Sunday, November 23rd

Hi and sorry again for the absence.

Time since the last post has been spent hitting the books... big time. Had to take the three remaining knowledge tests (Commercial - 90%, Flight Instructor Airplane - 86%, Fundamentals Of Instructing - 94%), grinding through an exhausting CFI pre-test and getting ready for the Commercial Multi-Engine checkride, which finally occurred last Thursday. Despite having a bit of a brain fart on the pilotage (visual navigation) part of the ride, the maneuvers, which included steep turns at a 50-degree bank, stalls, Vmc demo, and short-field landing, went pretty well overall and I passed.

Now then...

Tomorrow begins CFI School... the phase where I've seen several of my cohorts break down. Two weeks of intense ground school, peppered with a handful of flights to prep for the three CFI checkrides. When it's all done, I'll have my Commercial Single-Engine to get past, then I'm done.

I was pretty sure that I'd be done in plenty of time for Christmas. My friends here aren't so sure. Regardless, I hear the local Flight Service District Office, which handles part of the checkride process, is closed from Dec. 20th through the end of the year, so I'll have some time to spend at home with the fam and friends before coming back here to finish.

Off to dreamland. Should be reporting a little more often down the home stretch.

Cheers