More Changes

This morning the weather showed a change for tomorrow.  Now Kokomo was looking like IFR, even LOW IFR, Tuesday morning.  That's a problem, because I don't want to fly out of Kokomo with a single engine aircraft sales airplane I don't know, set up in a way I don't know, with a low time pilot I don't know left seat, with temps around 35, and ceilings 200-500' overcast.  Just...no.  But if I wait till it clears up in the afternoon, now I'm running into another problem--Wednesday is looking sketchy across part of the southwest.  So I have to get far enough away on Tuesday to beat the weather on Wednesday.  So I texted the owner to see about airlining out tonight, so I'd be there first thing in the morning.  He didn't see my messages for 4 hours, by which time I had an hour to get ready to leave for Indy to get the airline.  So I'm not sure if I am leaving for two days in an hour, or if I'm standing down, or what's going on.  Finally he gets back to me and said "let's just wait", which is both fine and frustrating.  I really want to get this plane out there and be done with the thing.  Over the period of me trying to get this thing out there, I have canceled students probably 10 times.  I have canceled two 340 flights.  Just for this round I told Ethan (340) I couldn't fly Wednesday, Eric (RG) I couldn't fly Wednesday, Morgan (checkride prep) I couldn't fly Tuesday, blocked myself off from the schedule so nobody else could schedule me, told Larry that I couldn't take the Twin Comanche and new guy to Oklahoma until I got back, Dustin (MBros) asked if I could do a trip Thursday and I said I didn't know if I'd be back in time.  I have put off my Cheyenne currency.  Now my California trip is off.  Ethan hasn't gotten back to me about the 340, Dustin let me know they weren't going Thursday now, I haven't heard that the Twin Comanche guy is even still in play now, etc.  So all that is missed income.  And this is ONE time I've had missed income, let alone the days I spent working on this, the days I spent in a hotel in Missouri, the days I blocked myself off to try to come out and kept having maintenance problems.  And I can't charge for all of it.  And I'm still not done.  I'm still going to have to take at least two more days to actually get it done and get back.  And the Cheyenne currency is so far out of date we can't really fly the plane until I do it.  The rest of this week has crappy weather so now I have to look at next week...when I'm also looking for good weather to take this stupid plane back to California.  Could I dump the plane and the owner and the sales guy and just say I'm out?  Sure.  But it would be a jerk move on my part and would damage my relationship with Tim. I'm just complaining, not looking for a solution, because the solution is to finish the job.  Before I die of old age hopefully.

When I was talking to Tim this morning, he said his pilot was nervous about the conditions for tomorrow morning, and that he (Tim) had said "Don't worry, you'll have Laura with you, you'll be fine."  As much as I appreciate the confidence, let me repeat--a probably slightly rough sales aircraft I don't know, with a panel set up I don't know, with a nervous low time pilot I don't know, in fog, low IFR, low temps and potential ice.  No thank you.

So like I said, I spent my morning working it all out, checking weather, canceling, scheduling, calling, working.  I spent my lunch and early afternoon waiting to see what was going to happen.  Then I spent my late afternoon trying to put everything back, relatively unsuccessfully.  Frustrating.

I wrote a letter of recommendation for someone towards a scholarship today, which took a little time, but I thought it turned out well and I hope she likes it and that it helps her get the scholarship funding she needs for the next step.

I was contacted today by a lady from the Women in Aviation International group in the Purdue area asking if I'd be willing to be a guest speaker.  She said they'd like me to talk about my career and aviation, that it's seemed interesting and inspiring, that they'd like an overview of who I am, what I do, how I got here, and any advice or cool stories I want to share.  I told her I'd get back to her, because their next meeting is 3/24, and I'm not mentally prepared for this yet, I'm already swamped, and I have a girl on a checkride that day too that I need to focus on.

Today I also got an email from a producer working with a production company based in Chicago.  They're working on a commercial campaign for a network of hospitals operating out of Dayton.  He's doing a casting call for female pilots in the Chicago area, and was pointed at me.  He said "one of the 30 second spots is focused on a female pilot.  The narrative of the commercial focuses on how our pilot has 'recuperated' and is now back up and flying.  There is a budget to cover all expenses. The filming will take a 10-12 hour day and include compensation at industry standard rates.  Filming would take place in the Chicago area at the end of March or beginning of April."  Then he asked me to send in a bunch of info.  Name, age, contact info, currency and recency in flying, and in what airplanes, and he wanted a head shot too.  I was like...uh...on the head shot.  I don't exactly have a headshot.  Fortunately at the end he said "You can just use your cell phone to take a photo", so it sounds like they're not looking for a professional thing.  But now I don't know what photo to send in.  I mean...you want to look good but I also don't want to send the head shot and then show up and have them be like...dude...yikes...no...  So anyway, I thought that was interesting.  I've sent in most of the information they requested and asked if they wanted an airplane head shot with headset and such or just a normal straight on picture. We shall see.

Kaylee called me tonight. She's doing great, has a test tomorrow she was procrastinating on studying more for, so she called me to tell me about how they were in class, and one girl went to the bathroom, and the professor got up and told everyone she was leaving the class for some reason having to do with disability, and they were going to have a new professor, and just left.  The new professor was talking and teaching when the girl came back from the bathroom, and was completely baffled about what was going on and where her teacher was and what class she was in.  Kaylee said it was the weirdest and funniest thing, especially the student's reaction.

Guess I'll go to bed here, and see what I can get done tomorrow.  It was actually another really productive day above and beyond what I mentioned above, it just wasn't interesting enough to spell it all out again.  Like that we went and got our taxes that finished being prepared today, signed 'em, etc.  Or talked to people on the phone.  Or that I read and provided feedback to someone's novel that they're working on.  And put my suitcase back that I was supposed to pack for a trip to California that hasn't happened yet.  ;)