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Today is Thursday, September 20th. The weather here in Central Texas is finally drier. This has been an unusually wet summer.
But not as hot as I remember from when we lived here before.
What makes this day special, however, it is the day, in 2003, that I received my private pilot's license.I remember the
flight home that day (I had to fly to another airport to take the practical test). I was definitely flying higher than my
airplane. And I'm pretty sure I could have flown home without wings. It was a special accomplishment. Although I have since
obtained lots of other ratings and certificates and have taken many other checkrides (for which I am still nervous, but just
not as much as the first one), that day was truly special.
Flying never gets boring. This evening I took a student out who is just learning to fly. She and her husband own a Cessna
150 Aerobat. It was still warm, but not hot. But the air was smooth and calm. It was quite hazy and as the sun started to
drop toward the horizon, it was hard to see the airport or my key reference points for returning home. Thank goodness for
Lake Georgetown. It was a bright reflection on an otherwise dull ground. We flew the standard starter stuff--turns, climbs,
descents. It was just a great evening to be in the air.
On Monday of this week I headed to LaPorte, Texas to take spin, upset, and aerobatic training at the Harvey & Rihn
Flight School. LaPorte is on the East side of Houston. I almost never fly VFR when I'm going someplace distant and new. And
for sure not through Class B space! But I took the recommendation of my instructor in LaPorte to fly the VFR "I-10"
corridor. I did get flight following. No way was I going to cross that space without talking to a controller! It was truly
awesome. I got a Class B clearance but was held to only 2000 ft while traversing West to East along I-10. Two very busy Class
B airports on either side (Bush and Hobby) and downtown skyscrapers to my immediate right weren't at all intimidating. It
just seemed amazing to be there. I had carefully studied the terminal area chart and found VFR waypoints that traversed the
corridor. I dutifully loaded them in just to be sure I wouldn't stray from my intended and ATC expected path. At the end of
the route, before turning south to LaPorte is the San Jacinto monument. ATC told me to proceed to my destination when I got
to the monument. I explained that this was my first time flying this corridor, that I would look for the monument, but didn't
know what to expect. The controller was fantastic. He described the monument, "you can't miss it, it's a tall obelisk
with a star on top." He then went on to explain its significance in Texas history. As it turns out, it was quite obvious.
There's nothing else around it and it's pretty tall. A great landmark.
The spin training went great. And I'm going back for more next week. This will undoubtedly yield a whole story in itself.
The trip back was equally eventful. I met Debby Rihn-Harvey who owns the Harvey & Rihn Flight school. She is a multitime
national aerobatic champion, a Southwest Airlines Captain, a designated examiner, and a super person. As I was getting ready
to leave for home, she asked, "which way are you going?" I explained West toward Austin. She said, "I'll
follow you!" It took me a couple of seconds to process what she was suggesting. But then the plan. Fly the I-10 corridor,
stay at 1800 ft, agree on a frequency to talk to each other and NOT talk to Houston approach! She'd fly my wing. The trip
across was pretty short (we both had fast planes and a 20 knot tailwind) but it was just another incredible and memorable
day in the air.
See the rest of the pics from that trip:
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