Photo of bowls being rinsed out in hotel sink as I worked towards the checkride. I liked the bowl colors with the grass and sky colors in the following picture ... Plus I am a big fan of round or curving lines.

Woke up with a big smile! Today ... nothing is pressing ... ! Three is already out with his Dad en route for a ACT testing site ... he very sweetly asked me to help him with his baseball uniform ... it's a bit of a red dirt and blood mess. It will be my pleasure to get that ready for the game today. Four, my kitty girl, has one of her homecoming events tonight. Did she order the boutonniere? Wow, what a big word for such a small thing. I bet she did. I bet it will be perfect too. She may want the full on Mom treatment today or she may have made plans to get her make up and hair done with a friend ... we'll see ... today anything is possible.

Yesterday I woke up and got dressed in a hurry. The post-it note on the mirror called for a nlt 6:00 departure. Everything had been repacked the night before except my clothes which were hanging ironed ... lint swiped ... waiting for today to begin. I wore my favorite pullover sweater (for comfort like a blankie) Khaki slacks and those black slip on Vans that like the pedals in the RG.

I arrived early at PDK where the plane was waiting in the dark. Weather and a final check. Three bags and full pockets on the Northface jacket ... if I don't have it here ... I don't have it. The guy who signed me off help me lug everything out to the plane. "Are you comfortable departing out of here in the dark?" he asked. I said "Come on now - you saw all those night landings (on the 8710). He thought the number was excessive for my total time. I like flying at night. While he sprayed foam cleaner on the windshield, I did my preflight ... very thoughtful. He said he'd be praying for me and I could tell he would have hugged me if we knew each other better (I kept his flashlight ... will send it back in a few days with a nice note).

NBAA jets were still parked everywhere at PDK. No gawking allowed I told myself. I asked for a departure to the N needing to climb to 3600MSL before a turn to the W ... "no problem" the controller said ... "cleared for take off 2R". The people who own the airplane have a rule ... leave the gear down for all single pilot ops ... the gear dragging out there significantly deteriorates ROC. The Baron behind me is twiddling his thumbs and wondering what I am doing with mine no doubt. I need 4500MSL to transition over airspace near by (to the West). I enjoyed the flight over to CCO. I was thinking about that little girl who flew over this way while working on her instrument rating ... everything seemed a lot more complicated back then. C130s on the ground ... my very first flight instructor took that track to the airlines ...


I'll call him with the good news later today I thought.

The oral was ... not too rough. He started out with small talk and while I was not exactly relaxed, I thought he would be reasonable/professional. I was curious about his background, but thought better of asking about it.

(I found out later that the sun thickened skin on his left arm was compliments of the Coast Guard and later the airlines. He flew his student pattern quite wide - like King Air wide I thought - he was a pretty stubborn student at times during the ride. He laughed out loud at how delighted I was with his ability to hold altitude ... what?! I asked ... altitude is a big deal for new guys! "It's been so long since anyone commented on my altitude control." he replied smiling. Just a guy I thought, yeah, FAA, but still a guy behind all that. )

His first real question was "What qualifies you to be here?" I went to the regs while he checked my paperwork. We talked about a lot of stuff ... what makes an airplane fly ... and on we went through the PTS checklist. Suddenly he was ready to fly and I thought ... really? but said, "Yes sir, I'll go get the airplane ready." The flight was fun. He role played a student once he was satisfied with my events. After flying at his level for as long as he has, I think it was pretty unnatural for him to play the typical pre-solo student! Seems like he made the last landing and gave me the controls once clear. I looked at him and he pointed towards the FBO. Now to get the thing shut down without clipping a wingtip I thought. Lots of paperwork afterwards it seemed. I was pretty happy when I saw that pad of blank temporaries come out. I left the room to get him a cup of coffee and fired off a couple of txt msgs.

The flight back to PDK was uneventful. I enjoyed monitoring ATL ... it offset my displeasure at flying around with the gear down. The airport was hopping when I made the call ... first she put me on a right base for 20L, then a full downwind for 20L, then how bout over the top for a left down wind for 20L ... extending the down wind for a base call and finally another half mile and turn left base cleared to land (with about a 5 mile final and plenty of time to set up for a very lovely landing). The tower thanked me for working with them, and she actually said good job. I smiled and tapped the mike. The airplane touched down exactly where, at precisely the airspeed I wanted, and let her roll just a bit before braking intending to help them out with the possibility of an early taxi off. Suddenly, quite unexpectedly I was looking at grass coming at me ... never seen that before! I had almost no braking available in the right main ... crap ... . Instinct kicked in. (I must have been remembering a day in 1977 when I allowed my car to bump in to some one's garage door as I turned around in their driveway. My dad wasn't too pleased with my recklessness and I protested, saying I was going slow ... the brakes just went all the way to the floor and gave me nothing. "If that ever happens again," he said, "pump them!") I released, then slowly reapplied brakes, gingerly pumping them, applying opposite rudder, and hoping for the best ... it was enough to keep me on the runway albeit embarrassingly close to the left edge paint with directions to turn right, and slightly befuddled. I was able to limp off by playing with the power and cajoling what was left of the hydraulic fluid. Fortunately, all subsequent turns were towards the good brake! When I stepped out after the final shutdown for the day, I saw a wet wheel with a puddle under it. Thanks for waiting on that naughtiness! I thought. This morning I re-read BRAKE SYSTEM. ..."pumping the pedals should build braking pressure"... Love it when
shoulds turn out to be wills! Maybe Daddy was watching today.

I really like the inspector. He gave me many bits of excellent advice. I would have liked to work with my own FSDO - building a relationship locally but it didn't go that way. Instead I had the honor of working with a person who I feel fortunate to have met. Everything you'd hope an FAA inspector might be

So - that part of my journey is over ... and I am going to take my girls out to lunch and think about planting some pansies this next week.