~factors I'm choosing not to control~

Blackhawk, which I've never flown ... haven't even ever had a helicopter ride.   Some of my former students went the military route and love flying 'em ... and actually, one of my commercial instructors was a Naval Aviator who most preferred the whirlybirds. He was a bit of a butt ... bitter about a wife who remained married to him during her cavorting years as he steadfastly served our Country overseas.  I don't blame him, it just made the W/B (managing his baggage) overly complicated within the confines of a training environment.

That little pencil sketch was something I drew a long time ago - a self portrait of "little" me.

I'm amazed at how much flight training material that I have to throw away.  I can't keep on moving all this stuff around with me!  Because I taught ground school to large classrooms full of hopefuls in a University setting, my notes are more formal than a one on one type learning relationship would indicate.  No one needs my notes now.

My instructing days are behind me.  Today I threw away a 24" piece of fuel line.  Ironically, some very fine notes were refiled in a faded glory box and are awaiting the recycling pick up at the curb.  

factors beyond your control &

factors you choose not to control ... 

found written in my hand and neatly stacked in an accordion file full of lecture notes and carefully curated props.

I'd frequently have something like that written on a white board or projected on the big screen for the kids to think about while the room was filling up.  Sometimes I would "slide-show" poetically majestic full color pictures taken from a flight deck and carefully collected over time, sometimes the black and white of an NTSB accident report was a more appropriate way to begin a lecture.  Flying well is serious business.  I'm glad I got to work with aviation students.  It feels weird throwing that stuff away, like it doesn't matter, or is no longer important ... no longer relevant ... .  I'm waiting for that (good) feeling of having shed something one no longer needs.  Right now I just feel a little sick about it.

I have a lot of really good stuff - books mostly, FAA publications ... cool stuff, that I'd like to give to someone who will use it.  I'll keep a headset.