ed's ways of flying

You Tube - Current Favourites

2007-05-09T19:01:00.000Z

My name is ed, im addicted to youtube.

These are some of my favourites.

Thou shalt always kill - Velly Good

Hello Dave - Mash up of 2001 and Papa Lazarou

Autistic Basketball Manager - moving news story

Robocop Prototypes - Clip from Robocop 2

Braniac Test - Count the Passes

Hot Fuzz

2007-02-18T14:02:00.000Z

If you liked Space and Shaun of the Dead then watch Hot Fuzz.
If you liked Hot Fuzz and haven't seen either of the others, then go watch them.

Happy Christmas

2006-12-27T09:22:00.000Z

Like is says on the tin. I hope you had a good one.

A flying job!!!!

2006-09-25T21:05:00.000Z

Wow, the "getting a recommendation" from my last entry months ago has finally paid off.

I haven't added anything here for ages. I intended to say how I was getting along with finding a job, but it wasn't going well so I didn't feel like broadcasting the fact. That, and laziness.

Well things suddenly changed. I had a couple of interviews in June, one of which I didn't get and the other, BA Connect I made it through to a Sim ride and as a result of that was put in their 'hold pool'. Basically a limbo where you may (or may not) at some point receive a call with a start date.

Well, Thursday afternoon two weeks ago, I received a call saying that someone had dropped out at the last minute, would I be free to start Monday? I almost fell off the roof(guttering repairs) and after a pico-seconds thought, was able to tell them that I would be able to help them out. The next day saw me being fitted for a uniform at BA uniform stores, Gatwick. That made it seem a bit more real. Can't really believe it fully yet though.

First I need to complete the type rating for the Embraer 145 - the (very sexy) plane I will be flying. The first two weeks have been hard graft with an exam we all passed today. Now follows another two weeks of groundschool, then three weeks in the Simulator before getting to fly the real thing.

Best get back to the books.

Recommendation

2006-04-27T14:25:00.000Z

I have just been told that I will receive a recommendation from the school. By no means the guarantee of a job, but it will definitely give me more chances.

Now I am stoked.

MCC course

2006-04-26T23:04:00.000Z

Well after the CPL and IR, I thought the MCC wasn't going to be too bad. After all, the CPL and IR were pass/fail courses and we were told that for the MCC, attendance and 'being alive' were the main requisites. How wrong I was.

We have now had 5 Sim sessions, where we are either Pilot Flying in the RHS or Pilot Non Flying in the LHS. Making the jump from props to as well as working in a multi-crew enviroment means that it has been a steep learning curve. However the last SIM today was the last one and also the best one. It went really really well. I was pretty stoked as it was all hand flown off raw data. Both Amotz and I finished in style.

Bloody magpies

2006-04-18T08:59:00.000Z

Went to the beach last night for a quick session with Warren and Virginia who was brought up in Jerez. While looking for them, so magpies knicked my wetsuit and harness which was hanging up to dry. About 200 quids worth. Good to catch up with V+W though.

Big Yesterday

2006-04-17T09:06:00.000Z

Andy cruising

Wow, what a few days it's been. I was joined by James, Andy, Jo, Chris, Alex and Adas. Great to see them all and nothing at all to do with the fact that I am studying near Tarifa, a lovely place and also the most famous European windsport spot. Lots of laughs, a few beers and some excellent food helped make the week. Some good sessions on the water, including 'big yesterday', for me another 'best session yet'.

Hangover Protection

The more I get to know Tarifa, the more I like it and will definitely be visiting again. Just not during the summer as I have been told it is stupidly busy, easy to believe as there was well over 100 kites on the beach, not to mention the windsurfers and other beaches around the corner. There was however enough room that we were able to either hang out the back or tack up wind to get by ourselves. Move of the week(for me) was a 'high five' between Andy and myself where the delight in making it quickly gave away to the pain of slapping hands at a combined speed of 30kts or so.

Last Monday I started the MCC(Multi Cooperation Course) which was all lectures for the first week. Amotz and I had our first sim on Sunday. Wow, what a cool experience, very busy and so much to think about going from props to jet and electronic flight systems. Lots of work to do before the next one.

NOTICE

2006-04-12T16:41:00.000Z

Does anyone want to come to my graduation on Friday 28th of this month?

It would be very cool if you do. Ryanair tickets are cheap and the school is on the airfield.

I may well be staying a few extra days after before I head home to a life of uncertainty.

Please let me know as soon as possible as I need to have a finalised list by Tuesday morning.

Cheers.

ps. lots to write about when I get around to it.

Back Of The Net

2006-04-04T18:17:00.000Z

I passed. What an total relief.

Conditions were blustery and far more difficult than when I initially had to do it and yet i totally nailed it. Why I couldn't do that before I don't know.

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James, Kate, Andy and Jo arrived at Jerez airport today for some kite action down in Tarifa. I am going to go and join them later as MCC course doesn't start till Monday. Chris, Alex and Adas are also out at the weekend. Should be good.

Idiot

2006-04-02T10:00:00.000Z

I partial passed the test, which means that I am not finished yet. I am pretty pissed off with myself.

Due to my incomplete test yesterday, I only had one section of the test to complete today. It should have been a simple exercise yet I managed to bugger it up.

This means that I need to go and do a short flight consisting of a departure, and an ILS approach to land. It sounds simple but sadly that is all I had to to do today as well. I really didn't have a good feeling about today and so it proved to me. Probably a bit chicken and egg but it is hard to get positive vibes about something you don't feel good about.

On paper it should have been easy, I had passed 5 out of 6 required sections of the test and the 6th I hadn't been able to do for circumstances out of my control. I was overly worried about that one section, and i'm sure that didn't help.

It changes things/prospects a lot, but I think that I am just about over what I have done as it is in the past and I can't control it but I am now worrying about the bit I have to finish off. The problem being that if I don't pass this last bit, then it goes down as a fail and I have to start the test again, with the associated costs and negative impact on job prospects. I feel a bit sick just thinking about it.

I failed on the ILS section, something that I haven't really had problems with since the very start, so am dissapointed from that respect. Flustered, I also mucked up the landing by not going from Flaps25->Flaps40. Not a problem for the landing, but still a fail.

I am currently hiding away avoiding people who might ask me how I got on.

What I have to do now is go for a flight with my instructor, and iron out any (mental?) problems and then finish off with the examiner, probably in the next couple of days.

Incomplete test

2006-04-01T15:14:00.000Z

Well I haven't passed yet. Neither have I failed.

During the ILS approach, I was told by ATC to go around and so wasn't able to demonstrate the approach down to minima. In other words it was 'incomplete' due to ATC interference and i have to finish it off tomorrow. It should just be a matter of a simple 15 minute flight; Radar vectors for the Straight-in ILS at Jerez to land but I will feel so much better when it is done and behind me.

Having passed the majority of the test today, I shouldn't be so concerned about tomorrow. But I am.

Positive vibes ed, positive vibes....

Almost there?

2006-03-30T22:38:00.000Z

It seems I did jinx myself. My flight on Tuesday was awful.

170A yesterday and it was another 'Passed with a Bollocking'.

Head down for IR test on Saturday.

Bit of a mini round up

2006-03-29T13:18:00.000Z

View of Sierra Nervada from Granada.

I should update this diary more often. So ..... chronologically. The flying is going really well and have been getting some really good feedback from my instructor. I am feeling confident for the test at the end of the week but having said that I don't want to jinx myself. I have one more flight tomorrow before the 170A(mock test) on Thursday and the IR test on Saturday.

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I haven't however been having as much luck with the wind. It is ages since I have been on the water, though unfortunately, I have been to the beach on several occasions that I thought were going to be windy. Not the worst place to be really, but still a little bit annoying.

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Becky came out for a whirlwind visit on Thursday. It involved another visit to the beach(no wind obviously) and then a tequilla or two in a bar in Jerez. Great to catch up.

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After the IR, the next thing to do is a MCC(Multi Crew Cooperation) course. It is all about synergy in the cockpit and is a 3-4 week course that needs to be completed and as such has no pass/fail. However, as we are modular students at a mainly integrated school, it does give them more of an opportunity to evaluate us and potentially increase our chances of the school recommending us to prospective employers.

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It was the Moto GP at the weekend, which Jerez becomes the home to the definition on insanity on 2 wheels. Performance bikes, doing wheelies, stoppies, butnouts and revouts all over the shop. About 200-250,000 descend on Jerez for the weekend, many of them on motorbikes. We made it the night to watch some of the craziness and went to the track on the Sunday to see seasoned Italian Capriossi win from Spaniard Dan Pedrosa on his debut in Moto GP. The legend that is Valentino Rossi, was knocked from his bike from the start, loosing 40 seconds which he never back.

Jerez race track from the air, we were on top the hill that is at 12 o'clock as you look at it.

View from the end of the back straight.

Catgut

2006-03-15T22:22:00.000Z

Still wondering, I looked up what the strings of tennis rackets used to be made out of. It turns out that they were traditionally catgut, the intestines of various animals other than cats. More here in this Wipikedia entry.

Real aircraft tomorrow

2006-03-13T19:35:00.000Z

The stimulator sessions went well during the last week. I am back in the Seneca tomorrow. It seems that again I haven't been in a real aircraft for ages, so it should be good. In theory, there isn't much difference between the Sims and actual flying and in practise that is pretty much the case. When we're in the aircraft, screens are put up at take off which aren't removed until near the end of the approack to land, these simulate instrument conditions and mean that it is startingly similar to the simulator. The main difference is the ATC, the controllers out here can be pretty dire, and do come out with many non-standard phrases. I am figuring that the more times they can suprise me now with something new the less chance of it happening in the test.

Our course is geared so that as we near the end, we will be in the aircraft more.

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I was having a knock about at tennis today and reminding myself how shockingly bad I am. Good fun though.
I was also wondering how they discovered that cat's guts made good string for tennis rackets? Must have taken a bit of a leap of the imagination that one.

"The Boot" - 9 seconds

2006-03-05T23:01:00.000Z

One for the grandkids?

On Friday we had a presentation of our first 'stripe' as a result of passing the Commercial Licence. As is the way with these things the presentation was in the bar and there was the compulsory celebration of drinking 'The Boot'. A 2.5 pinter in the shape of a boot, funnily enough. Well although I didn't break the record for this, I did equal it. 9 seconds. My mother would be so proud.

Friday night was also a 'Bad Taste' party with a 5 Euro, drink as much as you like bar. Neurofen requirement in the morning. I seem to be unable to load pictures of the night onto this diary at the moment which means that you are saved from a picture of me in a hairband, Erica's top and shorts, however you do miss out on a great 'Lou and Andy' from Little Britain. Where did they get the wheelchair from?

Saturday, Erica and I recovered and went down to the beach for some food and I tried to get a kite in, but was dangerously overpowered. It was also quite a miserable day.

Sunday however was perfect 12m wind and I managed to sneak in a quick 30-40 minutes on the water. Nice weather and beautiful sunset for a backdrop. Lovely. Also the first proper time on the water since gashing my ankle, which is healing nicely.

