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 .

PP-ASEL!

I am now officially a Private Pilot, Airplane Single-Engine Land! Yes, it's a mouthful, as well it should be, given the complexity of the journey. Especially that last part of the journey.

Today I met with Kevin at 8:00am and after dealing with the paperwork for the re-test, we flew to Hayward without violating anyone's airspace. We only flew for a half hour, but it was still nice to get out there. I totally stuck the landing on the way back, a real greaser, which was nice.

I was supposed to meet Mike at 1:00, so after going to work for 3 hours I came back to the airport. I preflighted, and waited. But it was 1:30 before Mike showed up, and we only had the plane until 2:00, so that wasn't going to work. We decided to meet at 5:30, after his next test; he said he could bring his subject to Palo Alto and get dropped off, and I could give him a ride back to Reid-Hillview.

So I went back to work, and at 5:00 came back to the airport, and preflighted the same plane for the third time today. 5:30 rolls around...nothing. After sitting around a bit, I realize that I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to meet him at the terminal building, or at the West Valley Club where I was waiting. So I walked over to the terminal, and back. And back to the terminal. And back...and then a plane taxied up to me and flashed its landing lights. OK, so he's here -- by this time it was 6:00, the fuel truck has refilled 6521J, which means I have to test the fuel again (preflight #4?).

After I got done being annoyed, we went inside and did the paperwork, I gave him the additional $200 for the retest (the original test was $375), and then we embarked toward Reid-Hillview. On the way he asked me questions about the procedure for going around. I cleared the 680 freeway, turned right, and at the appropriate time, called Reid-Hillview tower and got my landing clearance. At that point he took the controls and guided us into RHV. As he landed, the tower said, "Smooooooth." I guess they all know him there!

We parked and went inside, and he filled out the much coveted white piece of paper. I was a pilot! And that was it! I got back in the plane and headed back to Palo Alto, which was eventful only in that visibility was low enough to make finding the airport a little difficult. It's great not being able to see the runway from your base leg...

Kevin asked me to call him afterwards, so as I drove away, I gave him a call to let him know how it went. What I wasn't prepared for was that this was a "goodbye" conversation. Of course I'll still see him and everything, but...we're done. I told him I passed, and we talked a little about how it went, and then he just said, "Well, take some time, relax and enjoy it, and good luck!" And that was it. I'm still sorting out all the feelings (none of them are really cutting through the tiredness) but along with the extreme happiness of finally being done with this, I will miss the lessons. Kevin is a really, really great teacher, and I'd recommend him to anyone without thinking twice (remember, though, that's not his real name!). I'm sure I'll be going to him for additional endorsements and ratings.

So that's it. Obviously I still have a lot to learn, and could keep writing in this blog forever, but I think I will be stopping this one here. This is my "getting my PPL" blog. I will start a new one to chronicle my air journeys.