Tuesday a man drove from Michigan with his friend, so that we could do some T-6 training on Wednesday. It was a 12 hour round trip drive for them. He's 75 years old, a low time pilot with just a couple hundred hours of total time, and 15 hours tailwheel time. Put those four things together and I wasn't really excited about back seating T-6 training with him. Add in the winds were supposed to kick up over 20 knots by 11 am, and 25 knots after that. So I was a little tense about it, but he'd just driven six hours and the forecast hadn't called for that when he'd left or we might have postponed. I was doing it at all because his goal is to fly as many types of WWII trainers as he can, a bucket list. He's already flown Stearman, PT-26, and even a Mustang down in Florida. So the T-6 is on his list, and I'm not going to turn down a 75 year old man's bucket list item.
I want to get out there early so we can get our two hours of training in before the winds get gnarly. Then the forecast called for low clouds until 11 am. Of course it did! ;) But I woke up, the clouds lifted, and by 9 am we were good to go. It took awhile getting him familiarized and buckled in, and then...the plane wouldn't start. Jon had to get the APU and jumped us, and I'm standing on the wing. We get running, I get in, and avionics on, and I can tell by how the sound cancelling is kicking off and on that the alternator isn't charging. I end up having him shut it down. Then they say kick it up over 1800 RPMs and that'll charge the field. So he has to buckle back up, Jon has to get the APU back out, I have to get back on the wing, talk him through another start up, then I have to buckle back in, and try that. It works. We are FINALLY good to go. At this point I'm about done, if he wouldn't have come from so far. There are just days where you're pushing the rock up hill and that was that morning!
Once we were flying though, we had a good time. He went through most of the maneuvers, didn't want to do anything aggressive or that would take him upside down, so we did turns, steep turns, slow flight clean and dirty, etc. and then ran through the landing sequence while up in the air, just to get familiar with moving the flaps, gear, power push, etc.
By now the winds were up and it was getting bumpy, but they were pretty close down the runway so far. We did one go-around, and then on the landing attempt he said he couldn't tell if the pins were in or not on the gear. So I had him just keep flying straight, abandon the approach, take his time, wiggle the wings, etc. until he knew for sure he had the pins. Finally came back in for the landing. He did the approach and touchdown, and then I had to grab it on rollout as he wasn't quick enough on his feet for that. But he did a pretty good job. He had twenty minutes left and had wanted to do a 3-point and a wheel landing, so I asked if he wanted to go back up, but he was done, wiped out, and happy.
He had me sign his helmet, and a certificate, and his logbook, which I did, and that's a neat tradition he has done with each warbird he's flown. So the day that started with much difficulty ended with a feeling of accomplishment.
Steve said I always start out on T-6 training flights tense about it, and that I always come back relaxed and pleased. That's true. It's a different ball of wax to instruct in. Not getting complacent in it is a good idea. Maybe some day I'll start out relaxed, but I kind of doubt it. ;)
I lost Thursday to a headache, and today...today is in limbo. I was going to maybe go to New York for MBros, but then they didn't need me, and I'm running Steve to Illinois at some point I think, and I have two students this evening, but the weather is sketchy for all the above. So we shall see. I don't know what I'm doing except taking a shower and going to lunch shortly here.
Kaylee...we ordered her cap, gown and tassle for graduation. Yes, you heard me! We also ordered her senior class photos, for the yearbook. And paid for part of her Senior trip to Disney. And her classes are having fundraisers for band (terrible pizza products), choir (chocolate bars), and the Spring Fling (candles). Eye Carumba.
She's doing fine. She has a friend who really wants a boyfriend badly, and recently started dating this guy that Kaylee looked into and isn't happy about because he's got a new girlfriend every month, and is aggressive and far left leaning politically, and she tried to warn her friend, who doesn't care as long as she has a boyfriend. So Kaylee asked me what I thought and we had a good conversation about happiness, settling, desperation, self-worth, etc. And she said she knows she should stay out of other people's romances, which is true. You can't lose sleep over others' decisions, but it's hard when you care about them.
Kaylee's getting good grades in all her classes, has a good group of friends overall, and seems to be enjoying her senior year. She's applied to a couple of colleges now, and things are just moving quickly...
No Kaylee pictures today. Just these.
Just a couple of shots from the back seat of the T-6
Jim...
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