Two Pilots & an LSW: Banner

Today was a banner day on all fronts.

It started off in the Champ out at Glenndale. Well, it didn't start so well there as we couldn't get the plane started, didn't have gloves, wore out three people trying to start it before the owner came out and helped us. But after THAT it was a banner day. :D I enjoyed riding around in it so much that after we landed for gas, I had him start me up again and I went up by myself to work on getting more proficient than I felt. The 3-point landing was too easy on that nice day so I did some wheel landings, some wheel touch and goes, and a little bit of one wheel stuff. I messed with keeping super tight patterns without power in, and just basically had some fun with it. I also went up and did some air work, "dutch rolls" as they're known, stalls, rather steep turns, etc. It felt good, I enjoyed all that.

Then it was time for lunch, which included fudgy brownies and fried chicken, and how can you go wrong with that?!

Finally it was time to go fly with my student I was trying to solo. Winds were light and variable, but that actually messes more with him than a stronger steady wind. If he can memorize the conditions of the day, he's fine that day. If anything comes up unexpectedly, if last time he needed right rudder and this time he needs left rudder, he can't switch to that well. We flew for an hour and a half, and he wasn't giving me 3 consistent landings in a row, and I thought, man, I'm not going to be able to send him off. And then he started making them...not great, but safe. And he did a bunch of safe ones in a row, and I told him if he can give me three more safe ones in a row, I'll get out. He did, so I did. He went off and did five or six solo landings, and I was a little nervous but not as much as I expected to be. I watched through my camera, and his first 3 were great. His 4th and 5th he pulled too hard and ballooned up, but he handled it perfectly and came down just fine. When he came back to pick me up, he was crying, very emotional, and hard to understand (he has a thick Indian accent). He will be leaving soon for the next 2 months at least, but he can go back to his family with this accomplishment under his belt anyway.

While I was watching him fly solo, I got a text from Kaylee that said "Hey Moooooom? Guess what?" Then she sent another text that said "You had better answer because whatever you are doing, this is more important." Heh. She then said that she got into Starlets. I could have started jumping up and down in the middle of the FBO. I seriously thought about it. Then she said "Grandma Stants jumped up and down screaming. Is it safe for her to jump up and down whilst screaming?" Haha. I then sent a text that said "Let her have her screaming and jumping! I'm SO DARNED HAPPY FOR YOU! I AM HUMPING TOO!" Okay, I didn't have my glasses on. She comes back with "O MY GOSH MOM AUTOCORRECT! CAN I SEND THIS TO DARNYOUAUTOCORRECT.COM?" with three crying laughing emoticons. Whoops.

She said that when she saw her name on the list, she couldn't really believe it. She took a picture of the list because her friends had agreed they'd send the list on to those who couldn't be there, without comment. She had to keep looking at the list and seeing her name on there to believe it. She said as she was standing there staring at the list, she started to tear up, had to wipe away a few tears. The girl under her on the list is one of her best friends, and she got in too. Out of her group of about a dozen friends who tried out, five of them actually made it in. Starlets now consists of people who were already in the group as well as the 7 or 9 (can't remember) new slot additions.

Because I was flying, Steve had to pick her up after school, and we were both dreading how sad she'd be if she didn't get in. He said when she came out to the car, she was trying to Poker Face it, but she couldn't sustain it for long and as soon as she got in, he knew. He said she was so lit up and happy and excited that it made HIS eyes water too. I think the only person that didn't shed tears yesterday was me! But I was really happy! :)

After I was done flying, I did a little ground school on IFR stuff, and then took Kaylee to her voice lesson, where she got to talk to her singing coach about getting into Starlets. Her teacher was really happy for her and her other students that got in. They came to the conclusion that this lady's students were some of the only ones who had created hand motions and light dance motions to go along with their audition song...and that the panel of 9 judges had apparently liked and appreciated that. When you've got 100 kids who can sing, any way in which you can stand out is important. So Kaylee, while she'd sing "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair", would scrub at and flip her hair around, for example, which made the judges smile.

Kaylee said right after her audition, she came out and thought "Hey, I didn't make any mistakes, that went pretty well!" And then she said she started thinking about it, and remembered a hop she didn't make, and thought her voice might have been a little shaky, and she didn't look as confident as she wanted when she first got in there because she wasn't sure where she was supposed to go for a second, and then she decided it just wasn't as good as it should have been. She said she wasn't sure any more but wasn't as confident. I know how that goes--you run through things in your mind after the fact. I knew she had the ability to get in, but with that many people trying out, well...I'm relieved. And really happy for her. The girl is a walking advertisement for being able to accomplish what you set your mind to and work hard for. She practiced that song for months, and that dance every day, non stop, from the time they gave it to them. She videotaped it, went over it in her room, she helped her friends with it who were struggling with it, even though they were competing for the same slot. She helped them at school, they met together after school a few times to go over it, they worked pretty hard to nail everything they could on it. We all know you won't always win them all, no matter who or what you are, but she worked for this one, and she got it, and I'm really happy for her. Once you're in Starlets, while you do have to audition every year, you won't lose your place unless you violate certain rules and/or don't audition the next year. That's a problem for the new people trying to get in--why there were so few slots available--but once you're in it's rather nice. ;)

After her voice lesson, I stopped at the store and picked up some food and took it back out to Kokomo, where a small group of us had a cook out. I had to run Kaylee home at one point, but otherwise we were out there until almost midnight, sitting around eating and talking, and it was a lovely way to end a banner day.