As for the flying side of things. At the moment, I am finding the Instrument Rating a bit easier than the Commercial Licence. The main danger seems to be the completely non-standard ATC out here. Fingers crossed that this progression continues.

Better

2006-02-28T15:58:00.000Z

The stimulator session yesterday afternoon was an improvement on the shocker in the morning and the one this afternoon was satisfactory too.

Yesterday, I also had the dressings taken off my ankle to reveal that it is healing nicely.

I have just been told to expect my IR test in 4 weeks. This is good news as it means that we can slow down from the pace we have been going at to one event per day. Far more productive as we'll have more time to digest the previous session and prepare for the next. It also means that I am half way through my IR training and feeling more confident than the equivalent position in my CPL course. This can only be a good sign.

Stinker

2006-02-27T09:16:00.000Z

Had a howler of a Sim session this morning. They had been going alright recently but I am cringing just thinking of it now.

I've also just been back to the Doctors to have the dressings removed from my ankle, it is healing nicely. The surgery I went to is so well organised and efficient it is embarassing to think of the equivalent in the UK.

Hoping to have a better Sim session this lunchtime. Well, it can't be worse(I hope) and it can't be good enough to make up for the one this morning. A decent improvement is needed

Fins are sharp

2006-02-20T16:11:00.000Z

Managed to get away to the beach on Sunday. It was pretty gnarly out there dudes:

Cross-on with double overhead waves breaking about 60 yards out, leaving lots of flat(if a bit mushy) sections in between the white waters in which to finally nail frontloops(floaty ones, not low powered ones yet). I was however totally rinsed by one of the monsters that was too big to jump so turning tail, I tried to outrun it. It was about to collapse and I didn't have the power to beat it, so I sucked in a big lungful of air, got slammed and waited until I saw the surface again. What seemed like an age and a full wash cycle later, I surfaced to find my kite had crashed. Luckily both the kite and I survived the pummeling and we made it back to shore.

Later while running along the beach with my kite, I accidentally stabbed myself in the ankle with my kiteboard fin. Unfortunately, I didn't realise the depth of this gash until late last night. Now I have been to the health centre and realise that I should have gone for stitches and not back out for another session. Oops.

Happy Valentines Day

2006-02-14T20:27:00.000Z

Good news, Sarah passed her CPL with a partial pass. She just had to do a few touch and gos the next day. A pass by all accounts.

Unfortunately while Sarah and myself got through, Gareth and Jamie didn't. Gareth failed the CPL. Harsh but fair as he was on target for a partial pass but coming into land after 2+ hours of flight, he cut another plane up. Jamie failed the mock twice and didn't get put forward for the test so is still on for a first time pass. We are all starting the Instrument Rating and Gareth and Jamie will take the CPL when the examiner is next here at the end of this month. I feel really bad for them as 2.5 hours is a long time to keep your stuff together and they are both more than capable of flying better and safely, but messed it up for the test.

The instrument rating is very hectic flying. I am really enjoying it. While it is all Simulator(stimulator) work at the moment, we will be in the aircraft too but not till next week. No more admiring the views from above. Heads firmly planted in the cockpit, we will be attempting to fly holds, approaches and departures based on "plates". These are small bits of paper that contain an incredible amount of information and tell you all you need to be able to fly safely in the vicinity of aerodromes, when neither you or any of the other traffic can see anything.

Last week, we cycled to Jerez motor circuit where several Formula 1 teams were putting their cars through their paces and occasionally into the gravel traps. I had never seen the cars up close but I know that people talk of how loud they are. Despite this, I still wasn't prepared for the headache inducing whines as they whizzed by. Annoying and impressive all in one.

Popped down to Tarifa for the weekend. For the second time(out of two), we bumped into some guys from down the beach in Shoreham. Is there no-one left on the South Coast?

Day 34 - Passed the CPL!!

2006-02-07T21:12:00.000Z

4 weeks and 1 day after starting the flying here I now have my Commercial Licence.

For the first time, I am not just someone who flies planes, but am a pilot.
I had a pretty good flight, had good feedback, loads better than the 170A yesterday and am obviously really pleased. Pleased and very relieved.

Well I am starting the next phase, the Instrument Rating at 7am tomorrow so better have a couple of beers before it gets too late.

Wahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

Day 33 - PWB

2006-02-06T21:30:00.000Z

170A today and I passed. By the skin of my teeth apparently, which is fair enough as in some respects, it was a pretty shocking flight. A couple of things that normally I don't have any problems with I really struggled with today.

My actual CPL test is tomorrow and though annoyed with todays flight, I am trying to take the view that if I passed today with a stinker, it puts me in good stead for tomorrow. Still lots to think about in order to be ready.

ps. PWB = Passed With Bollocking

Day 32 - Still no test

2006-02-05T20:17:00.000Z

It was foggy today so again no test.

Tomorrow I hope. It had better be soon because I am going to forget how to do it soon.

Day 31

2006-02-04T13:37:00.000Z

Well, I had a 170A scheduled for yesterday(Friday) that didn't happen due to weather. The 170A is a Commercial Test profile flown with a senior instructor/examiner from the school. The school want to get an idea of our progress from someone apart from our instructor and also to check that we have a reasonable chance of passing the CPL test. For us, it is basically a mock test, but one that is probably just one or two days before the test actual. Hence, still quite scary.

So if I pass this 170A test tomorrow then I will probably be put forward for the CPL test on Monday. At the moment, I feel that I should be ok unless I do something stupid. The problem is that during a 2.5 hour test, there is plenty of scope for stupidity.

Please send positive vibes this way. Thanks.

Day 27

2006-01-31T22:12:00.000Z

Not much to say or time to say it. CPL test scheduled for Sunday.

Working as hard as my brain can handle.

Day 21 - Big Catch Up

2006-01-25T23:07:00.000Z

Well, I have now been in the Seneca Sim 3 times and flying in the actual aircraft 4 times.

For those that know and care, it is a Piper Seneca III, PA34 - 220T which is a twin engined aircraft that can carry up to 6 people with two fuel injected, turbocharged engines each producing 220hp. It has the relevant de-icing equipment to be rated for icing conditions and in a standard cruise at 5000ft is doing about 165kts true air speed which is about 200mph.

What this means in real terms is that when you apply power at take off, the acceleration pushes you into the seat, things happens fast and the turbo lag is a pain when adjusting power settings.

I think that I am progressing reasonably well, but the learning curve is such that you can never really get on top of things. Yesterday we shut down one of the engines in flight, something that I will have to do on my CPL test and will be simulated countless times between now and then.

The sight of a shut down engine feathered (turned to align with the wind) in order to reduce drag.

Speaking of my CPL test, I have just been told that it is scheduled for Sunday 5th February.

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At the weekend, I was joined by Erica, Andy and James. And some wind, well on Saturday at any rate. We went down to Tarifa where we had a good sail until the locals got out of bed. It all became a bit crazy with lots of kooks about. I continued my good kiting fortune by crashing my 12m and ripping it almost in two, prompting me to comment that it was one of my worst kite sessions. Totally true, however still a very good day. That says something.

Kook Central. It must be pure craziness on the more popular beaches in the middle of summer.

We stayed in The Hurricane Hotel, a relatively upmarket place for the area remimiscent of a colonial hotel where it would be appropriate to take afternoon tea. Perfect for Sunday. Saturday night, Erica and I only lasted till about 2am, which is the beginning of the night out here. James and Andy did better, only to end up sleeping with dogs and walking 7km back to the hotel respectively. Good work lads.

Lovely.

A really good weekend, and probably just what was in order before two weeks of hard work.

Right, I had better go and learn some more checklists.

ps. Special hello to those that I've spoken to, always great to hear from you.

Day 13

2006-01-17T18:38:00.000Z

Saturday morning I was more annoyed at having lost my board. I went back and had another look for it. I ran along the beach until I was tired which unfortunately was over an hour and so by the time I returned, boardless and knackered, I had been running for about two and a half hours. Beautiful coastline, so not all bad.

Conil de la Frontera harbour

and
a lot of anchors

The weekend was learning about the Seneca systems. Today I had the last flight in the single engine Warrior and tomorrow I start on the Sim for the twin engine Seneca. In theory I should be Commercial Licence test level in the single, but I certainly don't feel it yet. The Sim tomorrow is basically a familiarisation session so will mainly involve running through checklists and so on.

Erica, Andy and James are out for the weekend which is exciting. Not much wind forecast though. Rats.

Day 9 - Lost Board

2006-01-13T23:10:00.000Z

A reasonable flight today. Thay makes one per day for this week and I have back-seated about another 7. I have one more flight in the single engine warrior before I move onto the sim and the Seneca.

There are 4 of us on the Modular course. A good crowd. Gareth, Jamie, Sarah and myself. As far as I know we are the only modular students in the college of about 120 total. All the rest are "ab initio". A lot have literally a handful of hours and I have spoken to two that have never flown at all. How crazy is that? How can you invest so much time and money in something if you haven't even tried it to see whether you like it or not?

Jerez motor racing circuit is fairly near the college. Some of the Formula 1 teams are testing at the Jerez track at the moment and they are so loud that you can hear them from the college and even sometimes over the noise of the plane engine when you fly over the top.

I had a couple of hours before darkness today so hired a car and went down the beach. Barely worth it in the underpowered conditions. I went for one more run before darkness, dropped the kite, suffered 5th line problems and by the time I had body dragged back ashore, it was dark and I had lost my kiteboard. I spent 2 hours looking up and down the beach in the darkness. The definition of optimism really as I lost it well out the back with a strong cross shore current and an outgoing tide. Need to find a replacement. Annoying, as I liked that board but in the grand scheme of things not too bad.

Day 7

2006-01-11T20:42:00.000Z

Not really day 7, more like day 3 really but I've started with this nomenclature so I'll continue.

I didn't really feel like writing anything yesterday as didn't have the best flight. It was a navigation exercise with a diversion thrown in. The staple of the CPL course. I didn't get lost but wasn't happy with my technique in most respects.

Today's flight was a similar type and things are starting to fall into place. Not enough, but I left feeling better than after yesterday's flight.

Tomorrow brings a similar challenge so I will see how it goes.

Day 5 - First flight

2006-01-09T21:43:00.000Z

Morning consisted of briefings which was a relief as they aren't presupposing too much. Finally got up in the air this afternoon and found that I am really rusty.

We only have 8 hours on the single engine before we move to the twins and by then we should be CPL test standard. I have a lot to do.

Flying to Seville tomorrow so time to dust off the Navigation brain.

Day 4

2006-01-08T21:12:00.000Z

Still not flown yet. Friday was 3 Kings Day, some kind of public holiday so we have been trying to (re)learn those things that we have forgotton in readiness for starting proper on Monday. Tomorrow.

There are 5 of us on our course. Well it's 4 now as one guy has just told us that he is quitting. Don't really understand it as we haven't even started the course yet. Anyway, the other 3 are a good bunch. Which is nice.

