Monday, January 5th

Almost there...

Well, my grand social blogging experiment didn't quite work the way I wanted. Sorry for the update delays. I knew this past month was gonna be tough, and I thought I was prepared, but nope. I think I can summarize my December in one picture.

After CFI ground school wrapped up a week or so after Thanksgiving, we took to the books hard while we waited for our turn at the FAA Flight Standards District Office for our CFI Initial oral exam and checkride. Lucky me... mine was one of the first scheduled, for December 15th, to be followed by the checkride on the next day.

After a handful of sleepless nights leading up to that Monday, I arrived at the FSDO (located at the Fort Worth Alliance Airport) and met my examiner, who promptly quizzed me about everything I've learned since I've been here. Five hours later, I headed home with a promise that we would continue for another hour or two the next day to wrap up. Sure enough, another two hours on Tuesday and we were done.

I can't take anymore. I feel like I just gave birth... to an accountant!

To complicate things, that Tuesday was socked in with the first big winter weather of the season. Freezing rain, low ceilings... unflyable, so we rescheduled the flight for the 18th. And of course, the 18th rolled up with no change in the weather, so we rescheduled for after Christmas... the 29th.

ATP closed down for the holidays which, since I live here, gave me plenty of time in an empty building to stew over my remaining checkrides. It was a long week, but fairly productive.

By the 29th the weather had cleared up beautifully. About 40 degrees and dry, with barely any wind. The weather gods were smiling on me this day. Instructor Walt and I take a quick Seminole flight up to Alliance Airport to pick up the FAA examiner. A quick preflight, and we're off. I was nervous as hell, to be honest... and it showed. After teaching the examiner (as I would a first-time flyer) the finer points of taxiing, I accidentally skipped a checklist before heading out to the runway... something I had never done before. The tower cleared me to take off, and I realized my mistake. Instead, I nervously asked the tower for clearance to taxi back to the run-up area, which was approved. I headed back to the run-up area and completed my checklist. The examiner stayed silent.

It was only after takeoff, when I realized that I hadn't busted this checkride, that my nerves calmed down and I was able to concentrate and deliver a pretty nice flight. Flew northwest to Lake Bridgeport and did lots of maneuvers... slow flight, stalls, Vmc demo, drag demo, single-engine failure, turns around a point, then back to Alliance for short-field takeoffs and landings, and a single-engine landing. Checkride passed, and I can now call myself a Certified Flight Instructor.

I had the Instructor-Instrument checkride on the 2nd, which was nearly identical to the original Instrument checkride in October and went pretty well. Funny how much I needed to refresh on, though... a lot of this stuff tends to slip when not used for a while.

One more remains... the Single, scheduled for tomorrow but moved to Wednesday due to more of this crap. What the hell... I'm already a month overdue and the coffee's still free.

The cord gets cut this week, and then I get to decide what to do with the rest of my life. Suggestions graciously appreciated.

Tuesday, October 21st (x-country!)

"Hope not in sight."

Been busy since the checkride. A full day of Crew Resource Management ground school with two hours in the sim on Saturday, then a Sunday night trial flight to Tulsa with instructor Jeremy K. in the left seat and me flying from the right. Monday is the first day of having to call into ATP dispatch for a flying assignment, but Jeremy tells me not to expect anything since my paperwork from the Tulsa flight takes some time to get processed.

0700 Monday, ATP Dispatch - "You're flying with Daniel P. in 264AT to Millington, Tennessee. Wheels up ASAP."

So much for having Monday off. I hastily throw together an overnight bag with a change of clothes (just in case) and head for the airport, where Dan and I check the weather, assemble and file our flight plan, and head out to the ramp. We flip a coin to determine the order of assignments. Dan was to fly outbound from the right seat, with me manning the navigation and radios from the left, then switching roles and seats for the return flight.

It's a very exciting time. This phase is the meat-n-pertaters of this program... 75 hours of instructor-less cross-country flying to be completed in 24 days. I'll meet new students as they're assigned to me and get to see parts of the country from vantages I've never experienced. It's also the time to really get comfortable with flying the Seminole and getting the feel for all of its systems without the instructor's watchful eye tensing up the cabin air. For now, I'm just stoked that my first cross-country is with Dan... my classmate from the beginning.

After we take off and get vectored by ATC to the east, we start intercepting VOR radials to track our trip through Arkansas. Texarkana, Pine Bluff, Gilmore, Millington. Between radio calls and occasional navaid adjustments I have plenty of time to sit and reflect on just how much we've accomplished during the past few months. Amazing.


