have been staying away from the Tecnam recently) </i>Throughout the day, I checked on the weather forecast, which was marginal up until my flight. Luckily, it cleared up! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDbuTO1IgheGbD7N33jtoKOpuYCsEnFDaOoCZiCwyx12ws6Z2KCjkWXCnXttSZ-HWxhyphenhyphencT5d-Ua94K-4ckCmVSp9Vnrq42tOLo18M0oTxGF-yBuXQtdTeZOAujdPcpyyioeu6ka0XPVA/s1600/IMG_0036.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDbuTO1IgheGbD7N33jtoKOpuYCsEnFDaOoCZiCwyx12ws6Z2KCjkWXCnXttSZ-HWxhyphenhyphencT5d-Ua94K-4ckCmVSp9Vnrq42tOLo18M0oTxGF-yBuXQtdTeZOAujdPcpyyioeu6ka0XPVA/s1600/IMG_0036.PNG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZG-ARVqNzXzhtTXE07oVugoOanYPBE7I9YtqvTbYlobvLrQuCd2iHXT9ANkkp8HIG4jFWDwo5z_QnLqHYiZ1oyZ8731gsAT0fRJk3BDXZcI78bepfbygkpt5NCKus14wRAXnzdbO37yY/s1600/IMG_0037.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZG-ARVqNzXzhtTXE07oVugoOanYPBE7I9YtqvTbYlobvLrQuCd2iHXT9ANkkp8HIG4jFWDwo5z_QnLqHYiZ1oyZ8731gsAT0fRJk3BDXZcI78bepfbygkpt5NCKus14wRAXnzdbO37yY/s1600/IMG_0037.PNG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amazingly, since getting my PPL, I hadn't taken a fully solo cross-country flight (with a destination 50+ nautical miles away from my point of departure). I decided on the route shown below: KOFP-KFCI-KFVX-KOFP: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6eOYssFKfLs0qMOOoVjGf-r6pevFVKL8MGDq1p_arQ53mbWcdSdXktM74ca4R7n81Mr4WCyvdiJg_mni2j4YCTyxLUrIlZCf0-wl0rQMlDTiVQ1QWI-TIrRCnfI_lfepGSyW3iUY-sk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.27.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6eOYssFKfLs0qMOOoVjGf-r6pevFVKL8MGDq1p_arQ53mbWcdSdXktM74ca4R7n81Mr4WCyvdiJg_mni2j4YCTyxLUrIlZCf0-wl0rQMlDTiVQ1QWI-TIrRCnfI_lfepGSyW3iUY-sk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.27.16+PM.png" height="270" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Throughout the flight, I logged the flight using CloudAhoy, my iPad, and an external GPS (XGPS160). It was my first cross-country using Foreflight on the iPad, so I was excited to try it out! The amount of technology in that tiny Tecnam was incredible: external GPS, iPad (with Foreflight), iPhone (with Foreflight), internal GPS, Garmin 496, and a multi-function display! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpb18UWij7a1i-7VL8ywpFySHAlS5rfbumjrS47WnjxHRC45lWBRboPMaHZQ2UfhoaIuxNTXP1Dg-0cccY66VNFyR_NZfPZ5xTnt-5Vap2D3fxe6vba_v7BJ-hfV8RQohoSHkx0pFr-1U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.14.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpb18UWij7a1i-7VL8ywpFySHAlS5rfbumjrS47WnjxHRC45lWBRboPMaHZQ2UfhoaIuxNTXP1Dg-0cccY66VNFyR_NZfPZ5xTnt-5Vap2D3fxe6vba_v7BJ-hfV8RQohoSHkx0pFr-1U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.14.16+PM.png" height="344" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kcoPIGLR72UN5aQnuP9aOlYQ6-Bj6pO2mppMA-glK-7HaZcwt4P1zDEA5x3NSVnDRZDHYA853ovQuU1KZu2VvFYiafW73I2T-tfL7oRygedjyLFtTJkr6PD8fqG9CR6XndCBVob8lp8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.15.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kcoPIGLR72UN5aQnuP9aOlYQ6-Bj6pO2mppMA-glK-7HaZcwt4P1zDEA5x3NSVnDRZDHYA853ovQuU1KZu2VvFYiafW73I2T-tfL7oRygedjyLFtTJkr6PD8fqG9CR6XndCBVob8lp8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.15.22+PM.png" height="446" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3HLUDDpI5CqAhPp3ATU-mal6ghKAUwrBaxC1jYDRTxBFj35CIIfhEslo4oM49j7sj0DYBG3s4EwR0jo1GC_rnwYdDMi0XFpLQwX-XztqMx6qymP1tws1iGOJGCAp0bI-pAhAWj0yvNdM/s1600/IMG_6240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3HLUDDpI5CqAhPp3ATU-mal6ghKAUwrBaxC1jYDRTxBFj35CIIfhEslo4oM49j7sj0DYBG3s4EwR0jo1GC_rnwYdDMi0XFpLQwX-XztqMx6qymP1tws1iGOJGCAp0bI-pAhAWj0yvNdM/s1600/IMG_6240.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Enroute from Hanover to Chesterfield, I made a quick diversion, doing a few turns over my school for friends who were at afternoon practice: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Q-ztSuuE2LkStLdEk4HW9RGyfsGlIDbTCcUBoUh8_yDQkaf5AoUNE43MpZgGg6r9b9DD66gNFI79z3GTI4y_9smvhrfxH-rpcWMjwuDKUWV8t1pVBdcy9VXZnpK1e7r1uXYfewNmSWo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.15.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Q-ztSuuE2LkStLdEk4HW9RGyfsGlIDbTCcUBoUh8_yDQkaf5AoUNE43MpZgGg6r9b9DD66gNFI79z3GTI4y_9smvhrfxH-rpcWMjwuDKUWV8t1pVBdcy9VXZnpK1e7r1uXYfewNmSWo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.15.55+PM.png" height="494" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With the winds being so calm all day, it was a great flight and not turbulent at all! After checking the ATIS, I set up on a 5 mile final for Runway 15 at Chesterfield KFCI. I don't normally do long final approaches, but with my track, and with the winds being light and variable, it made sense. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYP3K9v5UV1mDlzgpk_bgTckcMdFhPOSgAp5dFO8LIgTIG271prD28NO4vZZBh0KmovSfHKvKvNgTN69Dqoqr20pzex6VY-FGzEfLz3cCFpslT9mnWhPJeaLhv5j_y_5Qim0ApxkCjJM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.16.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYP3K9v5UV1mDlzgpk_bgTckcMdFhPOSgAp5dFO8LIgTIG271prD28NO4vZZBh0KmovSfHKvKvNgTN69Dqoqr20pzex6VY-FGzEfLz3cCFpslT9mnWhPJeaLhv5j_y_5Qim0ApxkCjJM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.16.50+PM.png" height="418" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a smooth landing at Chesterfield, I took off and turned West towards Farmville KFVX. Once again, it was a smooth and uneventful flight. I got a little bored and listened to Potomac Approach, with lots of commercial traffic arriving into Richmond International. I ended up doing 2 touch and go landings at Farmville because the weather was so good. I thought about shutting down to get a passport stamp but didn't have the time. (someone had the plane right after myself)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpxYgxm2NGUjc__yL0wHE8FUHJWdeAO0DyR-P5vLmLTOrLfKjSEXMkCPxZufMrN2T3PzYITMOJ2uyEa9p67z9jMeMYu3bAC-sGTaRkOGLbXuZAuy_PDKpcQS3TL-RQ4wvmlWCo-0R-Nw/s1600/IMG_6255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpxYgxm2NGUjc__yL0wHE8FUHJWdeAO0DyR-P5vLmLTOrLfKjSEXMkCPxZufMrN2T3PzYITMOJ2uyEa9p67z9jMeMYu3bAC-sGTaRkOGLbXuZAuy_PDKpcQS3TL-RQ4wvmlWCo-0R-Nw/s1600/IMG_6255.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyu-vn-9OGDeaB_Vln0DlXDkoPfbeaeXxUArXkdS_CqxYGdckRwbHbF-AUJTxDGxeAgpSsE4_uKVnz1JvGrrx-P0ZLHIOCbDLFaptVP8zfiwaFepoh-vcE3NVNBoYrhP1fssxULSYTx38/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.17.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyu-vn-9OGDeaB_Vln0DlXDkoPfbeaeXxUArXkdS_CqxYGdckRwbHbF-AUJTxDGxeAgpSsE4_uKVnz1JvGrrx-P0ZLHIOCbDLFaptVP8zfiwaFepoh-vcE3NVNBoYrhP1fssxULSYTx38/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-20+at+2.17.39+PM.png" height="406" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once I was finished with Farmville, I headed back towards Hanover at 3,500 feet. Earlier, it had rained, so you can see how green Farmville was as I departed: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCz9y7N3BQnXnLpur-o4vcIBfc438V7FMKytjos5IB2DHjvrXrU1B6C4sLR8tb33wFJr36Uim-aAGhD6KYDutJtCNfN14dCPit6yazQ78JWpVkdCbQl7jYCqyL3ylRbiGQndy9LA4Xzw/s1600/IMG_6253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCz9y7N3BQnXnLpur-o4vcIBfc438V7FMKytjos5IB2DHjvrXrU1B6C4sLR8tb33wFJr36Uim-aAGhD6KYDutJtCNfN14dCPit6yazQ78JWpVkdCbQl7jYCqyL3ylRbiGQndy9LA4Xzw/s1600/IMG_6253.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flying back over the James River and towards Hanover, I was happy that the flight had gone so well. With summertime weather arriving, it's rare to find a completely smooth day for flying. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was one of those lucky days. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVs32tRlHK9FcvDYrNrIk5phwJAIUWEuXTKwWH7vOON4nyAhstDVE9vRJriS_u2rTSPMJTEwM5GlgkFqYdgq1qikpQR78uG3OlmKNmYx1En-hvNLZl7xdTnr6XQBhi7-j_U4q9qQFQ74/s1600/IMG_6268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVs32tRlHK9FcvDYrNrIk5phwJAIUWEuXTKwWH7vOON4nyAhstDVE9vRJriS_u2rTSPMJTEwM5GlgkFqYdgq1qikpQR78uG3OlmKNmYx1En-hvNLZl7xdTnr6XQBhi7-j_U4q9qQFQ74/s1600/IMG_6268.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Swayne Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01264468709465838334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-67622096660553139012014-05-15T13:33:00.001-04:002014-05-15T13:33:46.020-04:00TEDx Youth Speech: What If You Could Do Anything? <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you read earlier, I recently gave a TED Talk at my school's conference. The video below has the speech in addition to the introduction video. (The speech begins at 2:40):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For all of the pilots out there, remember that if there were no bad flying days ... there wouldn't be any good days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for watching!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Sorry there haven't been many updates recently! With Junior Year finishing up, I've had a full workload between final exams and standardized testing. </i></span></div>
Swayne Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01264468709465838334noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-79517232816157116032014-05-09T16:59:00.000-04:002014-05-09T16:59:18.220-04:00Share Your Story: Haley Howard, 19 Year Old CFI<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Welcome to the 33rd "Share Your Story" post. Pilots from around the world write in featuring their flight experiences, promoting their blogs, websites, social media, novels, etc. These posts show students the diverse range of experiences/careers available to them in aviation. More details + how to participate can be found via the following: <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html">Click Here and Get Involved</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I started flying last year. On February 28th, 2013 I had my first lesson. July 3rd, 2013 I received my Private Pilots license. I then started working towards my Instrument rating doing a lot of cross countries and hood time. I got my Instrument rating November 11th, 2013. After that I took off to the west (Spanish Fork, UT) where I did some mountain training, back-country flying and received my Commercial Pilots License January 22nd, 2014. I stayed out there until the end of February 2014 while I did a CFI ground school course. I came back to Alabama and finished up my CFI with Rod (Kellogg) and took my checkride, (twice) (I'll explain later) April 23rd, 2014. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I wish I could say I grew up around it but I really have no flying background at all. Nobody in my family ever ventured into the aviation world. I am the youngest of 6. Me and my siblings have totally different interest. One works offshore, one served in the army, One is a horse trainer and works in Hollywood western films, one is a police officer and one is a soon to be English teacher, Me... I'm just a pilot. I guess my love for traveling is what really got me into flying. From age 11 to 17 I wanted to be a professional surfer. I traveled all over and spent the majority of my time in the water. I competed in surf contest locally and on the East Coast. When I finally picked up a small sponsor I thought that was it... that's what I was gonna do the rest of my life. After a month in a half in the southern jungles of Costa Rica when I was 17 I realized I loved surfing but lost my interest in the competitive side of it. I just wanted to travel! It didn't matter where I was going or why I was going It only mattered THAT i was going. I have a few more stories in between all that and the time I started flying one which involved buying an RV and trekking across America in it for a few months but lets skip to what matters.. Flying!