Day 3 - Contact Details

2006-01-07T21:16:00.000Z

By phone:
+34 956 317 800 gets you through to the switchboard. When the recording starts, dial 2 and when the next recording starts dial 13110 , my room number.

Address:
Ed Jarman,
Flight Training Europe S.L.
Aeropuerto De Jerez de la Frontera
Antigua Base Militar La Parra,
11401 - Jerez de la Frontera,
Cadiz,
ESAPANA

Skype - free internet calling thingy:
My username is whalesharked.

Day 1

2006-01-05T19:33:00.000Z

A good day. Great first impressions.

Have been shown around the school am really really impressed. Everything seems so professional and the staff really friendly. The food is very good, I had some amazingly tasty fish tonight and they even have tabasco on the tables. How good is that?

We have been given loads of study material to sink our teeth into before we start on Monday, so apart from that not sure what we are going to be doing over the weekend.

All good though.

Arrival in Jerez

2006-01-04T20:46:00.000Z

Just got in and have been shown my room - nice enough. There doesn´t seem to be anyone else about though. Bit of a ghost town. Considering this was the day that our course was told to arrive, I was expecting others on my flight. Oh well, see what tomorrow brings.

Also, I was really sad to be leaving the dogs. No offence to Mum, Erica or friends but I felt really emotional. What a gimp.

Fuerte

2005-12-18T11:21:00.000Z

Just had a cheeky last minute dash to Fuerte Ventura. A welcome week with James and Jo. Just about had enough wind to get on the water on 7 out of 7 days.

Not a great deal to say that the pictures can't.

Flying friends

2005-11-19T20:25:00.000Z

Originally I was going to go back to Florida to build the remaining hours I needed before my commercial course in January. With the far cheaper rates out there, just flying for 6 hours would have covered the air fares and I needed something like 30 hours.

Jack and Jill

Now however, I am glad that I didn't as it has been great taking friends flying and seeing their joy(though occasionally fear) of the sensation and views that flying brings. Ahhhh, reading that last sentence I have just realised that it sounds a bit wanky(sp? - not that you'll find it in the dictionary). Never the less, I have really enjoyed it and am conscious that this may have been the only chance I will get to do it as without a reason, it is a dead expensive hobby.

Tim + Ed

So far, I have been flying with Adas, Albi, Dave, Flash, Sharon, Tim, James, Andy, Jo, Mum and Pam. Not bad though I have offered loads more people most of which haven't been able to take me up on it. Probably scared. The chance may almost be over however as I only need less than 3 hours to take me to the 150 total I require to start my commercial training.

Wood Shed

2005-11-11T00:19:00.000Z

I have been doing alot of things for my mum recently. Mainly fixing, mending type of things: repairing gutters, replacing roof slates and tiles; re-wiring electrics; un-blocking drains and so on. It is a bit like painting the Forth Bridge except without so much sense of completion.

I have however been getting on top of a few things. Repairing things 'in time' in order to save a bigger job later. Bitumining tin roofs, cutting down old trees, etc. The most satisfying of which however was stocking the woodshed for winter.

cold winter = roaring log fire.

It is probably a man thing but there is something that feels soooo good about knowing that you are prepared for the winter months. I guess it is probably a base human need, woven into our genetic make-up. In times gone by if you didn't have a fire over winter, you didn't survive. Hence anybody who didn't have the desire to collect fire-wood or indeed couldn't be bothered didn't bother renewing their annual subscriptions. At some point one of my ancestors mutated a gene that made him(i'm sure it was a him and not a her) especially pleased to cut and chop wood. It lives on strong. It certainly gives me a deep feeling of satisfaction.

As an aside, Tim said to me that wood fires warm you three times. When you chop the logs, when you split them and finally when you build a fire.

Road Trips

2005-10-31T23:33:00.000Z

Road Trip 1

Cornwall

- 7 of us headed down to Rock in North Cornwall for the weekend. Ridiculously taking 4 cars. Adas, Catherine + I went via Bournemouth which meant that we could sneek a quick kite session in Poole Harbour. A good idea as it turned out as Cornwall had very little wind all weekend. It was however, perhaps the gustiest conditions that I have ever sailed in. Hairy.

Our accommodation was fit for a 70's pornstar. Awesome panorama, semi-private beach and could have easily slept 1 dozen.

The no wind situation meant that we did at least get a surf session in. A very rusty one for me but it felt good to have a surf again. Everyone headed back on Sunday afternoon but because of the forecast I stayed one more day in Daymer Bay(below). What a spot. A six hour session on flat water with a variety of waves appearing in varying locations and directions at different tide states.

Road Trip 2

Isle of Wight

- The White Air festival combining around 10 extreme sports over 4 days. We decided the night before on this one. A mighty fine choice. We left Brighton at 7.30am. By 10.30am we had sneaked on an early ferry to IOW, upgraded to VIP passes status and set up on the beach. Such a good value weekend - free champagne + beers helps there. Hilarity all round. I have also just seen some photos of the Saturday night party. Oh dear. Suffice to say they are not going to be posted here. Actually here is one that I will post. Miss White Air 2005.

The one on the left won. I would have voted for the one on the right.

Quick Joke

2005-10-17T21:46:00.000Z

Q. What did the German clock repair guy say to the clock that went "tick, tick, tick"?

A. Ve have ways of making you tock.

Why did no one tell me about this

2005-10-09T21:27:00.000Z

Highlight of the weekend goes to my discovery of something that everyone else may already know about and in retrospect seems so obvious. We were in 'The Walmer' in Brighton for some lunch and they did full English pizzas. A pizza with tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage slices, bacon bits, an egg and mozzarella. Genius.

Jerez in January

2005-10-06T09:18:00.000Z

The next stage in my pilot training is the CPL(Commercial Pilot's license) and IR(Instrument Rating). I had wanted to do this with Flight Training Europe in Jerez, Spain due to the reasonable price, good reputation and good weather but wasn't able to apply until after I received my ATPL examination results. So, when I received them the Saturday before last, I sent them with all my ratings and paperwork and have been waiting for a reply. Well, I say waiting, really what I have been doing is ringing almost every day only to be told that I will be called with an answer later that day. Of course, I haven't been until yesterday when I was told that I had a place. A great relief as now I can start to plan the preceding 3 months with a defined path ahead. The course starts in January and will last around 3 months.

I still need a few more flying hours before I start in Jerez so last Tuesday I was checked out in a 4-seater Warrior and also to fly to France. For the first time I had to go with an instructor and I also had a French instructor riding in the back. She had arrived from France the night before on some exchange deal and the first thing I did was take her back!! The weather when we arrived was hardly VFR but cleared up soon after we arrived. It is only a 1 hour flight to Le Touquet from Shoreham and popping over for lunch feels very decadent. I have also been flying with James and Adas.

I flew with Adas to Southend, a destination that a few years ago he took me to when he was still hour building. As well as the pleasant flight and the platter of seafood overlooking Southend pier it was really enjoyable because I felt like there was a certain symmetry in returning the favour.

Adas by the Seven Sisters

All I need to do now is find some work until January. Probably labouring, but not the best time of year to be looking for that. Until I find some I will be doing stuff for my mum.

A weekend of Championships

2005-09-26T08:02:00.000Z

What an awesome weekend. First of all I received my results for my final exams and to my great relief have passed them. I seem to have done well in the hard ones(Principles of Flight, Meteorology and General Navigation) and not so well in the easy one, VFR Communications. I also struck a 100% in IFR Comms.

My results for the 14 exams now read as follows.

Mass & Balance 97%
Performance 90%
Operational Procs 92%
Flight Planning 93%
Radio Navigation 90%
Human Performance 96%
Airframes/Systems 96%
Instruments 88%
Air Law 93%
Principles of Flight 98%
General Navigation 97%
Meteorology 96%
VFR Communications 87%
IFR Communications 100%

On a high from my results, I headed down to the British Kitesurf Champs, round 4 at littlehampton. The Saturday was a windless day so the pub was already well rocking by the time I arrived. Beers ensued....rum....stupid dancing....flaming sambuca(euch)....skinny dipping(went in men, came out boys)....tea in the camper....sleep in the ego-mobile. A few hours later we rolled up to the start of the competition but fortified with a bacon butty we were keener to get on the water ourselves than watch the competition. A mighty fine choice as it was another 'Best Session Yet' day. Awesome.

And then the 'Air guitar Championship in Brighton. How can that not be funny I thought, and so it proved. Roughly 10 were competing, 3 went through to a final where they went (air?)head to (air?)head to the music of 'The Banjo Dual'. Brilliant.

Checked Out

2005-09-22T20:15:00.000Z

Friday, I managed to go flying in a wee Cessna 152. A bit rusty - me not the plane, having not flown in 9 months but no real problems.

A good weekend. Beers, thai food, idiot dancing, full english, friends. What more could you ask for. Well, tea and cake come Sunday evening. I mean really, what kind of place doesn't serve cake? This was one of those occasions where once an idea seeds itself in your head, it has to be fed. Sadly this time it wasn't. Just typing this, I am getting the craving for tea and cake.

Tuesday, I was checked out on the 152 to fly solo. We(the instructor and myself) also did something that I had heard about but never seen. We simulated that the control column was broken and landed the aircraft using the throttle/trimmer to control pitch and opening the doors to control bank. Hopefully next week, I will get checked out on the PA28(Warrior) that is a 4 seater and so will be able to take more passengers.

Wednesday Albi and I flew to Sandown on the Isle of Wight for lunch. We both choose the 'Aviator Burger'. They were so big that I couldn't risk re-fuelling the aircraft for risk of not being able to get off the ground. A nice flight.

View of the Needles on the Isle of Wight

Flying of some sort.

2005-09-15T21:02:00.000Z

Today was an overcast, blustery, rainy day. Frontal weather. The sort of day where clothes only slow the rain a little before it soaks you. Most people would say that this was miserable weather, but I guess it depends on what you plan on doing:

The cloud was at 500 feet and the wind was blowing SW at around 25Kts.

I had planned to get checked out in a Cessna 152 , but with the cloud 500ft below circuit height, this was never going to happen. Frustrating as I am itching to get in the air again.

Instead I joined Dave, Andy and James in a downwinder from Lancing to Hove. They had started at Worthing and I joined them part way for an awesome wave-riding session. One of the most enjoyable kitesurf sessions I have ever had.

Tomorrow I hope to get in the air again. Hopefully with a plane, but if not with a kite.

England regain the Ashes

2005-09-12T22:57:00.000Z

WAHOO!!!!!!

Groundschool is over

2005-09-11T10:36:00.000Z

Just finished my final week of exams.
5 of them, Principles of Flight, Genereal Navigation and IFR Comms were fine, Meteorology was a hard paper but I am fairly sure I have done enough. VFR Comms however, supposedly the easiest subject of the 14, is the one i'm worried about. There aren't many questions so you can't afford many errors. I definitely had a few wrong but if enough were correct, i'll know in a couple of weeks.

