Winter Quickly Ending

With that being said, there is a whole lot of ‘flyin to be had in the new year.

I’ve already coordinated with one of the check pilots at our local flying club, Fox Flying, for my semi-annual checkride process in our club’s Cessna 172SP aircraft. The checkride process is approximately a 1.5 hour ride where I demonstrate my familiarity and competence in the aircraft, mostly related to emergency procedures. These include engine failures, power on/off stalls, slow flights, and off-field landings. The process is mandatory for the club to approve me for solo flight in any of the three club aircraft. I plan to complete this flight sometime in April so I can begin taking more friends up flying.

I have additionally been debating whether I’d like to get checked out in the Piper Archer III aircraft that our club owns. I’ve always wanted to fly this plane even before I was in possession of my PPL. The price point for the rental is more expensive however, ~ $25 per hour. Also, the low wing may prove problematic for all the sight seeing flights I will be taking with my friends. I’m not sure it’s worth the investment at this point, though getting some experience in low-wing aircraft would surely be nice to have and diversifying my portfolio of aircraft I am comfortable to PIC would be nice. Though, as with anything in life, I’m anxious to get over the beginner’s hump in a completely new A/C, I dread such processes. As for trips I will be taking with friends, some I have in mind include:

A breakfast or lunch run to Rochelle. I heard the food is great and the flight is relatively straightforward, just head west!

I plan to complete a lot more dusk/dawn flights with some friends to take in the scenic views of the city during these twilight hours. I’ve always enjoyed watching all the twinkling lights of the city during nighttime.