Postscript

I know I'd said this blog was done, but a couple of final notes.

First off, many thanks to Kevin, my instructor, whose real name is Sergey. He is the greatest instructor imaginable, and I could go into detail for three hours about how awesome he is. My future ratings will be without the benefit of his instruction, as he's chosen to take a job with SkyWest. I can only hope that I get to be on one of his flights sometime in the future.

Second, it came to my attention last week that 5346D, the plane in which Sergey and I had engine trouble last October, did exactly the same thing to another instructor and student pair this April. They found a destroyed exhaust valve and replaced it. It is very curious to me that the engine was not examined after my episode. Everyone keeps reminding me that the two episodes are not necessarily related, which is true, but everything in my gut tells me otherwise. As a result, I am making a big stink about this at the club; we'll see where this gets me (probably nowhere).

All the more reason to fly newer planes, and to that end I am currently getting certified on the 172SP.

And finally, my new blog "Pilot By The Bay" is at http://pilotbythebay.blogspot.com .