That finishes my six months of groundschool. And my six months in Bournemouth.

Now for more flying training.

My plan is to do some hour building here in Shoreham before commencing my CPL and IR in Spain from January. Tuesday(after the cricket)if the weather is fine I will get checked out and then be able to take a few people flying. Which is nice.

So..

One week till final exams

2005-08-27T23:32:00.000Z

I have just noticed that if I don't hit the "republish" button after posting an entry, it isn't updated to "ed's ways of flying". Mistake learnt.

Not long to go till this course is over. Now that the end is in sight, I am looking forward to finishing and doing a bit of flying again.

We have 5 exams in this sitting.

Principles of Flight which should be fine.
General Navigation which will be tight on time, most people struggle to finish but otherwise should be ok.
Meteorology could be a bit of a struggle. Our lecturer has had to cover someone else who was taken ill and unfortunately, met isn't one of his subjects. In fact, I would be willing to wager that if he took the exam he wouldn't come in the top third of the class. Sad really as he is a nice guy in a harsh situation and it is plain cringe worthy when he is asked questions that clearly he doesn't know the answer to. Annoying in an inexact subject where definitive answers to queries would be especially useful.
VFR Communications and
IFR Communications where the main danger is complacency.

Anyhow, best go and crack on with some revision.

More Pikey Students

2005-08-17T22:52:00.000Z

Until the end of the student year, I lived with some degenerate students: http://whaleshark.blogspot.com/2005/05/degenerate-students.html Well, they moved out and the house slowly filled up with more students and recent graduates. Although I get on with them all, the kitchen has a certain "Young Ones" look to it and it has made me realise that I have had my fill of living in student houses.

WTF?

2005-08-09T23:33:00.000Z

When you ask out a friend's ex of several years, you run it by the friend first.

Of course you do. Especially if you are in the same social circle as both of them.

Obviously not.

Feel a bit shocked, pissed off, unprepared and just a tad sick.

(Half a) Down-winder

2005-08-07T23:20:00.000Z

8.00 am. Dave, Andy, Adas and myself meet up in Lancing Beach car park with the aim of kiting the 7 miles downwind to Hove. Stopping on the way to pick up James who was going to be starting at Shoreham beach. The wind was a bit up and down so we paused a while at Shoreham before committing to making the dash across the harbour entrance as we didn't want to get caught half way across with too little wind. Of course, just after committing, the wind did drop. James managed to turn back to shore while the rest of us struggled and ultimately failed to keep our kites flying in the now amazingly still conditions. About half an hour later we had all made it to shore and were spread over about half a mile. Luckily we knew how to pack down in deep water and even more luckily, Adas and I ended up next to a cafe. Full English please.

That evening(Fri night) was Becky's birthday and in keeping with a tradition that must go back to the beginning of civilisation, we went to a pub. A very funny night until I got back to the girls house and got a shock.

Cathy was over from Perth and it was so good to see her. On the Saturday we went to her family home as she was flying out of the country the next day. Family and friends were present and the gathering was indeed divided into two: Cricket watchers who were inside watching the 3rd day of the 2nd Test at Edgbaston(the one we eventually won by 2 runs) and the girls who were outside.

Weekend Nights

2005-08-03T23:07:00.000Z

Fri night was Smoke in Tooting, White Horse in Brixton for breaks and then back to Tom's for frantic feeding.

Saturday night was just bizarre. After a day spent in the Crown, Victoia Park. In honour of Dave?s birthday we ate a village pond?s worth of duck and then headed to the National on SouthBank. There they had a laser, light and snow show with descent music, video and a crowd watching(and cheering) while on stage people were getting their hair done. I know, It doesn?t make sense does it. It didn?t at the time either and is definitely near impossible to explain to anyone who wasn?t there. A good night.

2nd round of exam results

2005-07-25T21:29:00.000Z

On Friday we received the results from the exams that we took at the beginning of July. Every one did really well with a virtual clean sweep of passes. My own results were:

Airframes/Systems/Power: 96%
Instruments 88%
Air Law 92%

Had a great weekend catching up with people and on Sunday I ripped my kite almost in two. I sent it off today to be repaired. I have my fingers crossed.

Yesterday, as an experiment, I tried to give up chilli for a week. During the day, I did fine, but come the evening before I knew what I was doing I was back on it. It seems going cold turkey with the hot stuff is going to be harder than I thought. Today I am trying again.

Cheshire cat's demotion

2005-07-20T22:36:00.000Z

I went kitesurfing today and it was another one of those 'Best ever session yet' times. I was grinning so much that my face was hurting.

Another thing that has had my sides aching recently is this clip:

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=flyingdog

It's all good.

Groundschool

2005-07-11T18:32:00.000Z

I have been slack updating this diary in the last few weeks. I have had a lot of work/revision in the run up to exams. I hope that sounds better than the truth which is that I couldn't be arsed.

My exams for the second module out of three were last week. 3 exams. Aircraft General Knowledge (airframes, engines and electrics) was the first and went really well. Instruments came next and wasn't such a friendly paper and finally Air Law which was the most unpleasant of them all. I do feel however that I have done enough to pass although tempting fate in such a big way does make me feel uneasy.

A couple of weeks before the exams our class went to an aircraft maintainance hanger and were able to see all the systems that we had been studying for real. An awesome afternoon that was really interesting and made a lot of the things we were studying more tangible.

I have have now started my last module, which means as long as I can pass the rest, I will be finished in September. The subjects this time around are: Principles of Flight, Meteorology, General Navigation, VFR and IFR Comms.

Exams Approaching Fast

2005-06-21T22:24:00.000Z

Last weekend, I was a security guard again. Even better this time as I didn't have to report every hour and didn't have too much to do as it was a motor show set deep into the grounds of Winton House in Wiltshire. Easy money.

I really need to start working hard for the exams that are coming up in less than two weeks. I feel far less prepared for these ones than the ones last module. I am sure I will be able to turn it around, but am going to need to work flat out from here in.

I feel like this a short post. There was quite a bit I had wanted to write/remember about the motor show job and why I haven't moved yet, but it will either have to wait or probably be forgotten as I don't have the time.

2005-06-12T04:20:00.000Z

Tonight, I am a security guard on a building site. One quarter of the way into a 17 hour shift, I?m already thinking that I have drank too much tea and am going to need to pace myself if I am going to last till 9am tomorrow morning(I started at 4pm this afternoon) without caffeine poisoning.

Handy work really as apart from my patrols around the site and having to check in every hour on the hour, I am able to get some studying done and effectively get paid for it. I?m in sore need of it too, I seem to be struggling more this module. I am sure I can turn it around but I do need to start putting a lot more work in. This is a good start.

Things have changed in my student house. There aren?t any student there any more, which I suppose, makes it a plain ?house?. Until more tenants arrive for the summer months, it is just myself and Polish Dan. A nice enough guy but as he works night shifts, so I hardly ever see him. I had thought he had moved out until a couple of days ago when I heard him swearing at things in Polish - his main activity when neither sleeping nor working.

I am going to be moving out myself in the next couple of days. A fairly similar house except the guys that I will be moving in with are a bit older, the house is a little bit tidier, the room larger for the same rent. I can?t really argue with that. I will have the same landlady which is good although I am yet to see their speedboat. I am beginning to suspect that offers of wakeboarding action were just playing to my weakness and all a ploy to get me to stay.

Vague update

2005-06-09T12:27:00.000Z

Since I last wrote an entry to this diary, a couple of weeks have passed. I had written a very witty and entertaining post about my bank holiday weekend. However, it was obviously such genius, it reached that critical state of near perfection whereby computers feel the need to crash. So depressed, I haven't felt like writing anything since.

Two good weekends have passed, the first a bank holiday involved Chit and Flash visiting, barbeques, flying toy planes, awesome kitesurf session(best yet) and a beer or two. The latest involved lots of hairy overpowered kiting, house parties and an aching body.

In between the weekends, I have been trying to get into the swing of studying again. I've had varying degrees of success but what should be good is that I am working in a security guard's hut this weekend, which should give me the chance to get some study done, whilst being paid for it. Result.

No wind in the 7 day forecast though. Shame.

Weekend of Barbeques

2005-05-25T16:53:00.000Z

Paul's wedding on Friday. Hadn't seen him since we shared a flat in Oz. Almost 5 years infact.

Half a decade(much longer than 5 years!) ago I had slept on the streets of Manley in order for Paul to have the flat to himself and romance the girl he had the hots for. Amanda.

We had spent most of the day tidying our flat, no small task as it had seen more backpackers pass through its door than the local hostel. And on a mid winters night (in Sydney admitadlly but it WAS still brass monkeys(ies?) and besides I'm cast as the noble hero in this story), while I bedded down on a local bench, Paul the romantic hero put his plan into action. The ingredients for a romantic meal already prepared, He took her up to our rooftop to admire the sunset and present her with the flowers, champagne and charm he had ready. Clearly she was swept off her feet as when I let my chilled bones back into the flat in the morning, the meal preperations were still on the counter. ;-)

Congratulations Paul (+ Amanda). Thanks for the invite and for the lesson in how to be a true romantic hero.

Saturday morning, much like Charlie's wedding the week before, I enjoyed even more than the wedding itself due to our catch up chat and the banter of shared memories.

I actually met Paul on a plane, well waiting in a boarding queue to be exact. We ended up sitting next to each other, sharing a flat in Sydney and 5 years later I'm at his wedding. Funny how things turn out. It shows you what can happen if you just make the effort to speak to the person sitting next to you.

The rest of my weekend seemed to be a blur of barbeques. I visited Gemma(who I met on a beach in Thailand) in Grantham and ended up at Tamsin's in Wimbledon for yet another barbeque and another crazed night.

This week I have been trying to get stuck into work but have met with varying success. At the beginning of the week I managed two brief and mainly underpowered kitesurf sessions after school which nice, but has left me craving a day of decent wind.

Chit is coming down for the bank holiday weekend which I am looking forward to. It will be good to catch up properly.

YES - Exam results

2005-05-20T09:20:00.000Z

Literally in the last minute I have been passed my exam results for the last 6 exams. I am still shaking.

These were my results:

Mass and Balance - 97%
Performance - 90%
Operational Procs - 92%
Flight Planning - 93%
Radio Navigation - 90%
Human Performance - 96%

As you can guess I am really, really chuffed.

6 down. 8 to go.

Degenerate Students

2005-05-18T16:34:00.000Z

WARNING: RANT

Yet another evening I have come home to find the kitchen in an utter state.

I like to cook. However at the moment, there is not a single plate to use. Impressive in a house that has enough plates to cater for a large wedding, even if not a very coordinated one.

The sideboard is covered with pots and pans, crockery, cutlery and the grease and moldy food which covers them.

The problem arises when I come to wash up to cook a meal. In the sink there is another mountain which means there isn't enough room to wash anything under the tap. I am forced to empty out and wash more of the gipping filth than I need just to be able to eat. I suppose it is akin to having stuffed your mouth full of food and not having the space to chew.