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I started flying in Gulf Shores, AL out of Jack Edwards with my first flight instructor, Nate Coleman. I flew a C-152 with him up until I got my Private License. I really enjoyed those first few months learning something completely new to me. I was fortunate to have a really good Instructor too. I had my first solo April 10th, 2013. Scary stuff!! I did the usual 3 landings and bring it in thing. I'm sure it's the same for every pilot but I'll never forget that day. I just couldn't believe someone trusted me enough to let me fly a machine into the air by myself... well maybe they didn't trust me but that's what insurance is for right? I think I was hooked to flying the first day I stepped in the plane but the hook was definitely set on that day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I was working a full time summer job (7 days a week on the beach at a Parasail and water-sport company) while I was a student pilot. Nate was cool enough to get out there early before I worked most mornings to fly with me (I owe him big time!) After about 52 hours in the logbook I took my PPL Checkride with a really cool examiner named Chip. It was a success! "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Of course that was just my "License to Learn". Well that won't suffice... Time for the next thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I continued my training with Nate this time in the PA-28 (Cherokee Warrior) and after many practice ILS's, LOC's, VOR's, holds (sorry Nate for frustrating you during these), radio chatter and long cross-countries I took my Instrument Checkride with another great DPE, Mal. Again, "It wasn't as bad as I thought." That was a really rewarding rating to get and probably some of the most important training for any pilot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>After a bout 100 hours of time building I went over to Utah to learn how to fly around the mountains. That was some really fun flying and I met some good friends I still talk to. I flew the Piper Arrow for the 10 complex hour commercial requirement with another good instructor, Rob Machado. He taught me a lot about mountain and canyon flying which was great! This training was fun because after a lot of stressful instrument and precision flying I got a chance to stick my head back out the window. I took the CSEL Checkride with, yes, another great examiner, Lynn French. I think he enjoyed making it a little difficult by lots of distractions and talking during the checkride but it was a good day! "It wasn't as bad as I thought." Now I can get paid to fly!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I started the CFI ground school the following evening. This is where I met Scott Pettis. He's a 15,000 hour pilot and is the captain of a PC-12 (Pilatus). His boss, who owns the PC-12 wanted him to get his CFI so he could start logging time while Scott flew him all around the country so he was 1 of 4 students in the class with me. We helped each other with CFI lessons and flew around in the DA-40 and the Cessna Corvalis together taking turns being the student and the instructor. I got a chance to fly the Pilatus with him back from Sacramento. I also got a couple turns at flying a helicopter with him, an R-44. He's a really good pilot and I learned a lot from him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Well I eventually got tired of being land-locked in snowy Utah and had to go back to the beach. I got back to Alabama February 26th 2014. Rod was kind enough to help me out with some more CFI practice flying and getting my checkride scheduled (I owe him big time too). Rods another awesome pilot, anybody can learn a lot just flying with this guy for a few minutes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Another requirement for the Initial CFI is Spin training. I did some spin training back in the summer with Nate after I got my PPL but the FAA was looking for something more recent so I got to go to Pensacola and do a Spin course and Intro to Aerobatics with this Genius of a Pilot Jimbo aka Capt. Cuervo. Fun Stuff!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Meanwhile during all the craziness of studying and preparing for the checkride I got the opportunity to run a few scenic flights out of Gulf Air Center at KJKA, and do a little bit of banner towing with a local pilot, Bancroft or "Banc". I also got to go along on cross countries with Rod in the Cirrus, Cherokee 6, Comanche, and King Air. It has been great flying different planes and getting the feel for each of their own flight characteristics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>After all the fun it was time to take the checkride. It was scheduled for April 21st, and got pushed back to the 22nd for weather and aircraft maintenance problems. For the CFI initial checkride the FAA local FSDO inspector has first choice of giving you the ride and I got assigned a lady from the Birmingham FSDO, Nina. the checkride went good that day I made it through the famous CFI Oral portion. That was the part I was dreading. We made it into the Warrior to knock out the required maneuvers and i was going to finish the ride in the Comanche to demonstrate Power-off 180s and Complex proficiency. Got about an hour into the flight when the ceilings started dropping quick on us forcing us to land. I got a LOA (Letter of Discontinuance) due to weather. I wasn't able to finish the ride with Nina but fortunately I was able to go up to Jasper, AL. the next day and finish the maneuvers in the Comanche with another great Pilot and DPE, Gordo. Again, "it wasn't as bad as I thought." The checkride went great despite the plane trouble me and Carl (local pilot and CFI) experienced on the way up there that morning. Basically ending in a dead-stick landing at a remote airstrip in north Alabama. After returning to KJKA and receiving some "pit-stop" maintenance we went for a second go up to Jasper where I finally became a CFI. More power trouble on the way back that night but we were able to land safely home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>My career goals aren't set in stone yet but I turn 20 this October and plan to have my Multi Engine and Seaplane ratings before then. I like to think that one day I'll be running a Seaplane Island Hopping/Exploring/treasure hunting company down in the Caribbean or on some island in the south Pacific one day, whether or not that will work out is left to the choices I make down the road and the Pilot Gods :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I have a few more flying stories I'd love to share but I will be up all night if I keep writing so I'll wrap it up. I can say that I am very lucky to have such amazing pilots and instructors to look up to. Nate, Rod, Rob, Scott and many others have each taught me different things about flying that you can't really put a price on. I hope to do the same for my future students. At only 400 hours total time, flying has been the most challenging and rewarding thing I've ever done and I have much more to learn and experience from it. Any aspiring pilot that reads Swayne's Blog for advice and has lasted all the way through my long post, The only thing I can say is study, fly, study again, fly, and study some more. You'll learn something new every time you crack open that book or read that article. If anything, besides my talented instructors, has gotten me this far in aviation it's because I read everything I could and watched every video I could about flying. Stay persistent, respect the weather and keep flying!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks so much Haley for writing in and sharing your story! The fact that you're a CFI and only 19 years old, two years older than myself, is so cool! I have a feeling you're going to have an awesome and exciting career. You've already done so much! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks again for writing in and participating in the </span><a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Share Your Story</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> section of the blog, </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Martins Aviation / From Private to Professional Pilot</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-10713317037095903442014-05-02T13:54:00.003-04:002014-05-02T13:57:58.257-04:00Share Your Story: Briggs Christie, Flying in Hawaii <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Welcome to the 32nd "Share Your Story" post. Pilots from around the world write in featuring their flight experiences, promoting their blogs, websites, social media, novels, etc. These posts show students the diverse range of experiences/careers available to them in aviation. More details + how to participate can be found via the following: <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html">Click Here and Get Involved</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aloha from paradise, Swayne, and well done on the blog. I found it searching for some PP training talk and it's going to be a regular read. I'm looking forward to rewinding to the beginning to get caught up (and probably find both how different and similar the learning experience can be for all of us).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would have to think that I'm approaching my flight education from a fairly unique perspective, being a bit further on in years than most of the students I've encountered (we'll call it "over 50" and leave it there, young lad). Add to that over 2,500 hours of airtime as a professional hang glider pilot, so the air is already one of my favorite playgrounds, and I figured that this whole pilot's license thing would be a breeze.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll save the gory details for another day, but having to UNLEARN those countless hours of instinct and reflex was amazingly humbling. Flying is flying, but landing with flaps and power and wheels instead of none-of-the-above is different story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The story I wanted to pass on has everything to do with WHERE you learn to fly and the people whose job it is to help you do it safely. If you live on an island in the middle of the ocean, the airports with education are few. On Oahu, with the exception of one flight school on a small strip that's impossible to drive to if you have a job in Honolulu, HNL is all you get. That would be HNL, Class B airspace utilized by every flying machine imaginable. An Airbus 330 looks really, really big when it's landing underneath you as you cross over its runway at 800'. So does an F-22, a helicopter, etc. You get force-fed a lot of radio work in a hurry. I soloed this past Monday, which is done by getting the heck out of there and hopping to JRF in Kapolei, twin strips refereed by the National Guard and not quite as crazy. Drop off the CFI and jump into the pattern with your friends (only four others this day, not so bad). All went smoothly and the sign-off was done back at the hangar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, the next step in the training here is to to solo out of the Class B airspace. To make this leap, I had to prove to the CFI that I've got the chops for it, so up we went on Wednesday. His hands and feet are away from the controls, he says nothing on the radio (even if I screw up...gotta work it out) and he's the invisible man. Outbound went smooth as silk; Clearance, Ground, Tower, Departure, I don't think they even knew I was a student. (Of course, starting at the far hangar in a C150 might have given them a clue, but I'm sticking to my story.) A quick trip to JRF to get some practice in and back we went, the CFI once again magically disappearing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">HNL has four runways, one which has been shortened but usable for several months due to repairs. Today? Closed since this morning. That's a 25% reduction in the "places to land" department and I'm showing up in the early evening when the inter-island flights are clumped together at the end of the business day, UPS and FedEx are heading out, you get the picture. Once I got the ATIS information, I switched to Departure and the chatter was constant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I waited for a gap and chimed in with my "Cessna XXXX is with you at the Sugar Mill with information X-Ray" all official-like and...? Nothin'. Conversations with other planes kept right on. I gave it a minute and tried it again. Same result. I glanced over at the CFI and got a not-so-invisible shrug and, "beats me...try it again". The third time was indeed a charm, but instead of clearance I was given a transponder frequency and told to turn around and climb up to 2,500' and wait at the interchange (a major landmark just out the Class B). As I was doing this, I heard another Cessna chime in and receive the same instructions for 2,000' and we both acknowledged we had each other in sight. Immediately after that, a Piper...and he's sent beneath us at 1,500'. There's another Cessna just inside the Class B at 1,500' working his way into the pattern, a tour helicopter directly below us at 500' and a bonus prize: an Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter (the one with two blenders instead of just one) crossing next to the whole stack on his way out. Inbound over the ocean west of us? Two B717's from Hawaiian and a B767 from Air Canada. