Strumming Along

It's past midnight and I should be in bed, but I just got home not too long ago and I need to unwind for a few minutes.  I had two night flights in a row, one in a Warrior and one in our 172.  The one in the Warrior, for the first time I can remember, I just kept as straight up 8 take offs and landings.  He needed to keep it just like that.  The second guy I gave the workout to.  He stopped and took off his sweatshirt and went home exhausted. In other words, I did my job.  ;)

Earlier I ran up the T-6, with no side panels or cowling on it, which looks so very naked and slightly sad.  The guys cleaned it up, I ran it up, and then you can see where some of the oil is coming from.  I think Erik (mechanic) is supposed to come by tomorrow to take a look at my mess.  :)

We had a busy day today!  Steve's (and mine but he got him ready for the checkride) student John passed his Private Pilot checkride today in his Bonanza this morning, and then my kid Jesse passed his Private Pilot checkride this afternoon.  Shortly after that Steve soloed one of our young guys, still in braces.  So two official pilots and one newly soloed pilot, in one day.  Nice!!

There was a BIG ole spider on the floor in the big hangar, too.  It was big enough that when you bent down to pick up the chocks and saw it in profile, it made me want to run.  And it HOPPED.  As I fired up the tug, it skittered and hopped and it was disgusting.  And then it disappeared.  It's too big to disappear on that big floor but it did.  And I don't want to go there any more.

Kaylee has a new conquest.  She has a friend who is willing to teach her how to play the flute, and she would like to learn because it's an instrument she doesn't know how to play.  So we rented a used flute from the music store, and she took it to band practice today, and her friend started showing her how to play.  Steve said she was playing in the car, and sounded terrible.  And then, tonight, she was playing in her room, and suddenly the notes were sounding more pure/sweet.  She's starting to get the hang of it already.  She said she'd like to learn to play at least the basics of as many instruments as she can.  I think her Grandpa Stants would really like that.  So far she can play guitar, various saxophones, and read basic piano, slowly.  So adding in a flute makes sense, and she mentioned violin as well.  She picks up music fast, it's a definite skill of hers.  Lucky girl.  :)

I'm supposed to hop in the back of the SNJ down at Sheridan tomorrow afternoon, and help get the owner up to speed in the plane.  He hasn't flown it in 5 years or so, and never was comfortable with it.  The weather is supposed to be nice with one possible deal-breaker exception--the wind.  The forecast is calling for winds anywhere up to 20 mph down there, 25 knots at Kokomo supposedly, from the south.  The grass strip is an East/West runway, and the skinny concrete runway (which you can't see from the back seat) would still be a crosswind, just not a direct one.  I'm not looking for a big adventure here on this first flight out with him.  So I'm hoping it's not as breezy as it could be, and that it's clear one way or the other.  If it's 25 knots direct crosswind, I won't have any trouble telling him no thanks, and I doubt he'd want to fly.  If it's 15-18...then it falls into muddier territory.  I'd rather not, would rather we have a nice 10 knot or under day for him to start with, and for me to get a read on him, and me get familiar with his back seat.  So we'll have to see.  Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll be nice to us.

NOW I'm tired.  Just hit.  G'night!