In our haste to leave Arlington, we forgot to ask anybody about what to see/do/eat in Millington, a favorite fueling stop for ATP aircraft. The friendly old guy behind the counter greeted us and handed us the keys to the courtesy car (a Buick) and Dan and I go scouting. Since dispatch only gave us a short turnaround to get airborne for our return flight, we had to make it quick... a Little Caesar's pizza pickup and we return to the FBO to chow down. Another flight plan, preflight, and we're off... this time with me flying from the right and Dan navigating from the left.

Flying from the right seat is a bit of a chore so far, especially after being so accustomed to flying from the other side for my entire aviation career up to this point. The gauges are all on the other side, and I'm now forced to use my left hand to operate the switches and levers while steering with my right... it's not unlike driving in England. Much of this burden is eased by my co-pilot's presence though, since I don't have to concentrate nearly as much on mapping and communication. Still... quite an adjustment.

Three hours and ten minutes later, I land back at Arlington at the very last hint of sunlight, tie the aircraft down, and shake my partner's hand. We have survived.


Oh, and...

Flying near Hope, Arkansas (aka Bill Clintonburg), we hear the following over the radio from Little Rock Approach, addressing a jet inbound to Hope Municipal Airport.

"Citation Lima November, do you have Hope in sight?"

"Negative, Approach... Hope not in sight."

Bummer.

Saturday, October 4th

Two great flights to report. On Wednesday Troy and I flew to College Station to shoot some approaches. A bit shaky on the first, better on the second, and the third was this one back home into Arlington.



I was about 8 miles out, about to intercept the ILS for this runway when Troy cuts the power on my left engine to idle... simulated engine failure. We had done this several times, but this was the first time trying it while attempting to maintain the glideslope into the runway and under the Foggles. As you can see, I wound up a bit long, but I was pretty happy with my first attempt under those conditions.

--

Friday night was the biggie. The 300-mile marathon... and back. It's actually a requirement for the commercial certificate, which is coming up, but ATP kills two birds with one stone by having us shoot instrument approaches along the way, all under the Foggles. I preflight 4917A and file for...

- Arlington to Mineral Wells, GPS approach. Nailed it, then went missed (intentionally didn't land)
- Mineral Wells to Abilene, VOR approach. Nailed it, then went missed again.
- Abilene to Midland, ILS approach. Another good one, this time to a full stop.

We meet up with another Seminole team (instructor Aaron and student Adam) in Midland, grab the FBO's courtesy car and grab a bite to eat, then take off again...

Midland to Alliance for 10 VFR night take-offs and landings. I had been here before in the Cessna, but this was the first time since I had worked out the kinks in my landings, and the first time in the Seminole.

We had finished a few when Aaron and Adam came in behind us to do the same. Once again we pick a night with no other traffic using the airport, so the tower assigned the left pattern for 16L to A&A and the right pattern for 16R to Troy and I. It didn't take long before we were flying in tandem, like looking into a mirror, including the base leg for landing, in which we momentarily are flying head-on. This is a humbling enough experience during the day, but when it's night, with another plane's landing light shining in my face... oy. I don't mind telling you that I peed a little.

Ten laps in a traffic pattern is draining enough, but we're not done. Last stop is Cleburne, where we shoot a visual approach and land.

"Back home, boss?" I ask Troy, who looks at his watch and sighs.

"We've got another hour left."

We head for the practice area south of Arlington and well, just fly around. Rather pleasant, but it's now 0100 and we've been flying with only one break since 1700, and consciousness is getting scarce. Aaron shares an idea on the radio.

"I'm asking ATC if they'll vector us through DFW so we can take a tour."

The airspace around DFW is extremely busy and as such, air traffic control keeps very tight control of it. However, in the wee small hours on a Friday night even controllers get bored. Sure enough, ATC clears A&A to fly direct over DFW airport and east to downtown Dallas. Troy and I wait a bit for spacing, then get request and get cleared to do the same. This was a pretty sweet ending to the evening... got great views of the big airport from 3,500 feet and then did a lap around downtown Dallas at 2,500 feet... both areas normally verboten for civil aircraft.

A few more stop-and-goes at Arlington and we're done.

My head hit the pillow at 0300... hard.

Friday, September 26th

Lots going on here, but nothing that would make for solid copy. Mostly book learnin' and studying up for our written instrument test, which should be in the next few days. Checkride in about two weeks. And my instructor Troy is getting hitched this weekend, so we got subs for a few days.