Over Easter there wasn't any problem. Everything was generally washed up as it was used, or atleast within a reasonable time. The major difference between now and then are the two pikeys who live downstairs.

I'm sorry, that last comment may have come across as rude or even disrespectful, but I don't really have anything against gypsy folk. The two filthy toerags downstairs however are beginning to wind me up.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Within a month they will have finished their exams and left Bournemouth and no doubt a mountain of washing up behind till September. What those of us who are left will have to make sure is that their replacements understand what a kitchen sink is for.

Charlie + Anna's wedding weekend

2005-05-17T21:36:00.000Z

Very funny weekend. At one point on Sunday I laughed till I cried. A day of pub food; handbrake turns with new mother-in-law in the back; ploughman's lunches without any cheese; flying kites at Bream; crashing kites at Bream and lovely pie.

Birthday kitesurf session

2005-05-14T09:35:00.000Z

I feel that I am always struggling to keep this 'blog' up to date.

My original intention had been to write about what was going to happen as well as what had already happened so as to give myself more of a 'before and after' effect. I was interested to see how my anticipation of future events compared to my perception of the same events afterwards. I am going to try and improve on this, but don't have too much hope.

Anyway, last Wednesday [already 4 days behind], was my birthday and in true rock and roll fashion I went to lectures. Double Air Law, double Instruments, double Engines, Instruments(again) and Engines(again). No-one was up for going out so I thought I would make the most of the day and go and pick up my freshly MOT'd car which had been fixed in Sussex for half the price that they had quoted in Bournemouth. Result. The Egomobile lives again. Taking the train home I didn't fancy doing absolutely nothing on my birthday so popped into Brighton to meet up with some friends.

Thursday, I didn't go to lectures. I went to Pevensey instead with Dave and Adas to go kiting. I treated it as my anniversary proper. A much needed break from study, an awesome session, some cracking fish and chips and the blissful afterglow that only certain sports give you. Another gusty session after work yesterday(friday) is the only time I have been out two days in ages. It probably is also the reason I feel like I have been beaten up by a rugby team today.

Tonight, I am going to Charlie, a good friend from Southampton's Wedding reception. [see - I am trying the future plans thing]. Should be fun though I don't think there will be many people I know there.

Friday night

2005-05-11T06:50:00.000Z

Thanks to all those that came for my joint birthday and end of exam celebrations on Friday afternoon/evening/night/next morning. I had a really good night and it was good to have a beer or two for after all the revision.

The Friday before I had popped into Brighton to see off yet another friend(Damyan) who is emigrating to Oz. I met him and his friends in a gay bar called "Harlequins", a fun bar that had it's fair share of characters including a pair of Les Dawson look alikes in drag. The great things about the place is that the barman served me in front of the ladies who were waiting. Surely a first. One week on, last Friday I was asking Tom(from Brighton) whether he had been there. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Tom, have you ever been to Harlequins?"

Tom: "Yeah, my dad has a season ticket."

A pause.

Ed: (suprised) "Your dad has a season ticket to Harlequins???"

Tom: "Yeah that's right, he goes a lot."

Another pause.

Ed: "Harlequins, the gay bar?"

Tom: "NO, Harlequins the rugby club."

It made me laugh all weekend. A good night all in all and while I insincerely apologise for any cookie madness, I blame anything that those present might have imagined on the sugar.

A picture will go here when I get one off someone.

The meal at TAS was typically Awesome, if anyone ever fancies 'a Turkish', then they can't go wrong with TAS on Borough High Street. The vine leaf wraps are particularly gorgeous.

COOKIE

Exams Over - for now

2005-05-09T20:27:00.000Z

That was intense. 6 exams over 4 days last week. As for how I did? Well, the first four were basically OK, the fifth was shocking and the sixth was easy.

When you take exams I think there is always a tendancy to play down your chances and I have certainly done this in the past, might possibly be doing it now and will definitely do so in the future. I don't want to look an idiot by being over conifident and than failing them, nor do I want to tempt fate. However I think the first four should be ok, the fifth however contained a lot of questions that no-one on our course recognised. This one will require a certain amount of luck. A shame really as I was well prepared for what I believed they were going to examin us on.

The results will be out in the next couple of weeks, so I will know for definite soon. We started the second module out of three modules this morning. Air Law, Aircraft General Knowledge and Engines this time around.

5 days to go till 1st exam

2005-04-28T09:49:00.000Z

Last week my average day consisted of 8.30am - 5.00pm lectures then a run, home for a bite to eat before heading down to Bournemouth University library. Leaving around 3 hours later I would get home with enough time and consiousness to check my e-mails before passing out.

This week, I don't seem to have the same drive that I did last. I suspect that it's because last week I felt in real danger of failing at least two of my exams. This week I feel more confident. Or is it over-confidence? I write this post as a wake-up call to myself to get on and pick up the pace again. It actually serves as a double incentive, because now if I don't do well, I am going to look really stupid saying I took a few days easy the week before my exams.

The upside is that yesterday was windy and I was able to make the most of it. I spent about 4 hours kitesurfing in Poole Harbour. The conditions weren't all that great as it was really gusty due to rain-clouds passing by. I confess that I did put up a kite a size too big.(big kites for low wind, small kites for higher wind) that made it pretty hairy at times.

Driving back from the harbour yesterday evening I was so drained that I was hardly able to turn the steering wheel of my(soon to be dead - more on that later) car. At one point, stopping at a newsagent for some sugar snacks I had to execute a three point turn which due to my girly strength became more of a spirograph in the road. This morning I feel properly worked.

Alas my poor car. The Ego-mobile [I really must find/take a picture of it - soon] is soon to go to the scrapyard in the sky. Or maybe the one at Pease Pottage which doesn't charge quite so much to take it. Insult to injury that is. Anyhow, yesterday it mortally failed it's MOT. When I rang to see whether it passed, the guy asked me to call back in an hour as it would take that long to price up what it would take to get it through!! Even if I do most of the easier work myself, it is still going to cost around £600 to fix. Considering that is what I paid for it 2 years ago, it doesn't seem worth it.

I still have 3 weeks to run on the MOT so that gives me a bit of a chance to find a replacement. In the past I have always had fairly sensible economical cars, but now I have had the GTI, I am going to find it hard to go back.

It is windy today too, but body aches and revision needs demand that the kite stays in the bag. Shame.

Updates

2005-04-19T21:51:00.000Z

Well as you probably have guessed by now, I broke up with Anna last weekend. 4.5 years. Feeling sad, but have exams in 1.5 weeks so have to get on with life.

I haven't put on my running shoes for a week now and am feeling a bit slack with myself. A photo of the hill that the race is up(and back down) can be found in My Fitness Mission . I update this link periodically. You can find it on the tab to the right.

Keep 6th/7th May free as will be celebrating my birthday and end of exams then.

Sorry for the brief post.

Ow

2005-04-17T20:29:00.000Z

Little dazed.

Seems it isn't/wasn't to be. Tried to get it to work but...

Wondering if if there was anything else to try. Anything we should have tried.
So perfect in virtually every way, a crying shame.
You can't make someone feel a certain way, can you?
Reeling over the keyboard with salty cheeks and tripping over re-typed and blurry words, I am not sure I will ever be much wiser.

If it has to be, surely it must be for the best, yes?
Drifted apart, not enough of a spark, what sort of chemistry is this anyway? Certainly none that I ever studied at school. Perhaps violent reactions are the best, volitile mixing producing pyrotechnics and explosions rather than affinitys that simply fizzle out. Atleast you know then.

20 minutes break for tea. Vital life-balm. Looking at what I have written, I realise it will make interesting reading later. Though, I will probably be embarassed of my emotions and delete it.

Saw it coming? Probably. The shadow of the end had been there for a while, but denial and hopes' colours are stronger. The 'next weekend' was always going to be the one that worked. Trouble is, it rarely was. Sometimes, though. Last night for instance. But not enough.

Haven't known anything else for such a long time (4 1/2 years) but maybe it just seems that way. So many differences, so much change. The next few weeks will be telling.

I dropped her off at the station this afternoon. Wrenched. 'For the best' I guess, but I'm feeling sick now. My intention had been to come home and get some work done, no chance of that now, it will have to wait till tomorrow.

Anna

Funny how keeping a diary has forced me to wear my heart on my sleeve more. A few months ago opening myself up would have been unthinkable. Now it almost seems thereaputic.

3 weeks till exams. Aargghhh.

2005-04-11T22:16:00.000Z

The penny finally dropped today that the end of module exams are rapidly approaching. Three weeks to go; I am not sure I feel comfortable with that.

Time to REALLY get the head down and do some work I guess.

On Saturday, apart from squeezing in a double squash session(needed - thanks Becky) and smashing a vase(sorry Tam) while trying (unsuccessfully) to pull off a yoga move - cutting my back up in the process I also went to Slippery's birthday dinner. In his typical style it was on the Hispinola, docked by Embankment on the Thames. Good to catch up with the Florida crew again but I feel a little ashamed for getting the last tube home. At least it meant that I was able to do lots of studying the next day.

Boing......

Another kitesurfer

2005-04-08T23:18:00.000Z

Yesterday, Thursday, Adas, JJ and Vegas came down to Bournemouth. Taking my last lecture off we headed down to Poole Harbour to try and catch some wind.

Unfortunately for Adas, Vegas and myself, after the first squall had passed it wasn't windy enough to get going. This was good news for JJ who then had 3 teachers to guide him. Some quick progress later and he was getting up on the board.

If there had been a bit more wind earlier it would have been awesome, but I don't want to knock a really good day. Especially one that ends up in a Tandoori House. Thanks guys.

The best thing about it is that we have turned another to the kite-side.

Wahey, just got wet !!

2005-04-06T20:25:00.000Z

Apart from a freezing cold shower - I have just one as our boiler has gone out - I also got a quick kitesurf in. Yay!!

I arrived down in Poole Harbour just as it was getting dark and debated for a few minutes whether to set up, change into a wetsuit and go in or not. If I could have forseen the grin that I left the water with just one hour later when only the slightest glow remained over the horizon, I wouldn't have hung about at all.

My first time in the water since January and I am just gutted that the wind is veering around to the North for the next week. Still it is probably not all bad as atleast I will be able to get some important studying done.

Infact, I have a test tomorrow on one of the modules, "Human Performance and Limitations", which I had better get studying otherwise I'll be up all night.

See ya.

Running fitness

2005-03-29T22:43:00.000Z

(06.10.05)

Currently reasonable fitness. Suprisingly not all that different to about 10 years ago. I don't feel like I should be when I am 2-3 stone heavier, but I am. I am waiting for an ankle injury to heal(one thing after another?). I twisted/sprained(what's the difference?) it while running through a herd of cows and suddenly ended up on the ground in the middle of them. Annoyingly it is my good ankle and not my floppy one. Perhaps I will end up with two floppy ankles? That could be a problem for running in straight lines. I will see how much when it gets a bit stronger.

