Holds, approaches, holds and more approaches.
No autopilot, all hand flying.
My arms are tired.
I am, however getting less bad at this.
Another couple of hundred hours and I will be ready for my checkride.
I remember him first as James West, that ‘Special Agent” with all the cool gadgets, who always got the job done…
And later, as “Pappy” Boyington, that guy who took a bunch of Ner-Do Well pilots and forged them into a fighting force that, again, always got the job done. A Patriot who knew he (and his men) was expendable if it drove the Japs back and saved the lives of American Servicemen.
His legacy will live on in my memory.
Dude at the airport had found out the hard way that his Jeep’s four wheel drive only helps so much, and 4wd doesn’t help your braking or turning when the coefficient of friction is approaching zero. He slid off the road on a corner…
Not a big deal, he should have been able to back up, except that the ground was a bit soft and he got one wheel stuck in the mud and what with only two wheels on solid ground (the other one was in the air) and they being on different axles, he couldn’t put enough torque to the ground to back the vehicle out of the predicament he was in. (yeah, I know, proper application of brake would likely have solved that problem…I tried to explain but gave up…..)
I stopped (I really had to unless I wanted to go four wheeling) and asked if he had a tow strap. Which he did. Still in the shrink wrap from the factory. He wanted me to just stand on the bumper to tip the jeep instead of using the brand new tow strap for me to pull him out. (It was a high dollar bright green thing that he didn’t want to get dirty….Dude, it’s a TOW STRAP, fer chrissake)….and since he wasn’t willing to get his tow strap dirty I wasn’t gonna offer mine either.
Anyway, not knowing this dude, I didn’t trust him enough to stand on his bumper while he tried to drive out of a bit of mud (He might josle me off and run me over), so I suggested he might use the Hi-Lift jack he had mounted across the hood in some really nice custom looking mounts…That should tip the jeep up and he could simply back away from the jack which would fall away.
His reply? “I don’t know how to use it, it’s just something “Jeep People” have”….He had no idea how useful a Hi-Lift Jack can be. To him, it was a fashion accessory, not a tool. I suggested he learn WHY “Jeep People” have them…..
Sad.
I then suggested that if he wanted me to pull him out he’s better get that high dollar tow strap dirty or else call a tow truck.
He got it unwrapped and 2 minutes later it was dirty… and I had hooked it to my front bumper with a clevis and 30 seconds later he was free of the slippery mud. I unhooked his strap and went on my way….
I just find it hard to believe that someone would have a $130 dollar jack with another $100 accessory kit with a couple of hundred dollars worth of mounts and have NO IDEA how to use it. Or, really, even what it was for.…
Some people have more money than sense, I guess. I really think that his excursion today was the farthest off road his Jeep had been….
I mean…wine IS grape juice, right????
Yet we heard a terrible shrieking outcry when Donald J Trump wanted essentially the same thing, only when it was Muslims from certain countries, wanted TIME to have them vetted to be sure we weren’t allowing dangerous ideologies and potential terrorists into the country , potentially endangering the citizens of the US.
I guess they simply didn’t think that they could use this current (and equally valid) precaution for the safety of the citizens of the US as a stick to beat the President with….
But what will the Dems whine about now??
What will the press talk about endlessly now that the charge has finally wound down to a full stop?
But hey, class is something you reach for, but never quite grasp, innit?
I hadn’t flown an Instrument lesson for all that time.
Today was clear below 12,000. Perfect flying weather.
Except.
The winds were at 21 gusting 34 from 270.
58 at 300 feet.
I was scheduled to fly at 11 AM with one instructor. Cancelled that one. Not a chance that I would learn anything trying to hold in those winds.
And another lesson scheduled at 2 PM with another instructor.
We cancelled that one as well. Other flight schools were cutting their flight lessons short due to turbulence.
Maybe today.
This has been an odd winter, weather wise.
Instead, I practiced my draws and pint shooting indoors with my favorite 1911 and the Coolfire trainer.
I should have been studying for my Written test, but my brain is full right now.
I understand who the performers were, but still. This is, after all, the USA.
Pepsi is getting less and less American.
I’d be that this is a major marketing fail, really.
Even most gay people I am acquainted with dislike androgynous flamers.
Whatever “woke” ad agency chose this as a marketing theme should return their fees.