Went up yesterday afternoon to practice approaches and holds after a disastrous morning session in the sim* which rattled my confidence. The flight went great... shot a VOR-DME approach and a GPS approach (the Seminoles all have dual Garmin GNS 430s, by the way) at Corsicana which both went good, then an ILS approach back into Arlington which was damn near perfect. Feeling great about my progress.

--

Nearly everyday I read the online version of my hometown paper, uniontrib.com, and today they reminded me of the 30th anniversary of the crash of PSA flight 182. Sorry to wax sentimental about such a morose topic, especially on a blog that's meant to spin aviation as a wonderful pursuit, but it's weighing on my mind. Christ... 30 years.

I was a second-grader at Francis Parker School on September 25th, 1978 when word came in before lunch that a plane had crashed in North Park and that a lot of people had died. A 7-year old doesn't have much concept of such things, but I knew that my sister Maggie lived in North Park, so I got pretty scared until I discovered upon returning home that she was okay. Ever since, I've been fascinated with that incident. As the years went on and I matured along with the historical significance, I realized just how much PSA and that crash meant to San Diego (its headquarters).

In fact, my first memory of flying was on a PSA plane, on a night flight as a toddler (from L.A. to San Diego, Mom reminds me). One of their famously gorgeous stewardesses asked me if I wanted some ice cream. Presumably with Mom's approval, she led me by the hand up to the galley and helped me make a sundae... fudge, nuts, whipped cream, everything... in a glass bowl! Try getting that kind of service on a 10-hour flight these days, much less a 40-minute hop.

30 years!

Events like these are a reality that pilots and passengers face, but from them is born new technology that keeps us all pretty safe, and I, for one, am quite grateful for it.


* thanks for reminding me... it's technically a "flight training device", not a simulator. I wish sarcastic inflection was an option in written form.

We have three of these at Arlington. It my not look like a whole lot, but has features that make it remarkably close to flying the Seminole. In fact, controlling this thing is a bitch... much tougher than the real thing, since the "outdoors" are only found immediately in front of the left seat and of course, the "seat of the pants" sensations are missing. Still a pretty good trainer, though. We're getting to know each other quite well...

Monday, September 22nd

Quick one...

Yesterday was a very good day overall. Sim and ground school in the morning, learning about ILS approaches, GPS approaches, missed-approach procedures, holds and fixes.

About 1700 I file an IFR flight plan to Waco and back to try this stuff in a real-world environment. Going up in 6816A, a brand-new 2008 Seminole. First of all, my radio calls are getting much better. Some ATC highlights from the flight...

"Seminole 6816A, cleared to KACT via JPOOL3 departure, Waco transition, climb and maintain 2,000, expect 6,000 after 10 minutes, departure frequency 128.62, squawk 5515."

(after a simulated missed approach into Waco) "Seminole 6816A, roger going missed, proceed as published, right turn to 2-5-0, climb and maintain 3,000, expect vectors for approach."

Standard stuff, actually. Typing this out now, it seems terribly easy, but to the ear of a student like me... listening to, comprehending, reading back and executing all this information while trying to stay airborne in moderate turbulence is definitely a learned skill. Looking forward to getting good at it.

Ended the evening at buddy Dave's (happy birthday, man!) house with carnitas and Monday Night Football. My Chargers put a cherry on a fine day, beating the Jets 48-29.


Ground school, practice written tests, and more simulator today. More reports as they become interesting.

Sunday, September 21st

Instrument phase! The meat of the whole program... learning how to fly a plane with no outside visual references while following ATC orders to the letter. It's tough to get the hang of!

I mentioned in earlier posts about getting some exposure to instrument flying during the time-building phase of the Cessna program, but now it's getting pretty intense, because I'm expected to act as pilot-in-command. Trial by fire.

Last night I took my first flight since my instrument checkride on Tuesday. At 1700 Troy and I went wheels-up in Seminole 6865A for Tulsa (Jones Airport again) flying VFR under a IFR flight plan. We get instructions for 4,000 feet as we crossed to the west of Dallas/Fort Worth airspace, and I suddenly get a taste of what it's like sharing the air with big planes as two commercial jets passed across our nose. Frontier Airlines Airbus at 11 o'clock, eastbound, 2,000 feet above us. American Eagle RJ, 10 o'clock, eastbound, 1,000 feet above us. Very exciting to be so close. Camera will be nearer to me for future flights.