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We're all making circles crossing from sunshine (air sinking at about 300 FPM) into an area under a dark, drizzling cloud (air going up at 300 FPM), trying to stay rigidly at our assigned altitudes and not make any sudden moves and TWO MORE VFR Cessna's chime in and request clearance. I looked over at the CFI again and he smiled and said, "No I've never done this either". That got a laugh from both of us. What else can you do but laugh?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Somehow, I ended up second in line and headed into the approach (not having to be urged to "speed it up a bit" like the Cessna that was ahead of me, I was just fine with beating feet to get in and get down). Not surprisingly, my downwind was extended and the Tower called my base for a long final with the Air Canada flight right below me just touching down and something really big taking off out in front of me quartering to the right and away. The moment my wheels made a mercifully gentle squeak, the Tower cleared a Turboprop (who came from I-know-not-where) to land. On the runway I was currently occupying. Great.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The normal (as in EVERY other time I've landed at HNL) routine is to exit to the right on Echo or Foxtrot and work your way to the hangars via Charlie, being handed off from the Tower to Ground at some point during the process and making only one right turn to be clear of everything. Not today. Immediately after clearing the Turboprop, I got "Cessna XXXX turn left...I REPEAT, LEFT...on Echo to Delta to Bravo, hold short on Bravo". Two things: first, left is into the plaid-looking maze of taxiways BETWEEN two runways and second, I've never heard that phraseology from a Tower or anybody else. "I repeat?" Apparently he wanted to sure I got it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We sat for a few minutes on Bravo taxiway feeling very small as a lot of aluminum went by on both sides and were finally given instructions to take Delta to Foxtrot to Charlie (at some point, you'd figure they'd run out of alphabet, wouldn't you?) and made our way to the gas pump behind the hangar to shut down and refuel. I turned to my instructor and asked, "So...NOW can I solo out of here?".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What a circus and education. I'd love to say that I was just an epic pilot and all that, but the reality is that all the work was done by the folks on the other end of the radio. My job was to just relax, fly the plane, listen to what to do, confirm what to do and do it. The calm and business-like voices kept me just as calm and business-like (well...mostly), the hand-offs from one to the other to the other were well defined and I drove home with the confidence that I could indeed deal with this craziness and an important lesson about the people whose job it is to keep me from doing something wrong and/or stupid. I had always been impressed with the skill it takes to be an ATC, but the appreciation for their role in my LIFE grew 1000%, something that will stick with me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wheels up on my own on Monday. I ain't scared.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fly safe!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Briggs Christie, Kailua, HI</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks Briggs for writing in and sharing your story. It's awesome to hear about your flight training experiences in Hawaii. This summer, I'm headed out to the islands and hope to try flying there, myself. It should be a lot of fun!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks again for writing in and participating in the </span><a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Share Your Story</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> section of the blog, </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Martins Aviation / From Private to Professional Pilot</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Youtube: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MartinsAviation1">MartinsAviation1</a> </span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-74670999179705972722014-04-24T14:36:00.002-04:002014-04-24T14:37:11.839-04:00TEDx Aviation Introduction <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago, I was selected to speak at my school's TEDx Youth conference. I got help from my good friend Connor Lifson, director at Broken Slate Productions, to create an introduction video for my talk. The best way to show people what flying is like, is to show them. It's something that words alone cannot describe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The video shows what I do in aviation today, how I got started, and what some of my goals are for the future. In this light, I hope the video will inspire aspiring pilots to take their passion to the next level. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I Started My Career At 15. It's Already Been An Amazing Ride" is the title of the video, which can also be accessed through this link: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqo3exlxma8">click here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The video of my actual TED Talk will be on YouTube shortly; I'll make sure to give you guys an update when it is! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for watching,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-20937507783635073112014-04-10T21:52:00.002-04:002014-04-11T17:56:10.226-04:00An iPad For The Cockpit <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">General aviation pilots have experienced a great revolution over the past years, one that will only expand in the future. For many, gone are the days of plotting upon paper sectionals, and having to order current issue charts and directories multiple times per year. Enter the iPad. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The iPad and its associated apps, if used correctly, can greatly lessen your workload, allowing you to quickly and efficiently do things in seconds that would normally take much longer. I've been using Foreflight and CloudAhoy on my iPhone for a few months now, and am really excited to give them a try from the much larger iPad. It's honestly been like a second pilot's Christmas over here for me. With money coming in from my new work position, I'll able to fly once per week and afford some cool things for the cockpit. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGrqz1aLFtiZMK2Nb-QiZV1a6SrVKbwgZwN9efvXAGVGHIWPaFle8FBHFerhyphenhyphenxbC4_XjoI7kTdA6zDemiFFzFz4v64JAED7L5-uLhXAGDOig0UwaIgYfH5AQD-pgbgt7l5KE28QsXHEba/s1600/IMG_0014.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGrqz1aLFtiZMK2Nb-QiZV1a6SrVKbwgZwN9efvXAGVGHIWPaFle8FBHFerhyphenhyphenxbC4_XjoI7kTdA6zDemiFFzFz4v64JAED7L5-uLhXAGDOig0UwaIgYfH5AQD-pgbgt7l5KE28QsXHEba/s1600/IMG_0014.PNG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So how will I fly with the iPad? I have a three-tier system for flight management in case of equipment failure, batteries running out, etc. </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The iPad: the primary data collecting, management, and GPS device</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The iPhone 5S: a backup for when and if the iPad fails (I have the same apps on each device)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Old school sectional charts and AF/Ds: even if not 100% current, you should always have paper copies of the sectional maps and AF/D for your area. In the event of an electronic failure, they're great backups!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Over the next few weeks, I plan on delving into individual product reviews for the iPad and its associated accessories. Until then, here are a few pictures of what's ahead and what's new in my pilot bag! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One important purchase choice I made was to buy an iPro Aviator Kneeboard for the iPad vs. a suction cup mount, which people often mount on the windscreen (both methods are shown below). The mounting of an iPad in the cockpit creates a dangerous blind spot, so I opted for the kneeboard. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2N9OO4QTils3z9cR_j-qa-GV55o4bYziRJCFJSMJtdJ12wbmEpGQlAA1BzVDN4XxeC7MLUO8Vp4OXA6qLcW5MvOEOLX4Z-xYDPJYpdWjcTI4NAgx0sm5k7cyMP_3rbZjAAtz09f65Ien/s1600/da20ipad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2N9OO4QTils3z9cR_j-qa-GV55o4bYziRJCFJSMJtdJ12wbmEpGQlAA1BzVDN4XxeC7MLUO8Vp4OXA6qLcW5MvOEOLX4Z-xYDPJYpdWjcTI4NAgx0sm5k7cyMP_3rbZjAAtz09f65Ien/s1600/da20ipad.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm headed out for a flight on Saturday in N9525V, and will be using my iPad (with accessories) for the first time. It will take a lot of setting up and getting used to, but I'm sure it will all get easier!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>P.S. Sorry about the lack of posts recently, Junior year has been crazy-busy. It only gets worse as AP Exams, SATs, ACTs, and more tests come in the coming weeks. </i></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-23668833182569381382014-03-31T22:11:00.002-04:002014-03-31T22:11:39.184-04:00My Pilot's License Came In The Mail! <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 Month and 1 Week later, I now have my official Private Pilot's License! It can take up to 70 days in most cases to get the license, so I was pretty lucky to have gotten it so quickly! </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't wait to take more friends and family up. I'm heading out tomorrow afternoon for a flight around Richmond and my house which will be great considering how nice the weather has been. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-19995249332855332032014-03-28T06:29:00.000-04:002014-03-28T06:29:40.615-04:00Share Your Story: Chris Evans, Student Pilot (KCMA)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Welcome to the 31st "Share Your Story" post. Pilots from around the world write in featuring their flight experiences, promoting their blogs, websites, social media, novels, etc. These posts show students the diverse range of experiences/careers available to them in aviation. More details + how to participate can be found via the following: <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html">Click Here and Get Involved</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My Name is Chris Evans. I am 23 years old and live in Sunny Thousand Oaks, CA. When I was young my dad went through flight school out of KCMA (Camarillo, CA) airport. Although my dad loved training he was never able to take his check ride and receive his PPL. Because of my dads love for airplanes my family and I would go every Sunday morning after church to Camarillo Airports Waypoint Cafe. We would all order their delicious tri-tip sandwich and listen to the local ATC. When I was younger i knew I loved airplanes but never thought I would become a pilot. As I grew up I drifted away from the airport and never thought I would want to be a pilot. One Christmas my sister purchased an introductory flight for my dad and I and the rest is history.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the intro flight I knew that flying was going to be my career I just needed to figure out how. As I procrastinated on starting flight school I came across Swayne's blog which has inspired me to kick it into high gear and go for my PPL.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have spent the past couple months training and will be fly my first solo within the next week. My goal as an aviator it to eventually become a commercial pilot. I know that the road is not easy but, with hard work and dedication I know it will happen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wanted to thank Swayne for creating this amazing blog which allows us all to learn and become inspired to work toward our goals. With the inspiration that Swayne has given me I have decided to start my own blog telling others my story and hopefully like Swayne, inspiring future pilots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One thing that my dad always told me growing up is "every day is a new day with all kinds of possibilities". This is completely true and if you believe in yourself anything is possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Email: Myfirstflighttraining@gmail</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blog: <a href="http://myfirstflighttraining.blogspot.com/"><span class="s2">myfirstflighttraining.blogspot.com</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Facebook: <span class="s2"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/chris.evans.12532364">Chris Evans</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks so much Chris for writing in and sharing your story. I'm so happy to hear that through reading my blog, you were inspired to start up your flight training again and are going head-on towards your PPL! I can't wait to fly with you someday! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks again for writing in and participating in the </span><a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Share Your Story</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> section of the blog, </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Martins Aviation / From Private to Professional Pilot</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-39338440377430840722014-03-23T17:30:00.000-04:002014-03-23T17:31:01.586-04:00Radio Interview with AviatorCast and Chris Palmer <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recently had the awesome opportunity to be interviewed by Chris Palmer for his aviation podcast "AviatorCast." Chris Palmer runs the online flight training company "Angle of Attack," serving pilots flying anything from the Cessna 172 to the Boeing 777. (<a href="http://www.flyaoamedia.com/">http://www.flyaoamedia.com/</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Check out and listen to the interview via this link: <a href="http://www.flyaoamedia.com/aviatorcast-podcast/aviatorcast-010-hangar-talk-w-swayne-martin-ppl-blogger-traveler-future-pro-pilot/">AviatorCast Episode 10: Swayne Martin </a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for the awesome interview, Chris. I can't wait to talk with you guys again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-91099406369482155662014-03-18T20:41:00.002-04:002014-03-18T20:41:32.709-04:00My First Solo Flight in a Cessna 172 (N9525V) <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The real fun in being a Private Pilot is having the opportunity to experience and learn on a variety of aircraft. After having done my PPL training in a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), I knew I would want to bump up a level, to something a little larger. My goal was to fly something faster that could carry more people. As a part of accomplishing that goal, I went up with my instructor on a <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-cessna-172-checkout-flight.html">Cessna 172 Checkout Flight</a>. After that flight, I was eligible to rent and fly the school Cessna 172s solo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The obvious next step for me was to do a "first solo" in the more or less familiar aircraft. From personal experience and advice I received, oftentimes the best way to get comfortable in a new aircraft is just to head out for a flight around the pattern, knocking out 10+ touch and go landings in the new plane. That's exactly what I did during this flight. It was a nice clear day, gusty, with an 8kt direct crosswind, but nothing too bad! It was a good opportunity for me to practice my crosswind skills in a moderate wind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the day, I was going to fly in C172 N9525V, a 1998 Cessna 172R with zero glass cockpit. It was actually pretty fun to fly again in a plane with no GPS or glass, it can make things a little more simple, and fun! As you'll see in the video below, I did have my iPhone with Foreflight mounted next to me, so I cheated a little! I had the plane scheduled for 2 hours, but only planned to utilize about an hour of that for actual flying. All said and done, I flew .8 hours, knocking out 10 landings and takeoffs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the video below, you can see an overview of the flight with timelapse editing and music. I only included the last 3 landings in this video, as showing all 10 would be way too long! You can find more videos like this on my Youtube channel, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MartinsAviation1">MartinsAviation1</a>: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before taxiing and takeoff, I made sure to turn CloudAhoy on, with my iPhone. The app records your flight in 3D, with speed, altitude, ground track, etc. As this was my first solo flight in the C172, I spent most of my time in the pattern adjusting over and over, trying to find the right points at which to turn, in order to come in on final using little or no engine power. As you can see in the CloudAhoy screenshot below, patterns ranged from tight, to far out. I wanted to get a real sense for how the plane flew inside the pattern, how much it floats, etc. You can check out my flight in 3D for yourself, to do that <a href="http://cloudahoy.com/api/S.cgi?FrxGTdbL73DPraNUg">Click Here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After my 7th consecutive touch and go, I did a full stop landing to give my arms a rest. Unlike the electronic Tecnam P92 Eaglet, the Skyhawk has a mechanical trim. My arm was tired after fighting the heavier plane! In general, when flying the Cessna, you use the trim to alleviate the control pressure. Since I was flying constant, short patterns, it was hard to constantly adjust the trim properly for all phases of flight. It was also the first hot day of the new year, 80 degrees, so I drank some of the water I brought with me during the break.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now that I'm feeling much more comfortable in the C172, I'm excited to go flying in it with passengers for the first time! As I speak, I'm headed to North Carolina to visit some more colleges over this Spring Break. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Thanks for reading and watching!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-34074536552351562382014-03-13T10:09:00.000-04:002014-03-13T10:09:34.321-04:00My Cessna 172 Checkout Flight <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For nearly all of my flight training, I flew in either a Tecnam P92 Eaglet or Tecnam P2002 Sierra. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out this article: <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/2014/01/so-what-exactly-is-tecnam-aircraft-my.html">What Exactly is a Tecnam Aircraft?</a> I've also had the pleasure of flying in a few different types of aircraft. For a full list, check out the "Aircraft Flown" column on the right side of this page. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a private pilot, I can legally fly any plane under 12,500 pounds that does not require a type rating or additional endorsement. To rent aircraft from FBOs, you normally do a checkout flight with one of the company's instructors. Yesterday, I followed through with my plan to make a transition to the Cessna 172, becoming eligible to rent and fly the plane solo. I did this because the Cessna has 4 total seats vs. the Tecnam's two. That way, I can fly more people and split the cost for flying at a lower rater per person ($35 per person, per hour). HOVA Flight Services out of Hanover KOFP has three C172s for its students, all three of which I've flown in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I really enjoy flying the Skyhawk. It's easy, forgiving, and doesn't float down the runway like the Eaglet! It's an older, heavier bird than the smaller Tecnam, which makes it fun in its own respect. As my awesome instructor Graham Frye put it: "Once you have your PPL, the real fun starts. You get to try out different aircraft, learning their individual characteristics and tendencies. You'll begin to develop a sense of what you like to see in planes you truly enjoy flying." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After two snow days with school off, the weather finally cleared enough for a flight. I took the snow day as an opportunity to call up the school and schedule a flight with Graham. With variable winds at 3 knots and clear skies, it was an awesome day for a flight! We were scheduled to be in Cessna 172R N9525V. I didn't originally intend for this to be my "checkout" flight, just a chance to fly more in the Cessna. In the end, doing the checkout style flight was perfect for the day and time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had Graham do the walk around with me, to go over different things I needed to check for on the unfamiliar aircraft. Luckily, I didn't miss the big problem with the plane before giving it the thumbs up: ice build-up on the elevator and trim tabs. He had left it there for me to find, making sure I wouldn't skip over it, which would be a very dangerous situation! After the walkaround and cabin check, we were ready to go. Our plan was simple, fly for about an hour around the practice area to the Northwest and return for a landing or two. Our route of flight is shown via a screenshot of CloudAhoy below: (explore the route on Google Earth for yourself via this link: <a href="http://cloudahoy.com/api/S.cgi?PlYbjY9xEY7V9gOQ">Click Here</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We began going over basic maneuvers in the plane. Steep turns came first: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We then moved into slow flight and stalls: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEQ1B1Oxn07tVNITrtCcsYBbCW53Fd-MA1rCV_cXI_Rbo6LzQyBHIz81sGWzpvtw93K2r6_JfLFp2zSpe6Ppz5Ie5Uy26IxpAg8emoHN72sgzFD_JgpJI8PlWEMdW2HQlyevB1Lm5IvKu/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+4.45.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEQ1B1Oxn07tVNITrtCcsYBbCW53Fd-MA1rCV_cXI_Rbo6LzQyBHIz81sGWzpvtw93K2r6_JfLFp2zSpe6Ppz5Ie5Uy26IxpAg8emoHN72sgzFD_JgpJI8PlWEMdW2HQlyevB1Lm5IvKu/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+4.45.00+PM.png" height="316" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An emergency decent came next, brining us down to ground-reference maneuver altitude: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Turns around a point (well, two points!): </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We then returned to Hanover OFP for a straight in approach to Runway 16. After a greased touch and go, we did one more full-stop landing for extra practice. Both landings went great and the day was done! After lots of adjusting, we got the plane tied down and headed inside to sign off paperwork. Now that I can rent the C172 from the school, I'm looking forward to my first solo flight in the plane soon! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading and watching,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin<br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-33177065449850139342014-03-11T09:21:00.000-04:002014-03-11T09:21:17.084-04:00My First Aviation Job - Writer/Producer for Boldmethod Flight Training! <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy to announce my first job in the aviation world! As of a few days ago, I was hired by the Boldmethod Team to work as a writer/producer for their website. I'm excited to be a part of the movement to revolutionize the way aviation training works. In a modern, technological era, the next generation of pilots should have the opportunity to utilize the best online training methods. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After having used the Aviation Weather Training Course, I see real potential in Boldmethod's online training. They're revolutionizing an industry that pushes out dull, non-interactive content. Some of the other methods I've used in my own training are too stagnant in nature, not allowing for interaction that makes learning fun and effective. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Check out my profile on the Boldmethod site: <a href="http://www.boldmethod.com/authors/swayne_martin/">Swayne Martin</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The "Swayne Martin Welcome Article:" <a href="http://www.boldmethod.com/about/welcome-swayne-martin/">Click Here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We really hit the ground running during these first few days I came to work with them. We created a Boeing 777 Infographic, since the Triple-7 is something on everyone's mind in the wake of the MH370 disappearance. Instead of focusing on a safety record or crash history, we decided to show you how amazing the 777 aircraft is and how much it has accomplished since it first flew in 1994. Check it out!: </span><br />
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Check out this Boeing 777 infographic and see how capable the airplane really is -> <a href="http://t.co/hoD66Q63SB">http://t.co/hoD66Q63SB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23avgeek&src=hash">#avgeek</a> <a href="http://t.co/8T83DMeCBG">pic.twitter.com/8T83DMeCBG</a><br />
