Recently in Aviation Related Category
A filmmaker by the name of Brian Terwilliger made the video embedded below. Most of you probably haven't ever heard of Brian, but he is the producer and director of one of the best aviation documentaries ever made. One Six Right is movie that captures the romance of flight in a way that most of us who love flying cannot express in words. It features what we "airplane geeks" consider a magical place, the local airport. If you haven't gotten a chance to see it, it's a very well made documentary whether you're into flying or not.
Enjoy the short, entitled, "Flying Full Circle"...
I've been worried about my checkride all week. Not necessarily because I'm worried about failing. I'm a little nervous about what to expect, but I'm feeling fairly confident and I have two more opportunities to straighten out any problems before Saturday. What I've actually been worried about is the weather. Will I have good weather so that I can even go on my checkride? I've been watching the extended forecast for Saturday, the 24th, for the past several days and every day it has been either isolated or scattered thunderstorms.... Not good flying weather.
But... I looked today and it seems things are trending the right direction as you can see from the image below from Intellicast.com.
This forecast may change, but if this forecast is correct, I cannot ask for better weather for a checkride. We'll see what happens.
My flying has been put on hold for the time being. I had a lesson scheduled this past Wednesday, the 16th, but cancelled it because after successful PRK surgery, I had not recovered fully from the procedure, so I cancelled the lesson and rested my eyes.
Since the surgery, on the 11th, my eyes were fluctuating between 20/30 or 20/40 to 20/80 or 20/100, but as of this past weekend and today, I am happy to report that I am doing much better. As of today, I am seeing 20/20. That is not to say, it won't continue to fluctuate over the next several weeks, but that fluctuation should be within the 20/20 to 20/30 range.
Due to scheduling conflicts, my next lesson will not be until late next week (Thursday or Friday), I have some work and family commitments that make any sooner than that impossible.
The great news is that I'm seeing incredibly well, and at the end of the day, it feels weird because I don't have to remember to take contact lenses out of my eyes before I go to sleep.
So, stay tuned for more flying updates and keep on truckin'.
I went ahead and got a couple of the more expensive items that will be in my flight bag when I'm a full fledged pilot.
First, a handheld GPS. I ordered the Lowrance Airmap 2000c.
Also, a handheld radio transeiver with VOR Navigation.
Both of these items will supplement the avionics in the cockpit and provide a valuable backup method of communication and navigation should I lose electrical power in the plane.
I went to see the AME yesterday. I passed the exam, however, I have a couple of on-going medical issues and a pending eye surgery so, it looks like I'm not going to actually get my medical certificate until after February 11.
My first issue, is I have a past history with anti-depressant medication. I took Zoloft for awhile to help deal with some anxiety issues I had when a couple of years ago when I had some trouble concentrating on stuff at work and home. So, the AME said I need a letter from my primary care physician stating what the diagnosis was regarding the zoloft (mild anxiety), when I started the meds and stopped (approx. 12/05 to about 12/06), and what tests were conducted to reach the diagnosis (no tests).
My second issue, I have slightly high blood-pressure for which I take medication. I need a second letter, stating that my BP has stablized, includes the results of bloodwork from within the last 60 days (no problem I just had one done a couple of weeks ago), and a 12 lead EKG.
Finally, my third issue, is my pending LASIK surgery. The FAA has a requirement that I wait until 30 days after LASIK and get my eye doctor to fill out a form stating that my vision has stablized before I can be medically cleared to fly.
So, there should be no problems. I just have to wait. I can take care of the first two issues with my doctor right away, but just have to wait the 30 days after my LASIK (scheduled for Jan 11) before I can get my certificate.
If you have no medical issues, the actual exam takes about 30 minutes and you're good to go.
My CFI asked if I had my medical yet. I cannot solo until I have a current medical certificate.
My dilemma is that I have LASIK Surgery scheduled for January 11, so I was wanting to wait until the surgery was finished before getting the medical to avoid have a "must wear corrective lenses" restriction on my medical certificate.
Well, there are some issues with LASIK and aviation medicals. They aren't big issues, but there may be a period of time that has to elapse before I can get my medical certificate after the surgery, which means I would have to wait even longer to solo. The AME (Aviation Medical Examiner) may want me to wait until my eyes have stablized after the surgery.
So, I called the AME that I'm going to use to ask a few questions. I decided to use this particular AME because his office is about 5 minutes from my house. I was nice to hear from my instructor that this AME is the best one I could have found. Not only is he a very good AME, he also has an ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) ration, which means he's an experienced pilot too -- In addition, The Observer might be interested in the fact that this Doctor is a DO, not an MD. The receptionist was not too helpful, but it isn't her job to necessarily know the nuances of what makes or breaks a medical decision with regard to a aviation medical certificate. So, I made an appointment to try to get my class-3 medical certificate with "the great healer" (inside joke with The Observer) for the day after Christmas. My next lesson is on the 27th. If the medical goes well, I should have my medical/student pilot certificate and I'll be ready to solo as soon as my CFI thinks I'm ready.
The tricky part is, I'll probably have to ground myself for a week or two after my surgery, then go in to reaccomplish the vision part of the exam after that in order to be eligible to fly again. If I don't solo before my LASIK surgery, there is still an advantage to getting it done now. Getting the medical out of the way now will help if I need to get a waiver from the FAA. If I need a waiver, I won't be medically cleared until the AME gets an answer back from the FAA about whatever issue. It'll mean I have to wait awhile to solo, but the clock will start sooner rather than later.
I'll let you know how the medical exam went next week. Until then, happy holidays.
This is a blog about learning to fly and all that that implies. I therefore, reserve the right to post about things related to aviation. This leads me to the following topic...
I have LASIK surgery scheduled for January 11. Afterward, assuming all goes well, when I visit an AME (Aviation Medical Examiner) to apply for my Medical Certificate (and Student Pilot Certificate), I will not have any restrictions (like "must wear corrective lenses").
This will allow me to wear sunglasses when I fly without having to wear contacts (which are technically prohibited for flight).