Nearing Jones at twlight, we get vectored to the north to position for runway 19 right, behind three T-6 Texans that were flying in for what turned out to be a charity party in the hangar of the FBO we were heading for.

A quick bite to eat in the town of Jenks and we're heading home. This time Troy asks for and receives clearance for a cruise altitude of 10,000 feet... a new record for me. In an unpressurized cabin like this one, this means we gotta watch each other for signs of hypoxia, although neither of us is very worried... it's only a two hour flight. The Seminole got to 8,000 feet in no time... the remaining 2,000 feet seemed to take an eternity.

I've said it before... night flying is absolutely amazing. Cool stable air, less traffic (and friendlier controllers... a nice by-product) and not much to do except enjoy the scenery, above and below. The precision approach path lights are out at runway 16 at Arlington, so I'm on my own for establishing my glideslope back home. I nailed it. Not that tough, actually.

This phase requires a lot of book-learnin'... tons of ground school, studying, and training in the simulator to learn about approach plates, holds, fixes, and a bevy of other rather important details to make me a safe pilot. Stay tuned... after the instrument checkride in a few weeks comes the dual cross-country trips, when I'm paired with another student instead of an instructor. This should be fun...

Oh, and the primary lesson learned from Saturday's flight. The worst Italian food in the world is not found at Olive Garden. It's at Mazzio's of Jenks, Oklahoma. Please take heed when rolling though, my friends.

Monday, September 8th (first day of ACPP)

After being off since August 20th, barely knowing what to do with myself except study in-between watching the Olympics and election coverage, it's time to get back to work, learning the Piper PA-44 Seminole for ATP's Airline Career Pilot Program.


I had four days last week to visit my sister and brother-in-law in New Jersey, and also had a night to spend with friends in Manhattan (see Jersey Boys at full price... the drummer's got a little one on the way!). Had to get the hell out of Texas and not think about flying for a few days. I think it did the trick. Got back Saturday, barely missing the remnants of Hurricane Hanna as it threatened NYC.

Today went much like the first day of the private program... lots of paperwork, a visit from the chief pilot, test results and logbook review. This time, however, I'm paired with one guy (old reliable Daniel) instead of being lumped into a class of six. The instruction already seems far more personable and easier to absorb. Good thing, too... because this is going to be a serious challenge. Flying a twin-engine requires more advanced knowledge of aerodynamic principles, and well... there's twice as much to go wrong with another engine!

Used a long break in the day to go out and sit in a Seminole for a while, to get formally acquainted. Feels like a blind date. "I've read about you and heard so much about you... I can't believe we finally get to meet!" She didn't return the compliment. Not yet, anyway.

I get asked frequently what I'll be doing next. Today's activity made this clearer. This week I'll be learning the Seminole from top to bottom, first on the ground, then in the simulator, then the first actual flight should be Wednesday if the weather holds up (it's raining now). By next Wednesday, I'll have my private multi-engine checkride. Scary to think... my checkride is scheduled but I haven't even flown this thing yet. Haven't even been in the sim yet! I trust that my school knows what they're doing. The next 30 days will be training for my instrument rating, which is a major headache. I've seen adult male tears shed over that one, so I hope I can keep up. The reward for passing the instrument checkride is that I'll graduate to the most fun part of this whole experience... dual cross-countries. I'll be paired with another student and will get to fly ACTUAL cross-countries, to California, Florida... and everywhere in between. Commercial ratings (single and multi-engine) come next, followed by Flight Instructor school. If all goes to plan, by mid-December I'll be done and holding enough certifications to land a job, probably as a CFI at first.

I had a nice surprise on the ramp when I was greeted by this.


The Arizona Commemorative Air Force is visiting Arlington and giving rides in this beautiful B-17 for the next few days. Since it's parked right next to ATP's ramp, Daniel and I moseyed over and got a closer look. I asked the man shown here, who was watching over things, where he was from. In a thick accent, he smiled and answered, "Germany. It is first time here."

I complimented him on the aircraft and lamented that I wouldn't be taking a ride today, then walked away puzzled, wondering if there any Japanese tour guides at Pearl Harbor.

First simulator flight at 0730 tomorrow.

