Hello earth

My story and how I got here is long and mostly… uninteresting. Let’s hit the highlights… and maybe some lowlights depending on how this goes.  I doubt anyone is reading this but let’s give it a go anyway.

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with airplanes. Big, small, fast, slow… didn’t matter.  My father was in the AirForce so I got to see some pretty cool machines growing up.  I got to know the F-15 very well. <3

Fast forward to college.  I never thought I had much shot at becoming a pilot, it seemed like either you were rich or you were lucky enough to fly for the military.  Also, I was in college around the time of 9/11 and the thought of spending my post collegiate days in the middle east didn’t seem appealing so I opted for more of the private sector route.  At this point my dream of being a pilot was largely sidelined as a flight of fantasy (pun intended?)

Fast forward a bit more…. wife, house, dog, cat, Kid #1, Kid #2,……. mini van!!  Man my college buddies and I use to joke about who would breakdown and buy one of those loser cruisers first.  Now… we all have one and even though it is sort of unspoken, I do revel in the fact that I was the last hold out.  In all honesty though, it kind of kicks ass.  Lots of room, nice power, a ton of technology…. errr back to the point.

So my beautiful wife and soulmate (BWAS … is this a thing?), she came into the picture right after college, you know the story… wife, house… blah blah.  Anyway, she knows how much I love airplanes and for my 29th birthday, purchased an introductory flight lesson.  Well… let’s just say it was, um, AWESOME!  Of course, the issue was that kid#2 was on the way so that life thing is still in the way. sigh.

I couldn’t just push it aside anymore so I started reading everything possible. Especially blogs about people who are learning to get their pilots wings… uh kind of like I hope this blog turns out to be.  I found a fantastic blog called Yankee Alpha Foxtrot Bravo and I read every single post from private pilot through ifr rating to present day.  I couldn’t get enough.  I once wrote the author to tell him how much I loved his blog.  Me=Nerd!

So why am I sitting here in the dark writing this?  Because today I just filled out the application and medical for flight training.  I am finally doing it!  But of course it can’t be smooth right?

Life is never that simple, about 2 years ago I was minding my own business eating a chocolate covered doughnut when out of the blue.. bam… back hurts.  It was one of those weird deals where it feels like you have been slouching or sitting funny too long.  Well, it got worse and worse and then I find myself at the emergency room faced with a kidney stone.  Did I tell you how much I don’t like doctors? We’ll get to that later.

As it turns out, the FAA frowns upon kidney stones.  I mean really, after all of this time this little rock could sideline me?

I have been doing well for the last 2 years, not a single issue and after doing my research I found that if you get enough proof of treatment and proof that you are currently stone free ( not the song, but free of kidney stones), you can get your FAA 3rd class medical.  This is crucial because without it… me = no fly.

I am happy to report that my doctor declared me free of those wretched stones and wrote a note with evidence for me to bring to the medical examiner.

So next step, get the medical.  Stay Tuned!