(28.08.05)

I haven't been running much recently. I think that I stopped during the period of hot weather and fell out of the habit. I did go for a long run with Flash at the weekend to the windmills and back over Wolstonbury. Very enjoyable. I am going to make more effort to run in the near future.

I have been playing squash with one of the guys off my course and have been really noticing my lack of fitness. Frustrating as previously it has always been a strength rather than a weakness. Incentive enough.

(08.06.05)

My achilles has been feeling fine for a week now and I went for my first run in 6 weeks this evening. More of a jog really but initial indications are good. I only felt the slightest twinge in my tendon and certainly nothing to worry about.

Whilst running, I fantasised about getting fit within one month and having a go at the run up Wolstonbury. Ridiculous really, as it took over a month to reach the level of fitness I had before the injury and I didn't have anything to protect then.

Having really enjoyed the run, I will carry on and get fit for the hill race, but it is going to have to be for next year, not this.

(17.05.05)

If anyone knows how to cure a pulled achilles, PLEASE let me know. I haven't run for 3 weeks now so my aim to get fit for the race up Wolstonbury(6 weeks time) is effectively over as despite gentle stretching and no running it still feels wrong. Disappointing.

(28.04.05)

Tendonitis. Bugger. I seem to have tweaked my achillies probably by doing too much hill running. I am going to have to cut right back to give it a chance to heal. Lots of stretching also necessary.

(21.04.05)

I went for an amazing run this evening. Sandwiched in between large chunks of hard graft(studying for these exams).

I had been getting a little bit bored with where I have been running. It is a lovely spot but it is essentially surrounded by roads on all sides which limits me to about a 30 minute run if I run around the edge. Today however I found another place.

I must have run for atleast 45 minutes and never reached the far side. It is a mixture of heathland and woods and amazingly beautiful. The terrain is really varied for running with lots of hills, including some which afford a view of the whole of Bournemouth to the sea. It is somewhere that if you were abroad you would visit it as a 'beauty spot', but in the whole time I was running around I didn't see another (human) soul.

I think that I am going to enjoy exploring this area in the coming weeks.

(19.04.05)

Well I was just starting to see my fitness improve and now I haven't been out running for a week. Slack. Just to give myself a bit of incentive I am including a picture of Wolstonbury, the hill I mentioned before and the one that I need to be able to run to, run up, run down and back in 34 minutes, not my recent best of 43 minutes. Damn.

Wolstonbury

I draw hope from the fact that I once ran it in 30 minutes.

(08.04.05)

I have been for a couple of runs in the last week and a half. I haven't however progressed quite as much as I would have liked for at least 3 reasons.

Firstly, I expect too much, I think that I probably always have done this when it comes to fitness and though I can certainly see an improvement in running fitness in the weeks since I started(about half way through March), I want more.

Secondly, I turned my ankle just as I was pulling up on a run a week ago. I think due to old injuries and my legs being a bit bowed(couldn't stop a pig in a poke as they used to say) my ankles do tend to sprain quite easily. The upshot of this is that the ligaments(?) are looser so not as much damage is done when this happens. I have run since, but gently.

Thirdly and anyone who has ever run middle/long distance will know what I am talking about here, I haven't been getting used to the pain. My belief(and I know this is shared amongst runners) is that when you train, it isn't just your body that you are forcing to become more efficient but also your mind.

At the moment, I just can't take the pain. I know from experience that in a few weeks my 'running pain threshold' will be higher and I will enjoy pushing harder and indeed enjoy the pain(atleast I think other runners think this!!). In terms of physiology I am sure it is due to endorphins being released but in any case I am certain that the majority of endurance training is for the mind.

(29.03.05)

On Monday, I went for a run up to the top of Wolstonbury and back.

Wolstonbury is the hill nearest Wanbarrow and is crowned with an iron age fort(circa 500 BC though more recent research by Bournemouth University has indicated that originally it probably was Late Neolithic or Early Bronze age which pushes the date back by another 2000 years or so.)

When I was fitter I once ran to the top and back in 30 minutes. Unfortunately at the time I didn't know about the annual race to the top and back that forms part of the village fair(Incidentally the fair's charter was granted in 1313 by Edward II - a bit more history for you there).

The winning time for the race last year was, I believe 34 minutes and that is on a course a couple of minutes longer than when I achieved 30 minutes dead. My aim therefore is to get fit again, avoid injury and challenge for that time.

My run on Monday was in 43 minutes. Damn, I need to knock 9 minutes off that. A tall ask; taller than I had hoped for.

I have already started running again in Bournemouth. The New Forest is on the way from school to home so it is easy to get the odd run in. Nice scenery too.

It is nice to have a mission.

to be continued.......

Easter weekend

2005-03-29T21:48:00.000Z

I had a really good weekend, with a nice balance of things.

2 days working to get a bit of cash.

Sat night - 101 club for some Jazz and The End for some Breaks. Joined by Albi, Celeste, Ceri and Mike.

Sun - Anna, Dave and Tam went for a Easter Sunday pub lunch in the Royal Oak and then took the dogs for a long walk in the country. Proper grown up Easter Sunday activities.

Mon - I managed to do a bit of work for college and realise that I have to pick up the pace a little and do more work in the evenings.

My Medium-Long term plan

2005-03-17T22:59:00.000Z

As of: (06.10.05)

Well, I have the PPL, a fair amount of hour building and the ATPL examinatins out of the way.

In January I start my Commercial license and Instrument Rating in Jerez, Spain. This should take around 3 months.

I will then become join the ranks of unemployed pilots. ;-)
Actually having said that, I am glad that I held off the training as long as I did because it does seem like the job market for pilots is picking up and bar any other terror problems I will definitely be in a better position than I would have been otherwise.

If after a few months, I haven't found any work then I will get an instructor's rating and build some hours that way while keeping my ear to the ground for any other jobs going.

Any chance I get to go kitesurfing during this time will be a bonus. A wonderful, joyous bonus.

I might also get around to putting more pictures in this diary. You never know.

1st week of ATPLs

2005-03-13T16:06:00.000Z

The first week back at school has been more of a foundation week than a week proper. We have been getting up to speed with the group that will be joining us on Monday. The ATPLs here are split into 3 rolling modules, each of approx 2 months and students join inbetween each module. The guys that are coming on Monday will have either completed 1 or 2 modules and have been doing their exams during our foundation week.

The lectures start at 8.30 and finish at 5.00 so they are pretty full days, and will require lots of evening study to keep up, but this week has been a gentle easing in, the calm before the storm if you like.

In my last blog, I weighed up where I was going to live and you probably worked out quicker than I did where. Obviously, the one with a landlady who has a speedboat. I live with 4 students and a polish guy who has arrived since I have been here and is looking for work. They all seem pleasant enough and it shouldn't be any problem living here for the next six months.

It is a proper student house though. I realise now that nothing changes: Watching Neighbors(sic), playing worms till early in the morning, not washing up, that kind of thing.

I have also bought myself a new toy. A laptop. It is my first computer which seems a bit strange as I guess I am a bit of a technophile. It is a mid-range Sony Vaio and as far as expensive bits of plastic and circuit board go, is dead sexy.

Well, I've got to go and do a bit or reading now before the real start tomorrow. Not to mention a bit of feeding.

Where to live in Bournemouth?

2005-03-03T17:23:00.000Z

I'm down in Bournemouth looking for somewhere to live. I start my course on Monday and aim to move in on Sunday, so I have to find somewhere pretty quick.

I've just looked at three places and can't decide between two of them. I'll try and work out the +ves and -ves here. Hopefully typing aloud may help me make a decision and it might be interesting 3 months down the line when I realise I have moved in with psychopath lunatics.

House 1: Is a student house and is as you would expect. 4 (I think) others live there and are mostly final years and mostly keep themselves to themselves. A double room with an adequate kitchen and a garden. It is £55pw inc bills.

+ves:
Cheap / It has a garden(to dry kites on) / The landlady+lord have a speedboat and waterski!! and go out often May onwards.

-ves
Student house and will be louder for working / Not exactly luxury accommodation

House 2: Is a flat shared with a young and pleasant couple. It's landlords(not the couple) are a pair of gay interior decorators and the flat is amazing, if a little gay. It is £70pw exc bills.

+ves
Nice Decor / An amazing bathroom+lounge / Quieter for studying

-ves
More expensive(by about £500 over the 6 months) / No garden / No wakeboarding landlord+lady

Aaahhhh. It's a hard one. I think I would be fairly happy with either one, so that is good. Also bournemouth from first impressions looks ace. Lovely beaches.

Wish me luck in choosing.

Party in Paris

2005-02-25T08:34:00.000Z

It seems that at the moment I update my blog around once per week. Continuing my current trend last weekend I went to a party in Paris with Anna. It was Stacey's birthday so we were helping her celebrate.

Paris for the weekend to go to a party, It sounds a bit JetSet. We went by Eurostar though so does that make us TrainSet? I hope not.

Eurostar is a bit strange to us Brits. Europeans have long been use to jumping on a train to go to another country but for us getting on a train at Waterloo and getting off in the centre of Paris 2.5 hours later is a bit too easy isn't it? It is made stranger I think by the fact that the train doesn't noticably slope down to head under the English Channel(Our channel obviously!(I think the French call it La Manche)). Also isn't it rubbing it in a bit, the French arriving in our country at Waterloo. Funny really, someone in the Channel Tunnel planning had a cheeky sense of humour.

My memories of the weekend are mainly about the food. And drink. We seemed to be either in or travelling between cafes. For the Saturday night we went to what seemed at the time to be a restaurant and then to a club downstairs. Great fun although the beers were around £4 for a quarter liter and a crazy man hijacked the mic and decks for some audio mayhem.

In Paris, I realised that my French, although rusty, wasn't as bad as I think it is. I can generally be understood and I think that a stint in France would do it wonders. I would love to be fluent in French and indeed many languages. In the last month, I have fantasised about being able to speak, Norwegian, Italian, Indonesian, French and Welsh. Infact any time that I hear that someone is learning a language I have a desire to be able to speak that language.

If I was walking along a beach and kicked the cliched 'Genie in a bottle' my one wish would be,
To be able to speak and understand all languages as if they were my own. aka Babel Fish.

Back in Britain it is snowing at the moment and my current fear is that the snow will be gone before I find someone to have a snowball fight with. Random stranger you had better watch out.

This week I have been mainly installing a kitchen for Anna's Dad. I enjoy it as it involves bits of a few trades. Infact I had better go as I have some worktops to cut. Au revoir.

Update

2005-02-15T09:32:00.000Z

It looks like I will be doing my groundschool in Bournemouth. I have ruled London out as I just know too many people there and will be needing to get my head down for some serious study and not be distracted. However in Bournemouth there are still 2 choices, cheap and ok or expensive and better. A hard call, I think I will have to go down there again to visit the flight schools and see if my bad impression of the cheaper one has improved.

At the moment, I am mainly doing chores for my mum. Adas and I have a work exchange program going on whereby we work on his flat one day and then at Wanbarrow the next. It works well as 2 people work 3 times as fast plus it is more interesting and we can chat about flying (planes and kites).