Tomorrow's episode... "Simulated Inverted Flat Spins And The Students Who Love Them"

August 08, 2008 (private pilot checkride)

The final prep flight on Thursday didn't go well, as I was staying a step behind the procedures, seemingly always preoccupied with one thing or another, rather than looking ahead to the next item on my checklist or getting set for the next arrival. My landings also took a step backward, all of which concerned me since, as Ben reminded me ad-nauseum, my final exam was tomorrow. I spent the evening preparing the necessary navigation log for a flight from Arlington to Hillsboro to Lubbock, and getting quizzed for the oral exam by my roommate Joe, who went through this only a month ago and was a huge help. I still didn't sleep well that night.

0545 - I report to school to check on the weather and complete the endless array of paperwork needed to complete the upcoming tasks. At 0630 I'm greeted by K.B., a friendly 60-ish man who's one of ATP's two designated checkride examiners. Behind a closed office door, we sit down and he tells me what to expect about today's events. After the oral exam, we'll take a flight where I will be, in effect, carrying my first passenger and he'll expect a nice ride.

"Tell me about your aircraft."
"Tell me about the engine in your aircraft."
"Describe the electrical system in your aircraft."
"What are the required inspections needed for your aircraft and how often do they need it?"
"Tell me the V-speeds for this aircraft."
"Define density altitude."
"What's advection fog?"
"What's hypoxia? How can you tell if someone has it and what do you do about it?"
"Carbon monoxide poisoning... same questions."
"Describe wind shear."
"What's P-factor?"
"Define adverse yaw."
"Show me on the map where a Mode C transponder is required."
"What's the minimum visibility requirements for VFR flight in class G airspace at night?"

And on... for two hours.

When I was twelve, I competed in the San Diego County Spelling Bee. I couldn't tell you what words I spelled correctly, but I'll never forget the word I tanked*. Similarly, I'll always remember the one question that I completely missed on this day.

"Is participation in separation services mandatory in a Terminal Radar Service Area?"

Turns out that it's not. I still passed.

I drew a lucky card in getting 441CA, the bird that got me through my first set of good landings and my first solo. A call to weather services confirmed what I was a little worried about... the nearby front had shifted the winds and instead of taking off from the usual runway 1-6, I had to depart from 3-4, which I hadn't done before. No big deal, really... but I'm starting to wonder if there were any more curveballs coming my way.

Good takeoff and smooth air heading south toward Hillsboro. About halfway there, K.B. asks me to divert to Lancaster. Christ... Pennsylvania? California? I hadn't even heard of the Texas one. I whipped out my sectional chart and found it... just beyond good ol' Mid-Way Airport, where I'd been a hundred times, and was within sight at my 8-o'clock. I turned and headed that way, which put us on a perfect course for Lancaster. After I convinced him that I knew what I was doing navigationally, he had me demonstrate some maneuvers. Steep turns, check. Slow flight, check. Power-on stall, check. Power-off stall, check. Emergency landing, check.

"Never mind Lancaster. Take me to Mid-Way and show me some landings."

Along the way, K.B. hands me a things-that-can-go-wrong list. "What would you do if you experienced each of these?"

• partial or complete power loss
• engine roughness or overheat
• carb icing or induction icing
• loss of oil pressure
• fuel starvation
• electrical malfunction
• vacuum/pressure and associated instrument malfunction
• pitot/static malfunction
• landing gear or flap malfunction
• inoperative trim
• inadvertent door or window opening
• structural icing
• smoke/fire/engine compartment fire

I fight the urge to offer the funny answer, which is of course, "All at once? Crap my pants." Instead, I think out each one and answer well enough to keep going.

Short-field and soft-field takeoffs and landings at Mid-Way (also on the runway opposite the one I'm used to) go well. Keep in mind... a pilot on a checkride is waiting to hear the words "take me back to our airport". The earlier it's said, the worse the news. It's about this time that I hear it from K.B., and I'm only mostly sure that it's good news. A well-executed short-field landing and a taxi back to our ramp later, K.B. breathes.

"Congratulations. You've passed this test." I'm a pilot.

More paperwork and some congratulations from my mates back at the classrooms, and I'm off for the rest of the day. Celebration dinner and beers at Dave & Brittany's, where I'm asleep before midnight. I've got tomorrow off to let it all sink in.


* Jacamar. Not J-A-C-K-A-M-A-R.

Friday, August 1st

Well, it was shaping up to be another day in class, grounded by unfavorable atmospheric conditions. No thunderstorms today, but now the issue is haze and crosswinds. Even though I've done a ton of crosswind landings with a pilot in the right seat, school policy won't let me solo with a crosswind component greater than 7 knots. KCRS (Corsicana) reported crosswinds of 9 knots at 0800. Grumble.

