Some (very) tattooed up chick complaining that her job doesn’t let her save up enough to be able to deal with this Covid-19 caused shutdown.

Yep, It’s the fault of her job.

In 2009, when we had the Swine Flu epidemic, there were no shortages of hospital beds in the United States. Nor were there shortages of staff nor shortages of protective equipment for the staff.

That was, of course, before BarryCare.

Now, of course, there are great fears that there will not be enough hospital beds, staff to use them and care for patients, and there is nearly no long term stock of protective equipment for the staff.

Can we blame this all on BarryCare? Perhaps not all of it.
But mostly, yeah, these shortages ARE the result of our Socialized Medicine Program

Or, in this case, Train like you Fly.

Got my first taste of flying an approach in real IMC.

It really wasn’t a big deal. Just like flying with foggles, only minus the foggles.

Altitude and position and decent rate. Time turn twist throttle talk. (and flaps and lights). Pretty much that simple. 

One ILS and one LPV RNav approach.

At the end of it, fly the needles and watch your airspeed.

One was to circling minimums and the other was straight in..

It is nice to break out of actual clouds and find the runway right where it is supposed to be….

That last run before the end.

And there WAS NO BACON AT BEEF MART!!!

Shit just got REAL.

Another “Hitler” video.

I LOL’d.

So either the kids in high school (and lower grades also) are getting a less than stellar education for the next month or so, as schools are closed and the “alternate curriculum” is enacted, or we are learning that we really don’t need to have all those teachers and school facilities wasting our tax dollars in an attempt to teach kids in the old fashioned way.

I mean, if these kids are learning just as much doing the “Distance Learning”, then why do we need classrooms and such???For that matter, do we need all those teachers as well?

Or, are the kids getting a substandard level of education and the teachers are, in fact, needed and the kids are simply not getting an education to the same standard as before, and how much effect will that have on them in the future?

Are they gonna extend the time for school attendance into the summer months to make up for this time or are they simply gonna give up and let that portion of the curriculum go and let the kids have gaps in their education?

Do we really need teachers and classrooms anymore or not?

Thus far, no one has addressed this issue . But I think someone should.

Make no mistake, I think that the school closures can help prevent the transmission of disease, assuming kids are not passing it anyway in their social interactions during the time that they have off from school….If they stay home and don’t wander the streets, then this can work. If they don’t, then likely this is a waste of time…..and education.

Schools are closed in Chicago.
Probably a good idea, if, as we are told (repeatedly and often by the media) that the coronavirus epidemic is gonna get bigger.

But the Chicago Park District, in order to support all the parents who need to find some place to park their kids who were normally watched over by the State daycare in school, will be having “Age appropriate activities” for kids during the day…..

A great idea. but they will be packing “Not more than 50” kids into the rooms for those “activities” .
Yeah, rooms not in schools with 50 kids in them is better than rooms with 30 or so in classrooms….

Missing the point, innit? How is one better than the other? 

So I had been doing a lot of instrument training but not much “real” flying. You know, place to place, landing and debarking from the airplane and then taking off again….

Mostly going place to place and flying approaches, but not really landing, except for that single one at the end just before i put the plane away..

And my landings were becoming less and less on the side of “perfect” and getting a bit rougher.

Sunday was clear, and if a bit windy, not too turbulent nor gusty.

Also, my dad had asked me to take an aerial photo or three of a structure about 30 miles away. Since the day was clear, sunny and bright, I decided to get him his aerial photos….and do some touch and goes.

Flew to Kgyy and did a touch and go on 02 (winds were 020 at 10) The ATIS said the PAPI was out of service, and it was somewhat weird flying a final with only 2 lights showing that I was high (2 whites, no reds) and yet I knew that I was pretty much on the glide slope. Did a nice touch and go anyway and then asked for permission to depart to the west and take my pictures….the place was just on the edge of their airspace.

I got my permission and flew west 4 miles and took my pictures, orbiting for 5 minutes or so, then called for and got permission to depart to the south and back to my home airport. Oddly, the normally grumpy controllers at Kgyy were very accommodating today.

Flew south, departed their airspace and then turned east-ish and flew 35 or so miles back home.
Did 6 touch and goes on rwy 36 with a wind at 040 (ish) at 7-12 knots… did 2 that were “Meh”, two that were “acceptable”,  and the last two were pretty good, the second to last even dealing with a pretty good side gust.

Like shooting well, landing well takes practice to keep the hands and eyes calibrated and the muscle memory fresh. I shoot weekly, and have lots of practice…landings are still being beaten into my brain.

But it was a nice day to fly.