At the weekend I took Anna for a meal in Brighton. Feeling in the mood for some Turkish tucker, I turned to the relevant section in the yellow pages and rang 'Caspians' only to be laughed at by the guy at the other end of the phone, "you know this is a kebab shop". Oops. We went to 'Cous Cous House' on Preston St. Good Morroccan food. Plus belly dancer entertainment.

Also, Microsoft Messanger. Today I was told I MUST download the new version to continue using it. The new version offers to change the defaulf search-site and homepage to msn. Not too much of a problem, but it ignores you if you say no!!! Bar Stewards.

Just looking online at the moment for a winter wetsuit, but am now considering a drysuit. Of course I would have to wear a tuxedo underneath.

Brass Monkeys

2005-02-09T18:24:00.001Z

Writing the title, I was suddenly not sure of the plural of Monkey. Monkies or Monkeys. Monkeys I think.

Anyhow Brass Monkeys because I went in the sea at Shoreham today. Cor blimey, it was cold. Well worth it though. I was wearing three wetsuits: 2 shorties(shortys?, shorteys?) and 1 full length. Plus booties and gloves. However, in pure kitesurfing terms, I had a better session today than I did in Florida. I mean it wasn't a sandy beach, there were no girls in bikinis and every time my head was dunked, my 'ice-cream head' felt like I had downed a large tub of vanilla. Bloody good fun though. The problem with three wetsuits was that I was unable to move my limbs properly and infact I think that they cut off my circulation quite a bit so the plan of staying warmer might have backfired a bit.

Brrrrrr

2005-01-24T23:09:00.000Z

One of my first jobs when I returned was to get my car on the road again. I had promised it that if it started first time then I would give it an oil change. It started first time - well after I charged the battery, but I let that go. I insured it and gave it a new exhaust immediately (the last one had fallen off in May) as a result it sounds far less tractorish. Well today I changed the oil too and the EGOmobile is properly back on the road. For those that don't know the EGO is a Mk 2 Golf GTI. Number plate Fxxx EGO. 17 years old and it has all the character that you would expect of a car that is that old and has probably been ragged for most of it's life.

Working outside today I had on 2 pairs socks, 2 pairs jeans, 2 t-shirts, 3 sweatshirts, jacket and hat. I thought Florida was getting cold when I had to wear a jumper. The weather was pretty cold today with wind out of the North, and the sea temperature is 8 deg Celsius, which means that I won't be going kitesurfing soon.

At the moment, I am having problems deliberating where to go to study groundschool. Every place I am considering has it's own plus and minus points that in my mind seem to cancel each other out. I am going to try and force a decision by the end of the week. Will let you know where I will be going.

Played squash on Saturday which was cool though I ached after like I haven't since when I first started playing. Kind of a nice pain though, the aches and strains you pick up after sport. I hope that others think that and I am not just a masochist that hasn't realised it yet. Went for a run in the Sussex countryside this evening. I was so struck by how beautiful it is with the folds of land forming hills and dales crowned by curious sheep. After the billiard table flatness of Florida, I was glad to be back. I also tired quickly and had joggers nipple. Not so good.

It seems that I may carry on with the blog. I have had a couple of encouraging messages that have inspired me to continue.

Home again

2005-01-22T13:15:00.000Z

You know what they say about absence? It makes you do stupid things and makes you feel sick the next morning. Oh no, that is absinthe. Well, I guess the point that I am trying to make is that it is good to see friends again.

The plan is to start groundschool in a few weeks and it will last 6 months or so. I just haven't decided where to start it yet: either in Bournemouth or London.

Also I am not sure whether to carry on writing this BLOG. I expect that I will as my quest to fly still continues. Probably just not as often.

Well, thanks for reading. It is nice to know that some people were with me on the (ongoing) journey.

More Miami

2005-01-18T01:17:00.001Z

We met up with Ken's friends in Fort Lauderdale and they were Irish so we drank a fair bit for a couple of days. They had hired a condo set in a hotel. This condo was so big that it had it's 3 doors along the corridor. We also had access to the jacussi, sauna and pool. All good fun. Paul chatted up a tranny, had a fight with a girl and Benny was on the loose. It also rained or was overcast the whole time.

Paul, Ken and Benny(before he was on the loose)

There is a famous statistic that I was reminded of driving down to Miami: 85% of Americans don't even own a passport. The Americans I have spoken to seem to back this up and infact probably about half of the young people I have spoken to in Kissimmee have never left Florida. The crazy thing I find about this is that it means that they have never seen a hill, much less a mountain. I thought I saw a hill on the cruise down South, but as I passed it I saw it was a landfill site.

It is my last night before returning to the joys of winter. At least the bad weather we have been having here will act as a bit of a half-way stage before getting back to England. I also went for a flight with Mark as I won't get any more for a while. Decent enough landings from myself and good solid ones from Slippery ;)

These are your maniacs speaking....

Coconut Grove

2005-01-13T22:39:00.000Z

Had a really good day today. I will try and remember some of it.

Three of us, Ken, an Irish guy, Jo, an aussie girl and myself drove down south of Miami to check out what was out of the city limits and look for kiting spots. We found a spot, but it was way to windy to even bother rigging up.

We also found the best tree-climbing tree in the world ever. I have said in the past that certain trees are good climbing, but now in my revised scale of trees, I realise that I have never seen a good climbing tree before. They have trees here that grow up and then down again so that all the branches interlock in a crazy fashion. They also have hanging branches, similar to ropes plenty strong enough to swing on. This alone would have made today a really good day.

Lunch in Coconut Grove, which was the place to go in Miami before South Beach(where the hostel is) was cool. It is also filled with boutiques and with the cafes has a bit of an European feel to it. We ate a cracking meal in a French restaurant, I think the best thing I have eaten out since I have been here.

We have just visited a monument to the holocaust victims. Very sobering. I did know a fair bit about the 6,000,000 that were killed but something that I have only just learned is that at the time there were only 9,000,000 Jews in Europe. Woah.

There was a security guard at the monument that asked us why we were wasting our time there. When he realised where we came from he took the piss out of me for calling baked beans on toast a snack when a snack should be ice-cream or candy. Unfortunately my friends didn't take his side, so he proudly told us that in America, they have all kinds of baked beans. Ones with weiners in the can, sweetened beans, big cans, little cans and even vegetarian beans. Surely not.

Well it is fairly warm and sticky here and almost 6pm which is when the bar opens. Speak to you soon.

Miami

2005-01-13T01:18:00.000Z

Down in Miami again. I'm staying in the South Beach area, famous for it's Art Deco style. I have to agree that it looks quite cool. It is said that a lot of it has been retro fitted in order to make everywhere look in keeping, but as Art Deco is for aesthetical and not structural reasons, I can't see a problem with that. One very noticable thing about Miami is the number of people taking their dogs for walks while strutting their stuff.

I am staying in a Hostel, which is really refreshing. Everyone is crammed in 4 to a room that is about the size of the average microwave, but it is really good to meet lots of travelling people. I spent last night with about 9 people, only two of which came from the same country. Sweden, they were twins. Strangely I didn't pick up on the fact they were identical twins until quite late in the evening. Still can't quite get over that.

Tried to go kite-surfing today, but the wind was a bit soft and direct on-shore. It seems to be like that most of the time. The forecast is better for tomorrow however.

Wakeboarding

2005-01-11T01:35:00.000Z

Yesterday, I found a cable-tow water park. It is where you can go waterskiing or wakeboarding without the expense or hassle or a boat. Basically there is a cable that runs in a rectangular course around a lake and you are towed by ropes suspended from it.

There is one in Thorpe Park that we have been to before, and one must have been copied from the other, because the set-up was weirdly identical.

It was ideal really, 25 mins from the flying school, but having only just discovered it yesterday, it is now shutting for it's winter break. As I am going back to the UK in one week, that isn't so helpful.

Oh well, it was a really good session and was good to be going in just a pair of board shorts. Not bad for the middle of winter hey?

Being an Alien

2005-01-09T15:33:00.000Z

That is what I am apparently.

I also keep getting told, when meeting the natives, that I have a really thick accent. I have never been told that before, but seem to get it consistently here.

Two things on the radio that I heard yesterday.

The first may of been in the news back home, but I thought was pretty cool. The story goes that a 10 year old British girl was in SE Asia, and saw the water getting sucked out along and she had just learned in science that when this happened and the water bubbled, it meant a Tsunami (not sure if this should have a capital, but is seems appropriate somehow) was on the way. She told her family who shouted to people on the beach and so this 10 year old girl saved dozens maybe hundreds of people.

The second was disturbing and was on Talk Radio. It is a station with no music and people basically just ring up and speak what is on their mind. People then ring up and say that Mr A was a jerk etc. As you can imagine you get some pretty polarised opinion on there. I find it fairly compulsive listening. A guy rang yesterday to say that the victims of the Tsunami had what was coming to them as they were all terrorists and were the ones attacking Americans. "Screw them", he said. Don't think that I am having a dig at Americans in general BTW, I am just amazed and appalled by the few.

The Tsunami in Asia, is shocking, there is nothing that I can add that haven't already been thought or said by anyone reading this. The only thing I will say is that one of the ways we can help the most is by continuing to take our valuable tourist pounds/dollars over there.

Waiting for wind

2005-01-07T18:55:00.000Z

I stayed down in Miami for about 5 days in total. I did manage to get on the water for some of that though I was limited by two things. Firstly after a day and half, my feet had swollen so that I couldn't fit them in the bindings. Not sure why as it isn't a kiting injury that I have had before. Secondly in that 5 days there was probably only about 5/6 hours of decent wind. Most of the rest of the time it was light and straight on-shore. It was still good to get wet.

I am back in Kissimmee now and there is a few guys back that I knew from before. Always good to catch up with a beer or two. OFT(The flying school) has loads of new faces and everything has changed in the last few weeks. In theory it is for the better, but......

My plan is to do a few more hours flying here. Mainly night flights as I only have around 7 hours night and quite enjoy the night flying. Probably about a dozen more. I have around 120 hours in total so that will take me to around 130 hours, leaving a nice chunk to do before the Commercial(150 required before starting). This should ensure that I am not too rusty.

The wind is forecast to pick up in the next few days, so that should be worthy of a trip down to Miami. I quite fancy going out there as there seemed to be a good atmosphere when I was there. It seemed different to everywhere else I have been in Florida. Probably because there seemed to be more travellers as opposed to holiday makers.

Homesick

2005-01-02T01:21:00.000Z

I am not typically a sufferer of homesickness having boarded and travelled a fair bit. Today though I really was missing friends, family and dogs.

New Years Eve was pretty tame, probably the calmest on in the last 10 years. Went to a couple of bars and got to bed at around 4am, but felt fine this morning.

This afternoon I went kitesurfing again and it is slowly coming back. Which is good.

Miss you guys though.......

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2004-12-31T23:22:00.000Z

At least it probably will be by the time you read this.