By 1100, that crosswind was reported at 8 knots, and by 1pm... 4 knots. Go time for my 50nm cross-country. Visibility listed at 10 miles, but Matt warns us (having just flown) that he suspects less through the haze, so be careful. Daniel, (flying his 150 miler), Mike (first solo this morning, first cross-country this afternoon), and I preflight our planes. Today my flavor is 9485 Zulu, a steady mount that has treated me well before.

Oh, and it's 106 degrees on the ramp. Around here they call it 'balmy'.

We finally got a pretty good taste of the fun yet to come in next phases of this program... preflighting, taxiing, and flying together as a team. Daniel got a sizable headstart on us, since he had further to go and not much time to waste, but I stayed behind Mike all the way to Corsicana. Mike had already done a touch-and-go by the time I arrived, and Daniel was climbing out to head for Cleburne. I also landed, came to a full-stop, and taxied back around to do it again. One more and it was time to head home. Once again, Mike got ahead of me by about 10 miles but we kept a close 'radio eye' on each other. Along the way, I made my YouTube debut.



This was over Bardwell Lake, which doesn't show up. That's the Texas Motorplex (a drag strip, not to be confused with Texas Motor Speedway) just ahead of the right wing strut.

I wish I could really explain what I love about this. Amongst the noise and stress of watching traffic and gauges, there's an amazing sense of peaceful solitude up here. As I get better and better at this, I'm sure that sensation will amplify, and I can't wait to get there.

My first solo landing at Arlington wasn't exactly textbook. Approach procedures were perfect to the letter, but as I was on a 45-degree entry for left downwind, the tower and another Cessna miscommunicated and I wound up flying next to her on the remainder of the downwind, which was an odd predicament. Tower thought she was departing to the south, but she re-entered the pattern instead. I couldn't do a 360-degree turn to space us out, since traffic from Grand Prairie Airport was just off to my right. Tower requested an immediate short approach from the other plane, she complied and disappeared onto the runway, and I continued downwind, base, and final. Forgot to retract the flaps before my taxi back to the ramp, but other than that, I think we can chalk this flight up as a success.

It's Daniel's birthday. Burgers and beers at Cheddar's (next to the apartment), then home.

Next... the 150nm cross-country and checkride preps!

Tuesday, July 8th

1st day of class yesterday. Check-in details at 8am (passport, medical certificate, etc.), then introductions and orientation. As expected, I'm the old fart. The remaining 5 in my class range from 21-25. Hell, the oldest instructor I've met is 28. Afternoon spent watching Flight 101 videos. Homework is chapter 2 of the text which I've read about 5 times already.

2nd day today. Review of chapter 2 (aced) and chatted about maneuvers and expectations for the program and from their students. We all got a visit and stern talkin-tuh from the chief pilot, who warned us of the hazards of falling behind (25% washout rate!) and breaking/bending the ATP code-of-conduct. Shouldn't be an issue (as I sit here with a Heineken in my hand).

Airborne by 3pm... first flight in the Cessna 172R, ident N920TA. I missed the opportunity to snap a picture of her, since her next flight was to ATP's Houston location, but I have attached a pic of her twin sister. I'll start bringing my camera to class.

ANYWAY... preflight checklist, taxi and takeoff clearance, and full throttle up done by yours truly. Takeoff roll and climb done with help, but I was given the controls back at about 200ft and was tasked with taking us to 2500ft and on south to the practice area above Venus, Maypearl, and Alvarado TX . Completed some basic maneuvers, including a 180-degree turn. Not much traffic... just two Southwest 737s above us (both on approach to Dallas Love Field) and a fellow classmate behind and below me in another Cessna. Moderate turbulence (hot day, gusty winds, thermals). Got us back to Arlington and into the landing pattern before instructor Sean took over the base and final legs for landing. He says the next landing is all mine. Sean's a good and patient instructor... he's a veteran of the same program. Finished the day soaked with sweat (heat, not nerves), and feeling pretty satisfied with 1.5 hours in my logbook. I'm happy with the Dallas location choice for several reasons (heavy traffic area, Dave nearby), but there's another reason I hadn't considered... there's no terrain here! These flat Texas horizons make maintaining orientation difficult, and that challenge will make me a pretty good pilot, methinks.

Tomorrow is chapter 3 review, steep turns, and ground reference maneuvers (staying oriented while making different types of turns). They don't dawdle, these guys.