Okay

We're trying to keep our heads above water here, but it's not easy.  The week of the BBQ Bash is always crazy anyway.  On top of that, we have a couple airplanes down for maintenance.  We had three people going for checkrides today (one was canceled because he had emergency kidney stone surgery, and it's a good thing he was going for Sport Pilot checkride).  Our schedules are booked solid.  I have something in every time slot from about 8 am until 8 pm Monday on, with lunch marked off, and one day that has about a 1 hour break in between things.  Steve isn't much better.   Meanwhile, Walt's T-6 is ready for a test flight, and I don't have a single time slot this entire week to go over and do it, and I was waiting for them.  Now they're waiting on me.  And I've got nothing open.  I'm also supposed to take a T-6 down to Columbus on Wednesday, but have three students over that time frame.  One of them is in checkride prep because he has his checride right after the BBQ Bash, and he needs the practice.  There are more things to do than I have time or room in which to do them.

The guy with zero tailwheel hours said his insurance said he just had to have 10 hours dual in a T-6 and 5 hours solo and then he could take passengers.  Ten hours for a guy with zero tailwheel time.  Are they crazy??  Ten hours is close to what it takes to get a proficient tailwheel person up to speed in the T-6! Eye yi yi.

Another guy contacted us and said he and his dad wanted to do a couple hours of training in a T-6.  He's a lapsed pilot and his dad isn't a pilot at all but "can hold heading and altitude".  That's it.  They're going in the back seat, they can fly from there.  I can't see gear, flap indicator, fuel, can't control the volume/squelch, and can't shut off the mixture from the back.  I'm not putting a passenger who can just hold straight and level up there, and now I'm getting cranky about some of this.  lol

Something else that isn't the greatest.  An older guy who is having trouble transitioning to a tailwheel airplane.  He bought the plane before he could fly it, and it's taking him 40 plus hours to get a tailwheel endorsement, if that tells you anything.  He was just diagnosed with emphysema.  His eyes aren't the best.  He's gone 2 or 3 rounds with prostate cancer and has no bladder or bowel control.  He's "Light Sport" only, but just wants to fly on calm evenings, by himself.  He shouldn't be flying any more.  But also, he's a grown man, a Marine, who wants to do this on his own terms as long as he can.  The only problem is, my signing him off puts me in the way of the FAA should he ball it up.  I talked to him about this, and he says he knows, and understands it's my liability, and also said that should his end come that way, it would be better than from emphysema.  I raised an eyebrow at him and he says "I'm a Christian, I won't kill myself.  I'm just saying I want to live the best I can while I can and whatever happens happens."  I wish he'd found a different instructor, but he found me.  He's close to the point where I could sign him off, finally, getting consistent enough on calm days.  And then I'm going to wonder about him.  He'll either groundloop, which would be okay, because you usually walk away from that, at least, or he'll level off too high and drop it in, and that likely won't end as well.  He doesn't do it often, but he's done it a couple times where if I hadn't been there, he'd have dropped it in from 20-30 or more feet up.  *sigh*   He told me "If it makes you feel better, I fly better and different when I'm alone than when I'm with an instructor.  I think I just know I can rely on you to save it so I don't pay as much attention or something".  I said no, it doesn't make me feel better.  I said "Are you telling me that because I was there, you went ahead and leveled off 30 feet too high and started flaring, at 50 mph and dropping?"  He said no, not on purpose.  I said "Exactly.  You leveled off too high because you didn't see it.  You didn't see it with me sitting there next to you, you wouldn't have seen it if I wasn't sitting next to you. You'd have just crashed it."  He's a retired Marine, he can handle that kind of talk.  But I can't keep him forever based on the time or two he's done that, when he's usually better at the landing part.  It was takeoffs he was bad at, and he's gotten much better there.  So anyway.  Welcome to one of my dilemmas.

On the good news arena, one of my (other) biggest problem students is having a breakthrough and I may get him to solo after all.  Sometime.  Not yet.  But I see the possibility at least.  Down the road.  :)

I broke 11,000 hours on the Cheyenne flight home from Muncie for lunch on Saturday.  That's nice.  :)

Kaylee is freaked out because there are Tokay creatures there, that are lizard gecko creatures, that if they bite you, you can't get them to let go, and you have to cut their heads off and pry their jaws open off of you.  She is seriously freaked out that they are all over, and scuttle around like snakes, and she hates them.  She told me to come get her right now and that this is not okay, and that she's only on Day 2 of this trip and she doesn't want to be there with these things running around all over, inside the buildings, up on the walls, freaking her out.  I tried not to laugh, but I get it, that IS gross.  I assume she'll get used to them, or at least be able to function better soon.  ;)

Ann had a cardio appointment today, and is stable, so they're not going to do anything further, just check in on her in six months.

Roadie is pulling her fur out again and has bare spots on her butt.  She is such a neurotic cat.

Steve is overwhelmed and stressed out, so any kind thoughts his way are appreciated.

And that's your Monday wrap.