— Boldmethod (@Boldmethod) <a href="https://twitter.com/Boldmethod/statuses/443351899022966784">March 11, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And don't worry, even though I'm now a writer at Boldmethod, I'll still have frequent (if not more!) posts to push right here, on "From Private to Professional Pilot." This job is going to give me the opportunity to learn a whole lot more about aviation, from the inside of the industry. I can't wait to see what comes next! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Later today, I'm flying my first ever solo flight in a Cessna 172 (N9525V). On Wednesday, I'm driving to Indiana for a Purdue College visit, to check out their aviation program! Lots of exciting stuff going on! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-50609346213986158782014-03-10T11:08:00.000-04:002014-03-10T11:08:56.592-04:00Airport Review: Lynchburg (KLYH), Virginia - A Sunset Landing <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After flying into <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/2014/02/airport-review-falwell-w24-virginia-ski.html">Falwell's "ski-slope" runway</a>, we decided to make the quick 5 mile flight over to Lynchburg (Class D), for another stamp in our aviation passport! The flight was quick, but really cool to make right at sunset. An edited video of our flight with time-lapse footage, radio calls, and music is shown below. Check out my youtube channel, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MartinsAviation1">MartinsAviation1</a>, for more videos like this: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lynchburg Regional Airport (Preston Glenn Field - KLYH) is a Class D airport located in Southwestern Virginia. Its sole commercial airline service is to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (KCLT) via US Airways Regional Carrier Bombardier Dash-8s or CRJs. It is also the home of the Liberty University's Aviation Program, with a very successful and fast-growing flight school. You can see some of their school planes in a photo below: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flying over Lynchburg at sunset couldn't have been nicer. The photo below was taken with my iPhone and is completely un-edited, the sunset was awesome! As you can see in our landing video below, there was a decent amount of traffic keeping the controller at KLYH busy: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We shut down at the Virginia Aviation ramp to get a stamp for our passport at the FBO front desk: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was time to head back East to Hanover after the sun had gone down. Below is the video of our dusk takeoff from Lynchburg's Runway 22: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading and watching!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-61263709851538162492014-03-06T09:21:00.000-05:002014-03-06T12:56:52.503-05:00My First Official Flight As A Private Pilot<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/2014/02/newest-pilot-in-united-states-passed-my.html">passing my PPL Checkride</a>, it was time to start thinking about first flights. I had decided early on that my first official passenger would be my grandfather, GP (abbreviation for Grand-Père). I attribute my love of aviation directly to him. Ever since I was a little kid, I've been going to airshows with him, or had his awesome models hanging on my ceiling. I can remember the days when we'd visit him down in Florida, where I would be outside for literally hours with GP, flying our rubber band-wound, balsa wood planes. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I see it as fitting that my first flight as a licensed pilot was with GP, it made for a very memorable experience. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way!</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A typical situation occurred on the day of my first flight, marginal VFR weather around Richmond. M</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">y pilot-judgement</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> was being tested right from the beginning of my license! MVFR weather was isolated to our Southeast and was headed Northeast, so I made the decision to go flying, but not to go too far away. Instead of flying to the Southeast as I hoped, I decided to go to some more familiar airports to our Northwest (Lake Anna and Louisa). Here's what the weather looking like: </span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalidm44wyr7BjNstvYpfKG0Z0DU3t8dAw8LJ7hWKthnF0t06fADNzBs6EOnAi0J1NySIB58Ddp9HmCyEIknDO4ovj04rysnf3McJDYfxsXtvrEZg06ClXTEANclZI3nUW4_D6El_Q3Frr/s1600/IMG_5971.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalidm44wyr7BjNstvYpfKG0Z0DU3t8dAw8LJ7hWKthnF0t06fADNzBs6EOnAi0J1NySIB58Ddp9HmCyEIknDO4ovj04rysnf3McJDYfxsXtvrEZg06ClXTEANclZI3nUW4_D6El_Q3Frr/s1600/IMG_5971.PNG" height="640" width="360"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the screenshot below from CloudAhoy, you can see our full route of flight: </span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8OOKKDAfEkV2yEsebY7iZN_3J1H9oLcRzYpUiQhSnetQOXr4yKr6mXYvlWOJTWmYqllBik7T7pZ3e70okqV0BdP9_4x8Eg43j4zR2hv-41DcTA1aVX07IUqI_5AgyZ9DrGY7WqQCUlgs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.35.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8OOKKDAfEkV2yEsebY7iZN_3J1H9oLcRzYpUiQhSnetQOXr4yKr6mXYvlWOJTWmYqllBik7T7pZ3e70okqV0BdP9_4x8Eg43j4zR2hv-41DcTA1aVX07IUqI_5AgyZ9DrGY7WqQCUlgs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.35.50+PM.png" height="380" width="640"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The flight didn't turn out as well as I would've liked for my first flight with a PPL. It was pretty turbulent and gusty, making for some less than perfect landings. Once we landed at Lake Anna (7W4), I let GP know that we were going to do a touch and go and Louisa (LKU), and then head back to Hanover (OFP). Why waste the time and money on a bumpy, unpleasant flight, when we could pick a much better day to do it? It wasn't terrible flying, just uncomfortable in general. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Screenshots from our landing at Lake Anna (7W4): </span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7fnyyI9_2w5Ylzc0MX-EAV-9AyRrhFe3A5rvdBJYk4HcOwRaj58Jstp-ZsAHuk6Mt98AYh-_xwMF9xCxNTLLDspCBWbq9_D7YAc8BXeZramTUqGJGCD3hbHg0OIttDv1MBs9YRWVGaskL/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.38.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7fnyyI9_2w5Ylzc0MX-EAV-9AyRrhFe3A5rvdBJYk4HcOwRaj58Jstp-ZsAHuk6Mt98AYh-_xwMF9xCxNTLLDspCBWbq9_D7YAc8BXeZramTUqGJGCD3hbHg0OIttDv1MBs9YRWVGaskL/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.38.10+PM.png" height="402" width="640"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzt5QRMaIY93HQIISd51d4xkgOzEGB-HE_v2s4TsoIU9f-5GREpXLlwv3fbMqShcWIOFTgq6KYhwtgKLA3P1-IZuGIHXrPYQA-KUJ0a8jY1h3lN6Vp2bjl2ZkUUGGUlQH-_dHRzpDOaZi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.38.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzt5QRMaIY93HQIISd51d4xkgOzEGB-HE_v2s4TsoIU9f-5GREpXLlwv3fbMqShcWIOFTgq6KYhwtgKLA3P1-IZuGIHXrPYQA-KUJ0a8jY1h3lN6Vp2bjl2ZkUUGGUlQH-_dHRzpDOaZi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.38.44+PM.png" height="482" width="640"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Screenshots from our landing at Louisa (LKU): </span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDidN0GLi0TQDQY_gE_7laulCfWsQ78X3BfAwP6uf3CF1FLdApQHIPA6X2a_LeeYltd8bBjBzE00ig6vCLz1hR9Y22pwq-2r3hdA23nuDtl9PPUWEkTPxK0AsWJUjj2dyhVdWE3yRZ8gPk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.39.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDidN0GLi0TQDQY_gE_7laulCfWsQ78X3BfAwP6uf3CF1FLdApQHIPA6X2a_LeeYltd8bBjBzE00ig6vCLz1hR9Y22pwq-2r3hdA23nuDtl9PPUWEkTPxK0AsWJUjj2dyhVdWE3yRZ8gPk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.39.29+PM.png" height="446" width="640"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfF7SGCBHR_08NUDhuvPNe70W3I6DqFq-bfHMyz9sRjYQP8CLijtEHKKce7gC3ffBEx3ciJ8l6-KulKcfSLQ_a5fuj1AAd8zsF3D5qg2FmPUgYoIzqSyac2_-RVwmgQ_t1WUgjzdEw6u8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.40.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfF7SGCBHR_08NUDhuvPNe70W3I6DqFq-bfHMyz9sRjYQP8CLijtEHKKce7gC3ffBEx3ciJ8l6-KulKcfSLQ_a5fuj1AAd8zsF3D5qg2FmPUgYoIzqSyac2_-RVwmgQ_t1WUgjzdEw6u8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.40.03+PM.png" height="376" width="640"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After taking off from Louisa, we headed straight back towards Hanover. Luckily, we were straight in for Runway 16, so we saved some time by making a direct approach. The landing wasn't bad, a little off centerline because of the crosswind, but not great either. </span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqfOO72LSb2a0kHoOCnEb2vX005Gu5rvS76q_4F4J3HTtc5ucglgvzalZo_hKDH3hI_Dqi_UmP9YHbkc5rWYVbkxQ7qvCo6I61PKZk29uuA5VGkiJJduE9GotGm6DeLGuNwu8hjgCYycU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.37.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqfOO72LSb2a0kHoOCnEb2vX005Gu5rvS76q_4F4J3HTtc5ucglgvzalZo_hKDH3hI_Dqi_UmP9YHbkc5rWYVbkxQ7qvCo6I61PKZk29uuA5VGkiJJduE9GotGm6DeLGuNwu8hjgCYycU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-05+at+1.37.10+PM.png" height="494" width="640"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In all honesty, I was a little disappointed by my first flight as a licensed pilot. I was understandably a little stressed about the new responsibility that was on my shoulders. It wasn't just my safety anymore, but the safety of my passenger that ended directly with my decisions. It was a good move to end the flight early and to wait for another day. On random days you'll find that that flight-wise you just aren't "feeling it," on those days the best thing you can do is to reschedule in my opinion. If it's an uncomfortable experience, reschedule for a better day! Not all of your flights are going to go as well as you hope, and that's ok! It's all part of a bigger learning experience. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to thank GP for being my first passenger. We'll find a better day soon for another flight! </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading,</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-79878805832211968322014-03-02T15:43:00.001-05:002014-03-02T15:43:43.054-05:00Boldmethod Interview: What To Expect On A Private Pilot Checkride <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Boldmethod is one of the best training tools for a student pilot. I give credit to their easy online courses for my ability to read aviation weather reports (METARs, TAFs, PIREPS, etc.) The price of $10 is well worth it! To read more about their products and to try a course for free <a href="http://www.boldmethod.com/products/aviation-weather-products/">Click Here</a>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiRdGFr-8euklP-ja5dq-MVW-Wdlf7nkB9N5YC43KLDj-GxmuaElytQGm7YQDNbIawYkqq_58PluiGyjTsDVfIosLsPIpZQMIG1DKc_8QYaZSb53ZHiLaxcV3yKysblsS5KFfukWogKcZ/s1600/1898222_10152195799079035_21529379_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiRdGFr-8euklP-ja5dq-MVW-Wdlf7nkB9N5YC43KLDj-GxmuaElytQGm7YQDNbIawYkqq_58PluiGyjTsDVfIosLsPIpZQMIG1DKc_8QYaZSb53ZHiLaxcV3yKysblsS5KFfukWogKcZ/s1600/1898222_10152195799079035_21529379_n.jpg" height="236" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before and after my private pilot checkride, I was interviewed by the Boldmethod team, to go over expectations vs. reality. So what should you expect on your checkride? Check out these two articles to read more: </span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.boldmethod.com/blog/2014/02/swayne-martin-checkride-1/">Checkride Part 1</a></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.boldmethod.com/blog/2014/02/swayne-martin-checkride-2/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Checkride Part 2</span></a></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks to the Boldmethod team for the interview. Your courses are exactly what the current student pilots around the world need! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmlZJdC-yio5zEAoboglWlT1iVpu6EjH8S2tXzQY1DT6G2n62Rpq2FTQTHbvn5jomPTCc7nfMGRFI5BaoAAzz5Qto_0TTCf1Dlb5boygveQnK21ky8hoOoYFNaqqE6j6J5SkmP21gxyg_/s1600/OFP-FVX1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmlZJdC-yio5zEAoboglWlT1iVpu6EjH8S2tXzQY1DT6G2n62Rpq2FTQTHbvn5jomPTCc7nfMGRFI5BaoAAzz5Qto_0TTCf1Dlb5boygveQnK21ky8hoOoYFNaqqE6j6J5SkmP21gxyg_/s1600/OFP-FVX1.jpg" height="281" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-29647205693504170302014-02-25T19:56:00.000-05:002014-02-25T19:56:26.030-05:00My Private Pilot (PPL) Checkride: Part 2, The Flight Test <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This article is the second of two articles, both of which go into detail about my PPL Checkride. Questions, topics, and trouble-areas from my checkride have all been included with no filter. My email is swaynem13@gmail.com. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After successfully completing the first half of my checkride, <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-private-pilot-ppl-checkride-part-1.html">the oral exam</a>, it was time to prepare for the second half. After the oral finished up, my examiner asked for me to re-plan my cross country flight plan with current winds and temperatures (to my first two checkpoints). In my case, this was Short Pump Mall and the Luckstone Granite Quarry, about 5 minutes flight time to each checkpoint. He let me know that I'd be the PIC on the flight, and we'd only have to exchange controls when needed for instrument flight. In a real world emergency, he let me know that I'd be the one in control and making the decisions. This is a big deal for any student pilot, it's the first time you get "Pilot in Command" time while someone else is in the plane with you. My examiner let me know before the flight that he wasn't expecting perfection, and that if I was above or below practical test standards, to audibly tell him "I'm high and correcting" for instance. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaX-ZY8dS6el6drKr39womu366b1mTLZHP38l-qXCudlFCbfm1pPaGj9OVFgci5bpL6w0izUIxMJeThjReqOH73p2eo_y9amrj_zhRvyZQDzw1M1xsiXiZP7fzl10yf9I2gCakNsIPfiW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-25+at+7.10.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaX-ZY8dS6el6drKr39womu366b1mTLZHP38l-qXCudlFCbfm1pPaGj9OVFgci5bpL6w0izUIxMJeThjReqOH73p2eo_y9amrj_zhRvyZQDzw1M1xsiXiZP7fzl10yf9I2gCakNsIPfiW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-25+at+7.10.31+PM.png" height="554" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>My checkride's route</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Check out my route of flight for yourself via this CloudAhoy link: <a href="http://cloudahoy.com/api/S.cgi?DNIVHrj0q74cgizGA4U">Click Here</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We took a quick break for water before we went out to preflight the plane, Tecnam Eaglet N16HV. When we were about ready to go outside, the examiner told me to head out and that he'd catch up with me in a few minutes. In a way this was unexpected, as I thought he was going to be following me through every step of the preflight. This assumption couldn't have been more wrong in my case. When he did come outside, he sort of just stood at a distance, occasionally looking over to see what I was up to. I think in doing this, he was trying to asses how I do my preflight check without anyone hovering over my shoulder. I had anticipated and prepared being quizzed on everything that I was doing, but that never ended up happening. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once we were ready to go and the plane had been thoroughly inspected, we got in and started it up. I remember that the first time I turned the key, I only got the prop to spin, but the engine didn't start. I took a deep breath and turned the key again. This time, the engine got up and running right away with no hesitation. </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll take a quick pause to explain a really great strategy for the flight portion of your checkride. </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Make sure you are very vocal with your examiner about what you are doing and why.</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> He isn't in your head, so go through the checklist aloud, say what you're looking for, what decisions you're making, and why... all the way through the checkride. As you'll see in a little bit, there were a few times that it was especially good to explain why I was making certain decisions or veering from a normal procedure. Also, remember to make checklist usage a big part of your whole flight, it has become a real focus in the PTS. </span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After getting the weather, checking radios, and determining the runway to use, we began our taxi. Each of us checked our brakes, and we were off! I made sure to turn CloudAhoy on, on my iPhone, so that the flight's 3D path would be recorded for later analyzation. On my lap and in-between my legs, I had my: tri-fold kneeboard with flight plan, sectional chart, and electronic E6B flight computer. All of that plus a stick vs. yoke configured airplane makes for a serious lack of space! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On our taxi out to Runway 16, I made sure to keep my speed down and under control. The FAA generalizes a safe taxi speed to be nothing more than a brisk walk. I did have to ride the brakes a little to keep the speed down, but it was well worth it. The Tecnam P92 Eaglet I fly is equipped with a multi-function display on the pilot side, a Garmin 496 GPS in the center, and has most of the flight-essential instruments in old fashioned gauges surrounding. I was surprised that the examiner didn't dim or turn off either of these glass displays. Even though I wasn't using the GPS, I still found interesting that it was still up and I could see my location. Some examiners will choose to cover up or turn off glass displays, so beware that you might be in that situation! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Upon reaching the hold short area, we began our runup with no issues. As we were about ready to go, a plane was about to being its turn to final from base. Under normal circumstances, we would have had plenty of time to go, but I was asked to perform a short field takeoff for the first takeoff. With these takeoffs, you have to back taxi a little on the runway, to use all available runway, stop and apply full power, and accelerate to Vx before rotating. All of this takes more time than normal, so I decided to wait for the traffic to land. I explained to my instructor why I chose to wait it out and that it would just be better to be patient in case we were to have an issue. He said "very good," and we waited. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After traffic left the runway, we lined up and began our first takeoff of the day. There were light winds and everything went perfectly. Shortly after departure, we turned to heading and I started my timer. After about 4 minutes, we reached the first visual checkpoint, Short Pump Mall. Timing was pretty good, just about 40 seconds off. From there, we continued to my second checkpoint, which was off by just about 40 seconds as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At this point, as expected, he gave me a hypothetical situation and subsequent diversion. He told me that there were thunderstorms directly ahead of us and that we'd have to divert to another airport. I told him that we had two options, to return directly to Hanover OFP, or to plan for Chesterfield FCI. He let me know that for our purposes, it'd just be better to pick FCI. All he wanted to see was that I knew a generalized heading to FCI, distance, and time enroute. We were 15nm away from FCI, needed a heading of about 145 degrees, and had groundspeed of about 95kts (as read from the GS chart I made before my flight for different directions). This made the math pretty simple, and I told him that it'd take us about 10 minutes to get there. To see how close I was, we hit "nearest" on the GPS, clicked "enter" for FCI, and saw our route to be 142 degrees and that it'd take us just over 10 minutes... not too bad! </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Diversion calculations done, we headed NW for instrument work</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We didn't actually end up flying to Chesterfield, it was just a hypothetical situation posed by him. It was time to do some simulated instrument work. We exchanged controls with the standard 3 point system, I got on my instrument hood, and we began some testing. Here's what he had me do: </span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">climb to a given altitude </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">descend to a given altitude </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">straight a level flight</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">turn to a given heading</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">unusual attitude recovery </span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">he put the plane into a high, left climb, and cut the power - I had to correct the airspeed and attitude </span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The only comment he had for me about my slow flight was that I could use more rudder input. To let the plane maintain straight flight, apply more right rudder. When you want to turn left in slow flight, release this rudder pressure, and the plane will bank left (from left turning tendency). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From that point, we moved into slow flight situations. Here's what we did:</span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">straight and level slow flight at 43 kts</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">turns to given headings</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">recovery from slow flight </span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shortly following slow flight, we did both a power on and power off stall (both straight, non-turning). Stalls were done in takeoff configuration for power on stalls, and in a landing configuration descent for power off stalls. Both stall situations went well, and I only had to do them once each. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After stalls, we moved into steep turns. Before each steep turn, we did a left then right clearing turn. They were standard steep turns, entering from a given heading (in my case, North - 360 degrees), staying within + or - 100 feet, and exiting on the same heading. We did one right and one left steep turn, so nothing too hard! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I expected, he gave me a simulated engine failure, that would bring us down to a lower altitude for ground reference maneuvers. I picked a large field and entered on a right downwind. Going through the normal steps, I explained what I would do had there actually been a real engine failure. Essentially: pitch for best glide, fly to intended landing, begin restart procedures, communicate, and prepare for the landing (following the plane's checklist). I made sure to stay high, as you can always do S-Turns or slip the plane in to get down quickly. In general, in these situations, it's much better to be high than low. Since I did end up on a high final, I let the examiner know that I was going to do some S-Turns and then would slip in for a landing. About 150 feet above the ground, he said "ok, we've probably annoyed the neighbors enough, go around. Our intended field of landing is shown below: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At this point, we went around, and climbed to an altitude of about 700 feet AGL for ground reference maneuvers. We only did one ground reference maneuver because the first one went so well, which was a turn around a point. As you can see in the photo below, we did a full left turn around a barn that I picked out: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Following this ground reference maneuver, he asked me where I thought Hanover OFP was, and I correctly pointed out the right direction. The examiner asked me to fly us back towards Hanover at an altitude of my choice, saying that we were moving on to the final landings of the ride. For our navigation back, I was allowed to use the GPS. Since there were lots of planes in the pattern, we wanted to make the most accurate position reports possible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first landing was to be a short field landing with a touchdown point of my choice (I chose the 1000 foot threshold bars). Heading back to OFP, we were on a direct, long final for Runway 16, but I opted to enter a midfield crosswind, as I had always practiced short field landings from the pattern vs. in a long final. We kept our ears and eyes peeled, as there were 2 planes on downwind, 1 landing, 1 turning final, and 2 waiting to depart... a pretty busy day! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Entering our midfield crosswind, I saw that a plane to our right had turned downwind, which was going to create a sequencing conflict. I had to choose pretty quickly what our fix would be. After having crossed over the field, I turned in an upwind direction until the plane passed by, at which point we followed the plane through the pattern. This was the only issue my examiner had with the checkride. It's not safe to be flying counter-direction to the pattern, especially with so many planes in the air. He said that I made the right choice given the situation, but that it could've been avoided had I crossed upfield vs. midfield. In the photo below, I've circled this incident from our route: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first landing (short field) went great! I came in with just enough power to even out our descent, and touched down right in the center of the thousand-footers! That was a great feeling and super smooth landing. After this full stop landing, we taxied back to Runway 16 for a soft field takeoff and landing. The takeoff went just as well, staying in ground effect until Vx, and rotating out. I made sure to make a point of keeping back elevator pressure for our simulated takeoff, doing a wheelie down the runway. A video example of the technique is shown below: </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gLAyzcHRbzg" width="640"></iframe><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The final item of the day was our soft field landing. On short final, I took a deep breath, knowing I had passed everything so far, and told myself not to mess up the very last thing on my checkride. One smooth landing later, we were done. I had a feeling that I had passed and was pretty happy with my performance. After clearing the runway and shutting down, I was greeted with the much appreciated handshake and congratulations! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We then headed inside and got some paperwork done. You can see more photos from the day here: <a href="http://martinsaviation.blogspot.com/2014/02/newest-pilot-in-united-states-passed-my.html">Newest Licensed Pilot in the USA </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Overall, I was surprised by how easy the checkride felt. I was over-prepared, as most students are who go into the exam. I actually enjoyed being tested on my knowledge and skill with different tasks. If you're well prepare, you'll be surprised to find that you enjoy being tested on everything. I learned a whole lot from the experience too. Flying with the examiner, he pointed out small things I could fix or improve to be an overall better pilot, which was awesome! </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Another view of our flight</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As my english teacher would say, you should be happy to have the opportunity to "show what you know" through testing. The checkride isn't something to dread, rather something to get excited about. An endorsement from your instructor to take it symbolizes the fact that if she or he were given the opportunity, they'd feel safe giving you the license on the spot. The checkride is in place almost to serve as a second opinion on this decision, so it's not supposed to be something extremely hard once you've gotten to the point of taking it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading! My first flight as a private pilot is scheduled for this weekend, with my grandfather!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-12059730001575248312014-02-22T18:34:00.000-05:002014-02-22T18:34:33.139-05:00My Private Pilot (PPL) Checkride: Part 1, The Oral Exam <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This article is the first of two articles, both of which go into detail about my PPL Checkride. Questions, topics, and trouble-areas from my checkride have all been included with no filter. My email is swaynem13@gmail.com. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">M</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">y examiner began the oral portion of the checkride by explaining that he was going to follow the PTS, but had his own sheet to make things flow a little better, and to touch on topics on which he wanted to focus specifically. He reassured me at the beginning that he wasn't expecting perfection, and that this truly is a license to learn. I was told that if there were a few questions that I didn't know the answer to, I could use "my library of resources" that I brought with me to find the correct answer. He let me know that this would be ok for a few questions, but that I shouldn't need to look up answers for more than a few. (It ended up being that I didn't have to look up answers for really anything). Basically bring every book you used to study to the checkride itself. In my case, I had my Jeppesen and Gleim as well as the required FAR/AIM, AF/D, etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The oral portion of my PPL checkride began as expected. The primary questions were about what information, documentation, and equipment that I would need to begin my flight. This includes knowing currency requirements for day and night flying, ARROW documents, required equipment and instruments for day and night flying, appropriate aircraft logs (and entries), etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There was only one issue with this beginning portion of the checkride-- the aircraft maintenance logs. Here is a piece of advice for students who are about to take their checkride: double check (the day before) the aircraft logs and familiarize yourself with the proper entires and locations. I incorrectly assumed that my aircraft's logbooks and their currency would be up to date. As we were going through the aircraft logs, my examiner and I noted a procedural oversight that resulted in a last minute scramble to get everything in order (as it stood in the logbooks, the aircraft was technically "un-airworthy"). This could have been completely avoided had I thought the day before to double check the logs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While my examiner reassured me that the responsibility for the oversight was not mine, nonetheless, I should have checked the logs earlier. As far as he was concerned, I did the only thing any pilot could do-- identifying the mistake, and having it corrected. If need be, go out to the airport the day before and meet with one of the mechanics to go through the books, and get an explanation of what each entry means and for how long it is valid. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After that isolated incident, the oral portion went smoothly for me other than a handful of missed questions. Below, I'll go through more stages of the checkride, including some of the questions I was asked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Shortly following the opening section on requirements to fly that day, we moved into discussion about the cross-country flight that I had been asked to plan for that day. I was requested to make a 290nm xc flight plan from Hanover KOFP to Asheville KAVL (North Carolina), with the examiner weighing 200 pounds, and with 40 pounds of baggage. Normally, students are requested to make such a long xc flight plan for the checkride. This flight plan alone required me to order 4 new sectionals (one just an updated version). For a flight from KOFP to KAVL, I had to have the Washington, Cincinnati, Charlotte, and Atlanta sectional charts. Most examiners will ask for a flight plan near the max range of the aircraft, to test your fuel calculations and fuel stop planning. I believe it was my examiner's intention to do this, but I ended up being well within range of Asheville, with 8 gallons (or 2 hours flight time) to spare. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I laid out my sectional charts (which had already been marked for route and checkpoints), he went over my flight planning sheets. I was allowed the night before to use Foreflight forecasted winds aloft for my flight plan, which made the process a little easier. I took screenshots on my iPhone for each forecasted winds aloft page, and printed them out, as shown below. In the margin, I wrote the interpolated values for temperature, speed, and direction, for my altitude. There were five legs total in the trip; I waited to plan the first leg (OFP-FVX) until the morning of, so that the weather would be more current. The night before, I had printed out TAFs, NOTAMs, and TFRs that were along my route, so that he could easily go through some of those. He never ended up asking to see them, but it was good to have them nonetheless. You can see some the flight plan sheets and information below. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I paid special attention to terrain avoidance heading into Asheville, as it's a pretty mountainous area. I planned the flight to head through low points and passes in the mountains, following highways, so that I wouldn't have to explain terrain avoidance, or plan an additional climb. (Make your flight plan simple to follow!). Below, you can see the route I took into KAVL: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We then moved into some information about my specific aircraft. Topics and questions he asked about are listed below: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Powerplant</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was asked about the Tecnam's engine and some simple specifications, such as that it's horizontally opposed, etc. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Weight and Balance</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Max and minimum weights </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Basic vs. empty weight (which I should have but did not have filled out for my aircraft) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Make sure that you have with you an official POH for your aircraft that has all of the required information and weights that are specific to your aircraft, signed and filled out by a mechanic</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After those topics (with which I had no issues), he quizzed me on some basic sectional chart knowledge. Here's what he asked:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He put his finger on different classes of airspace: </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">asking what the requirements were to fly during the day and night in those areas </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">asking what the "bases and tops" were for different airspace</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">asking what equipment and procedures are required for different classes of controlled airspace </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was asked about isogonic lines and their meaning</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He asked what information (and frequencies) I could read about an airport directly from the sectional, and what types of information I'd have to refer to the AF/D to get more knowledge on </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Special Use Airspace</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pointed to an MOA and asked what to do when flying through them, how to find if it's active, etc</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pointed to some restricted airspace and asked about that</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He pointed to a VOR and asked about how to ID one and how to enter it into my NAV system, what frequency to use, and how to contact the associated FSS (how one receives and transmits on different frequencies) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He pointed the the white square box around Charlotte and asked what that was for (to signal a terminal chart area) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He pointed to a military training route, just wanting me to ID it separately from a victor airway essentially </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pointing to Mountain Air (cool airport, look it up), I was asked what I could expect flying into an airport at a higher elevation, on hot days, being heavy, etc. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That was it for the sectional quizzing. The only question I missed was when he asked me what the "L" stood for when we looked at an uncontrolled field on the sectional. I mistakenly said that it signified left traffic, when it actually is information about airport lighting. When I missed that, the examiner simply asked where I could find the correct answer. I told him the chart legend, and we flipped over to it, and read the correct information together. I almost said that the military flight route was a victor airway, but quickly corrected myself when I paid closer attention to the black color of the line he was pointing to. Other than that, quizzing on the sectional was easy, going completely as expected. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Following the flight plan and sectional information, we went through aviation weather. He asked me the simple question: "What do you do when checking weather before a flight." After that, we moved on to reading some basic prog charts and radar summary charts. He asked me about different lines and their meanings on the charts. We went through cold and warm fronts, what to expect, what an AIRMET and SIGMET is, and what the difference is between them, and when structural icing conditions can occur. Listed below are a few points that I missed in relation to this section: </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When he asked me what kind of weather I could expect from a cold front, he gave me the options cumulus clouds or stratus clouds. I said stratus, which was the wrong answer. Cold fronts are often associated with cumulus clouds, thunderstorms, squall lines, etc. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I missed a question when he pointed to an isobaric line on a prog chart. I believe I said something like "those lines have to do with cloud cover." He corrected me, and we moved on, so it was no big deal. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We then moved into other sections, briefly touching on various topics with about one question each. This is basically how it works - if you can answer the first question correctly and confidently, the examiner is most likely going to move on to another section. If you answer incorrectly or hesitantly, he'll probably quiz you more. Below are topics and questions I was asked: </span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aeromedical factors</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is spatial disorientation and when does it occur? </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aircraft systems</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is the Pitot-Static system and what does it do? </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Explain what were to happen if ____? (if blank were to be blocked..)</span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ADM</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What are some situations that could require good aeronautical decision making? (Resignation, "Macho," etc. - all from the PTS)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Runway Incursions</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> How do you avoid runway incursions and what are your personal procedures to avoid them? </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">LAHSO Operations</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is a land and hold short operation and what are your responsibilities when issues a LAHSO clearance? </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lost procedures </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What do you do? </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 4 C's: Climb, Confess, Communicate, Comply </span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After successfully completing the oral portion (a huge relief for me!), he told me to revise my flight plan for the first leg, to plan my xc flight to the first two waypoints, and to add current weather information. We then took a short break for some water, and headed out to the airplane to pre-flight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So there you have it. That was the first half of my PPL Checkride! There will be an article coming soon that details the flight portion and closing. Make sure to email me if you have any questions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-39482810502731120222014-02-20T23:31:00.000-05:002014-02-20T23:33:20.110-05:00Newest Pilot in the United States - Passed My PPL Checkride! <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's the end of the beginning portion of my aviation journey, as the title of this blog reads, "From Private to Professional Pilot." Fittingly, getting my Private Pilot's License is a major milestone, but just one of many for the future! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Just a heads up to all of those interested, I will be writing a separate article for the blog about my PPL Checkride experience, with details about the major stages, etc. I'll give information about my cross-country flight plan, studying strategies, etc. This post is more about my relief and happiness that I've finally reached a major life-goal of mine. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks Mom and Dad!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finding words to describe what today has been like is going to be a challenge. Getting my pilot's license is something that I've been dreaming about for as long as I can remember. After finally becoming reality, it still hasn't hit me yet. I've been training so hard, for so long; all of this almost feels unreal somehow. Knowing that unless I really mess something up or loose my medical, that I have a pilot's license for life is an incredible feeling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two weeks ago, I flew my last flight as a student pilot, with my awesome instructor Graham Frye, out of Hanover KOFP (HOVA Flight Services). It was in preparation for today, my PPL Checkride. As every pilot knows, right when you really want the weather to cooperate, it won't. So for the next 2 weeks from that day, we planned 3 checkride flights, all of which were cancelled due to snow storms. On the bright side, I got school off for a few days around and on my 17th Birthday! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>With my awesome instructor, Graham Frye</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Waking up at 6am today to do some final flight planning, I was nervous, anxious, and didn't quite know what to expect. Checkrides are something that pilots go through constantly over their career, but being the first, I had no idea what was heading my way. Having studied for the past few weeks, and knowing that my parents and grandparents were going to be there, I didn't want to let myself or anyone else down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Arriving at the airport, I met my examiner for the first time. He instantly put me at ease with his laid back, yet knowingly systematic style. As he put it "let's get this mission done." After passing the oral (saving this for another post!), we headed out to the plane to pre-flight and got on our way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll save the flight portion for another post as well, but I will point out one very distinct feeling I remember. I remember being on final approach for my last landing (a soft field landing), knowing that I had passed everything thus far. I told myself "ok Swayne, let's get this landing down and not screw it up at the last second." I felt so at ease yet highly alert. One more landing, and I would have that certificate in my hand is what I told myself. After a flawless calm-wind approach, just as I was passing the numbers a few feet off the ground, the wind gave a brief but sudden gust, as if it was saying "remember to stay on your toes." That little bump pushed us down, requiring nearly full aft elevator, but still resulted in a greased landing. It's almost like nature was reminding me to stay alert, especially at the times I'm starting to feel the most comfortable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After parking the plane and shutting down, I was greeted by the much appreciated handshake and congratulations from my examiner. Walking back inside the FBO, I couldn't help but have a huge smile on my face, and gave my mom and grandparents a big thumbs-up and hug as I walked through the door. After the paperwork and official "Temporary Airmen Certificate" was signed, we got down to some pictures! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0ys7CxGZdb9K8yOXuouyIE0IbuRW3Xb3lxY6shGfrQ5lVUhPfLeUxR7nLXBkkkWqtQQdfFEWdyHZXvJleK05PEpq6ipkUOI3ZE-IY0o5nD1rkhk8Q6lkjxNa5W76aIWvUaPYAgt3FZh5/s1600/citationdreams2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0ys7CxGZdb9K8yOXuouyIE0IbuRW3Xb3lxY6shGfrQ5lVUhPfLeUxR7nLXBkkkWqtQQdfFEWdyHZXvJleK05PEpq6ipkUOI3ZE-IY0o5nD1rkhk8Q6lkjxNa5W76aIWvUaPYAgt3FZh5/s1600/citationdreams2.jpg" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Imagining the future?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did I get much sleep last night? - No. But now that I've finally accomplished one of my biggest goals in life, I can put my head down in a few minutes, and sleep soundly knowing that I've done something I only dreamed of until this moment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do you know what the best part of this is? My journey just began. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>I want to say a special THANK YOU to all of my friends, family, followers, mentors, and instructors that have helped me so far on my path. I know for a fact that I wouldn't be here right now, writing this article, if it hadn't been for each and every one of you. </i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkm93KguKS7onlZ-SB7jzSo56LV4jowgYKZoE6UUNLGw-KaWHFmsCvNQvgF8k6inC_WZcRL8fc9ae8pxC-Qu0ZlWIMnfYx1ZcS9Dk-3u0u7gxs6-9h0gWj5u4H-1T2UiAylLGWqXZ1aPMJ/s1600/citationprofile1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkm93KguKS7onlZ-SB7jzSo56LV4jowgYKZoE6UUNLGw-KaWHFmsCvNQvgF8k6inC_WZcRL8fc9ae8pxC-Qu0ZlWIMnfYx1ZcS9Dk-3u0u7gxs6-9h0gWj5u4H-1T2UiAylLGWqXZ1aPMJ/s1600/citationprofile1.jpg" height="640" width="582" /></a></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10322581312476755163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7943130501761270557.post-66178496042211909992014-02-13T17:17:00.003-05:002014-02-13T17:17:51.268-05:00Checkride Schedule Update <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's my 17th Birthday, which makes me eligible for my Pilot's License! As I expected, winter storm Pax messed up my plan for having the checkride today. With snow, rain, hail, icing, turbulence, lightning, and low ceilings, it's definitely NOT the most ideal day for flying! Check out some of the weather from Foreflight below: </span><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfy_t4lK-M69wYlg56nY6VmLe_PwIa84hioh2XNadAIenOD457PZ3_d1TZV4TqSsNYa2diOxi7qGAxHrKwPtpfYSI5k-XDNiCs2U5VVSvXDzSS4ZW0VsmwR37gzSg0V6Qykwv4s4FLAXx/s1600/IMG_5908.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfy_t4lK-M69wYlg56nY6VmLe_PwIa84hioh2XNadAIenOD457PZ3_d1TZV4TqSsNYa2diOxi7qGAxHrKwPtpfYSI5k-XDNiCs2U5VVSvXDzSS4ZW0VsmwR37gzSg0V6Qykwv4s4FLAXx/s1600/IMG_5908.PNG" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-DlXhtO2zTad2Bqp0cvca3OE97OBZ_NrXN8Xx-FYoMotatS7IVhHD1mh_47D3F_yi9Gz7cxUaBeFKrRX_RGSaqPZHT2Sih_6t3E2R2I6tIlCxqm6YQkKaLu9kGhYKW4mRmsHbWS3utco/s1600/IMG_5909.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-DlXhtO2zTad2Bqp0cvca3OE97OBZ_NrXN8Xx-FYoMotatS7IVhHD1mh_47D3F_yi9Gz7cxUaBeFKrRX_RGSaqPZHT2Sih_6t3E2R2I6tIlCxqm6YQkKaLu9kGhYKW4mRmsHbWS3utco/s1600/IMG_5909.PNG" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeINuK7ra_-pDONTuPCVIt_t9SBdpNdZbFZci2-6SVZfHUcbdBaBcJ36qYD7K3GWx2tRqpnquvHv6E52eyyCKZcZrfFB33UEr2sVWHYGu_XtDBwp9-HAecM8NAJnW_IT2PfI5YR7Ni23z/s1600/IMG_5910.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeINuK7ra_-pDONTuPCVIt_t9SBdpNdZbFZci2-6SVZfHUcbdBaBcJ36qYD7K3GWx2tRqpnquvHv6E52eyyCKZcZrfFB33UEr2sVWHYGu_XtDBwp9-HAecM8NAJnW_IT2PfI5YR7Ni23z/s1600/IMG_5910.PNG" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmonNbXX29xYy8p1BEaMVbEq-olR7UFWDou79cOMTtax4u47XaWUDQNvx5ubbMM4n9kssNYP9QMRosBhlErFkjHZU1KLDCfXAi4XjhEJ-Zi0SwCNj_jrPBE5SaNWyZALmyCqw_mmeSovmF/s1600/IMG_5911.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmonNbXX29xYy8p1BEaMVbEq-olR7UFWDou79cOMTtax4u47XaWUDQNvx5ubbMM4n9kssNYP9QMRosBhlErFkjHZU1KLDCfXAi4XjhEJ-Zi0SwCNj_jrPBE5SaNWyZALmyCqw_mmeSovmF/s1600/IMG_5911.PNG" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the bright side, I woke up on my birthday to inches of snow, with school closed!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANazCRl2NDFL_MLzzKyM8BpJi1yfTyB8N_9H948ZrSwitj75q8_dEA3bKFV4lg7c-mm3v3_KTBs22Iq34IviWzFd0k3ji8rxvtUyP5-5AafYxK_W5y3115_VXJqAyixPX-Yhn3zRH1efY/s1600/IMG_5906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANazCRl2NDFL_MLzzKyM8BpJi1yfTyB8N_9H948ZrSwitj75q8_dEA3bKFV4lg7c-mm3v3_KTBs22Iq34IviWzFd0k3ji8rxvtUyP5-5AafYxK_W5y3115_VXJqAyixPX-Yhn3zRH1efY/s1600/IMG_5906.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So as of now the PPL checkride has been pushed back to next Friday at 9am, let's hope it'll work out! Send your good vibes towards Richmond! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll be back with more posts soon! Thanks for reading,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Swayne Martin </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinsAviation">@MartinsAviation</a></span></div>
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