Yesterday I flew to Key West for lunch, it is the pretty bit with turquoise waters at the bottom of Florida. They also do good sandwiches. It was my last major bit of flying. In the last four days I have logged about 20 hours of flying. It may not seem so much but when you consider that there was probably about 15 hours of flight planning in that, it sounds a bit better. I will be going back to meet some friends that I have made here. They all went home for christmas and are coming back out in the next few days. I hope to do a bit more night flying while I am at it.

Last night I also drove down to Miami. I met a guy kite-surfing and he invited me to his family home. Nicholas from Argentina. Today we went kitesurfing and had a fairly decent session and am slowly getting to grips with my new board. I spent a fair while of it with one phrase lodged in my head. It was something that Felix(hairy kitesurfer not smooth Morph) said to me, "Kitesurfing is a RIDICULOUS amount of fun". Very, very true. Blasting down Miami beach with a new friend and a rainbow in the background, I felt very lucky indeed.

Tonight we are meeting up with some of his friends and going to some bars in Ft Lauderdale, it is north Miami on the coast.

Wherever you are in the world, I wish you a very happy new year and all the best for the following year.

It is all good again

2004-12-30T14:58:00.000Z

It is only now that the weather is better again that I realise how bored I was when not flying. In the last 3 days I have flown about a dozen hours, all interesting cross-country stuff.

I am meant to be flying at the moment down to Key West but the aircraft had a bald tyre so I have had to wait for it to be replaced. If I do finally get to go, I am now going to be back after dark which wasn't the plan as I aim to drive down to Miami this evening.

I am nearly at the end of my flying now having built around 115 hours in total. I also have to move out of my apartment today, which is a great shame as I won't have a kitchen anymore. I have prepared by filling 3 tupperware boxes with pre-cooked meals which should last me for a while. Miami for New Years is the plan. I met a guy who's family comes from Miami out Kitesurfing and he said that we should hook up. I agreed. The good thing about going down there is that for the next few days, there is more wind forecast for there than here.

I will let you know how it goes....

Flying again

2004-12-28T14:54:00.000Z

Yesterday, I finally got to fly again. It had been a week since I had flown, mainly due to the weather. Suddenly all was good again. I hadn't realised how out of my head with boredom I had been getting until I was able to get into the air.

I planned a route that to Melbourne and then up the coast to Merritt Island. This had the additional benefit of allowing me to check the state of the surf and to see whether I could see any kiters out there.

I drove to the beach, listening to the adverts - split up with the odd bit of music - on the radio in my hire car. The car itself is about 2 liters and is the most gutless car that I have ever driven. My Citroen Visa would have outgunned it, hands(tires?) down. This seems to be a common thing and I am amazed by how little power they seem to get out of their vehicles here. Generally they are huge with massive engines, but they seem to be all bark and no bite. I guess with fuel so much cheaper there isn't the need to spend time/money refining the engines to get the most from their capacity.

The wind was gusty at the beach and I really struggled. I would like to blame it on the conditions, but I think that the shorter board that I have now is a lot harder to ride than the board I had in the UK. Oh well, I hope that I have the wind so that I can persist.

All in all, not a bad day though. Flying in the air, but not quite on the water. Will have to work on that last bit......

Bloody Freezing

2004-12-27T01:33:00.000Z

I did go to the beach today and it was so cold I didn't dare go in the water. I couldn't feel my ears or feet so didn't feel like changing into a (wet) shorty. Lets hope the next few days are warmer.

Christmas Cheer

2004-12-26T15:51:00.000Z

I have just woken up from almost 12 hours sleep after a massive christmas day feeding.

Four of us got together and cooked a turkey in my apartment. Eddy who I live with and two others I met the day before. Patrick and Damien. All things considered, it was a good day and it was a typically good chrimbo stuffing followed by a DVD(Shrek 2 - def as good as the first one).

The weather is still too crap to fly however. It is 4/5 days in a row now and Kissimmee isn't the most exciting place when you can't fly. The plus to today is that it is windy so there might be a chance to kitesurf. The downside being that it is freezing. I am going off in a few minutes, I will let you know how I get on.

1st Kitesurf

2004-12-23T14:41:00.000Z

So far my christmas day, as decided by you is evenly split between deep-frying a turkey and the lottery of Tequilla. Any other suggestions. Please.

That reminds me, the statistic that 75 Americans started fires deep-frying their turkeys is TRUE!!! There is an public awareness advert on TV that runs: "Last Year seventy-five Americans started fires attempting to deep-fry their turkey".

I will be looking out for more public awareness announcements soon. "Gators are not for stroking", "Don't warm your hands in boiling water" and "Glass is not for eating, keep it off the menu".

I went kite-surfing yesterday. Well I tried to, I didn't have very much joy. The wind was pretty light and I was trying a smaller board than I had before. I think that was making it harder too. I did meet a couple of other guys though which was cool.

My flying is winding down too, I will probably do another dozen hours or so. Try to get checked out on another couple of aircraft and finally make it down to Key West.

Will let you know how I get on.

Christmas Day Vote

2004-12-20T15:35:00.000Z

What shall an 'alien' in the States do on chrismas day.

If it is windy, I am going to go kitesurfing. That is decided. However, if the good lord doesn't take pity on me then I propose that I let democracy prevail.

Options:

1. Deep-fry a turkey and gorge myself silly.

2. Conventional roasted turkey and trimmings.

Quite food orientated so far obviously.

3. Tequilla.

4. Something else to be decided by you, the reader. :)

answers on an e-mail.

Multi Engine

2004-12-18T19:43:00.000Z

Sorry I have been a bit quiet on the blog front for the last few days, but I have been concentrating on my multi-engine rating.

The skill test was yesterday and I passed with very favourable comments which bodes well for the future.

From now on, I will just be building a few hours, I plan to head down to Key West which should be fun and go the odd place for lunch/dinner. It is nice to know that I have all my tests/exams out of the way.

We went out last night to Pleasure Island, not infact a moated brothel but a themed street full of various clubs and bars. It is a Disney thing and you pay once on initial entry and then you can flit between the various bars. A funny night if only because JP and Robbie had a few sets of tonsil tennis and one of the dance floors was revolving. Danger. Danger.

Text message

2004-12-14T20:48:00.000Z

Some people's texts aren't coming through to my 'cell phone' so if you haven't received a reply, i'm sorry, please text my 'mobile'. If you see what I mean.

Brilliant statistic

2004-12-12T16:32:00.000Z

Did you know?

70 Americans died last Christmas as a result of deep-frying their turkeys.

Brilliant. Someone told me this and I will admit that I haven't tried to verify it, mainly because I am scared I will find it isn't true. I don't want that.

I had my first flight in a multi-engine today, it was a twin. A Seminole to be exact. Beejeesus things happen quick in it. Before I knew it, I was at 4000 feet and while in the circuit there is hardly time to think. I am flying it in order to get my multi engine rating.

Also, I have found out that the ticking off the control tower gave me when my electrics(radio) failed was because of procedural differences between here and the UK. I had been studying the JAA(European) syllabus and had done the correct thing by that, but it is slightly different here. Feel better. I did also forget to mention that as I was joining the circuit with no radio and hawk eyes, there was a B17(Flying Fortress) in the circuit. Just after I had cleared the active runway, it flew a low fly-by with two Texans in formation. The shadow enveloped me. It was the first time the bomber had flown in 45 years after 12 years of restoration. So that was pretty exciting.

Last night we had another barbeque and poker session. Yet again I lost; well didn't win anyway. Adequate consolation was that we were having a barbeque on 11th December.

Christmas is getting closer, though naturally it doesn't feel like it here. The greatest indication is the out-of-place and over-the-top christmas decorations and lights that cover some houses and stores. The flying school is also getting loads quieter. I don't need to book up aircraft in advance now as there is always some free. This is a good thing as I have a lot of hours to make up from when they were overly busy.

I'm not sure what I will do for christmas however. I am not sure there will be anyone around. I might just pray for wind and go kitesurfing. I have been a very good boy Santa. Honest.

Electric Failiure

2004-12-08T20:23:00.000Z

Woah that was a dramatic flight.

My electrical system failed and I was bollocked by the tower. Initially when I saw that the battery was losing charge, I landed, called the airfield and asked what to do. They asked if I wouldn't mind flying it back(around 1 hour) with minimal electrics turned on. I did this and it wasn't really a problem as the 152 hardly needs any electrics, in fact I had everything turned off until near Kissimmee.

Approaching the home airfield, I turned on my transponder and radio and made my call. Then initial call was a bit broken and fearing that it was going to die I set the transponder to 7600. The transponder brings up the aircraft's height and position on the radar at Orlando and 7600 is the code for radio failiure which should set alarm bells ringing. It turns out that Kissimmee control tower were never informed either because of lack of communication or because my battery was already too dead to operate the transponder.

The radio was too broken to read so I reported that my radio was failing hoping that they would pick it up and proceeded to orbit near the field. Whilst doing this I was able to see who was in the circuit and which runway was in use. I also waited for a light signal from the tower but none came. With hawk eyes looking out for other aircraft I started my appoach and then found my (electric) flaps weren't working fully; Something I had expected and one of the very good reasons we practise flapless landings.

The landing was fine but it turns out that I should have orbited over the top of the field as opposed to next to it. This explains my ticking off by the control tower.

Well you live and learn.

*Note. I have written this within a few minutes of landing so apologies if it sounds dramatic, it is still pretty fresh.

Croc Visit

2004-12-08T13:23:00.000Z

Yesterday, I flew around a great deal of South Florida. 8.2 hours flying time via 9 airfields and 25 landings. You probably realise from the maths that I landed at some of them more than once.

The types of airfields that we fly to vary immensely. Some have a control tower and parallel runways where I might be landing next to turboprops and the odd airliner. Most are uncontrolled, it basically means that you must communicate with all the other planes in the circuit and let each other know where you are. Less confusing than it sounds. Some airfields are really small. One that I stopped at yesterday for fuel, had a man in a caravan and a dog. Knocking on the caravan door, I had images of it being opened by a guy with a shotgun. The door opened and the guy was holding a cat. Ahhh.

Marco Island was another that I stopped at yesterday. The guy there told me about the crocs that they had there(most of florida has freshwater 'gators). He didn't actually say 'Isn't this one a beaut' but he was pretty keen on them and took me in his Gator(4x4 thing not the animal) to see a croc that was sitting by the runway. 'Ahh, it's just a little male' he said. At 8 foot it looked plenty big enough to me though. I said as much, so he took me back to the office and like a new father with baby photos showed me pictures of the 15 foot male they have there. 'Crikey'. Apparently planes often have to go around because they like to bask on the runway and no-one feels like moving them. Fair enough.

There are only 1000 crocs in florida and they have 20 living at the airfield. He feels pretty blessed.

I have also an American cellphone. The number for which is 004 073 347 015. Normal text prices for you and it costs me 10c to text back as opposed to 50p if I were to use my UK SIM.

Going to go plan a flight now, so till next time........