On the road again! 28-02-2009

Well after a week of looking around for a car and having several dissapointments I'm back on the road with my new car!

Insurance in the US is very expensive (just over $100 per month) but I guess in a country where everybody sues everybody premiums are going to be high. Also to have insurance I have to get a Florida driving licence! Fortunately its only $35 and is very easy, took the road signs test and got 100% without even looking in the books.

More studying by the pool tonight and a BBQ with the guys which should be nice.

Solo Cross country

Today was the big day, I got to do my solo cross country flight which should be the last of the PPL flying I need for my licence (all 2.9 hrs of it).

I took a few photos for you guys to enjoy along the way:

Parking at Charlotte County Airport, spotted this aircraft parked next to me and thought my Dad might like to see it so took the pic.

Flying between west coast to east coast there really is nothing in between but flat grass land. Unfortunately for pilots this makes it easy to get disorientated but my planning paid off and out of the mist on Lake Okeechobee I found Pahokee (which had been easier to spot at night)

Took this picture of the Naples coastline while flying downwind to land at Naples airport. After my flight I grabbed my books and spent an hour laying on the white sand beach reading my books. after the hour my time was running up on the meter so I went back to the car and headed home, unfortunately I made the silly mistake of brushing the back of my head with my hand while in the car on the way back and half the beach poured down my back! (The sands so fine i'm still finding it an hour later.)

So Tired - Night flying 23-02-2009

We'll the last few days have been extremely busy flying, studying and getting settled (which is why I haven't updated the blog). Yesterday was so hot that I had to study by the pool which was nice (its a hard life but someone has to live it).

I studied at home most of the day as I was due to fly at night. All is going well until I went to school to find my instructor has gone home ill and so no flying yesterday!

Today started badly and got progressively worse, firstly my alarm failed to go off. I was due to be flying by 7 so needed to up about 5:20 so I could get to the airport in time for checks, planning etc... at 6:35 I wake up with that odd sensation that I have been to sleep for too long (Anything over 5 hours it seems) and should be up. I managed to convince myself that all was well but to be safe had to check the watch and then the rush began.

Because of yesterdays night flights not happening I managed to cancel my second and third flight and reschedule them for this evening. This freed me up to go look for a car which it has become obvious to me is a must have item when doing this course.

I found a nice 2002 Chrysler for sale only $2500 phoned the dealer who informed me that the car was still for sale. This was good news as the last 10+ that I have phoned about have been sold within hours of being listed. Anyway, the car was available and I had the morning off so decided to take the hour long drive to the dealer to look at the car.

An hour later I pull into the dealership to see a crowd of people around the car I'm interested in. Speaking with the dealer they had just sold the car to another wholesaler, Doh!

On my way to my night flight I had to drop the hire car off, fortunately they are dropped off and picked up from the airport I'm training at. With no car I wandered over to the training center to see if my instructor had made it in but the doors were locked! Eventually my instructor turned up, I started my checks and found the aircraft was empty and needed refueling. This isn't unusual, normally you just let the training center know and they call out the fuel truck. The fuel truck turned up but started to filling the wrong plane because my instructor gave the wrong reg to the operators.

Night flying is an odd thing when you are used to only ever flying during the day, its very pretty as you see cars like ants driving down I75 through the everglade or the sparkle of Naples. Then you fly across to Pahokee which is neer enough east coast Florida and there is noting around you its pitch black and all you can do to find your way is follow a little pointer in the aeroplane which is pointing at a radio beacon at your destination. Once you get to your destination you need to switch on the runway lights and set the brightness. This is quite neat as you do it by clicking the talk button a given number of times and on come the light as if by magic.

It's a funny thing approaching an airfield at night; height is very difficult to perceive and if you go to airports without approach aids judging (as I did) you'll approach thinking all is well but the problem is the little light on the front of the aircraft has about a 30ft range so all of a sudden just in front of you appears the runway markings and you realise you are about 20ft lower than your depth perception had been telling you and you need to pull up or go face first into the runway (which is not good for your health).

You'll be happy to know that I did 10 takeoffs and landing tonight in the dark and all went well, its lovely, calm and quiet flying at night and really enjoyed it but am very tiring so I'm now going to bed so I can get up and do it all over again tomorrow morning... alarm permitting!

19-02-2009 or is it 02-19-2009?

Well the last two days have been frantic. Up at 5AM until 11PM I'm now flying 3 times in the little PA28s up and down the coast and all over the place, I'm totally shattered!I have been informed that I'll have my JAA PPL and my FAA PPL by next week!

I have also moved out of my hotel and into my condo which is nice although I haven't had time to use the pool yet but once I get a day off that's no1 priority.

Its been so hot today that there is a high chance of a tropical storm tonight (which should be fun) but this sparked off a conversation about the necessity of getting a car out here. This isn't something I had planned or budgeted for as I had been informed that it would be easy to cycle but others who are doing my course came up with some very good reasons why that isn't really feasible for 6+ months of the year!

17th Feb 09

6:30am - Driving to Naples

After dragging myself out of bed at 5am I was in the car and on my way to Naples via Alligator Alley.

In the back of my mind half expecting the 100 mile run from coast to coast to be littered with Alligators at the side of the road snapping at the car. I was met with a very long, straight and generally uninteresting road. So why do I mention it here?


Well, whilst driving I spotted a sign prompting drivers to tune into "Everglades Information Radio" and thought, why not!


Until that moment I hadn't really fiddled with the radio but Spanish country music wasnt really doing it for me so figured whats the harm. Having tuned into Everglades Radio, I was pleasantly surprised that it was the radio equivalent of the Discovery Channel talking about the places you were passing as you drove and it was this that made the whole experience a lot more interesting and so felt it was worth sharing with you.


Off to the Bank -

In prep for my training I knew I really would benefit from having a US Bank account. The only problem is you need to be an American with a social security number to qualify. Strangely enough I am not and after speaking with several banks on the phone I had almost given up. After speaking with Naples Air Center (NAC) I was recommended to try Orion Bank in person. I walked into the bank which looked like a set of offices and had to ask the guard behind the desk if this was a bank or just a banks office. The guard assured me I was in the right place and pointed me in the right direction. I walked into the branch which looked more like a hotel lobby and was surprised, no wonder Americans are getting big, every desk and counter was littered with complimentary fresh cookies and chocolate bars. After speaking with the clerk I was passed onto the Assistant VP who helped me get around some of the restrictions such as no SS number but it was concerning that he couldn't pronounce Torquay and couldn't spell Kingdom!


Money, Money Money

I had spent a few hours sorting thing out at NAC when I went for my FAA medical, surprised by how easy it was in comparison to the UK medical after 5 minutes I was done and it was time to pay. I handed over my card and BEEP! failed, tried again BEEP! failed tried another few times but no luck, even after telling the bank that I was going to be in the US they had done the unthinkable, and blocked my account for security reasons!

After using cash for my medical it dawned on me, I still need to check in to my hotel! I phoned home and explained the situation, Dad wasn't please and after 5 minutes a shell shocked woman from the bank called me to apologise and confirm that my accounts were all active again, apologised again then hungup (by the sound of her voice probably to go an lay down or cry).

Not in Kansas anymore

After 9 hours, 4 movies and lots of waiting around I have arrived in Miami.
As i write this the local time is 8:43pm (1:43am in the UK) I am sitting in the lobby using free wireless trying to decide what to have to eat before collapsing into bed.

The adventure has started and I am really excited but it is not without its mixed emotions; about halfway through the flight it struck me how far it seems I am from all of my friends and family.

I'm up early tomorrow and off to Naples to start getting things ready/Sorted for Thursday (Start of the Course).