I've been learning to fly tailwheel airplanes for the past 6 months, flying roughly once a week. Now I've got 42.3 hours of flight time, with 0.5 hours of that now being PIC--pilot in command! Frankly, flying solo was not as nerve-wracking as I expected it to be. I've been learning new things each lesson with my instructor, but I haven't had to be corrected on stick-and-rudder pure flying technique in a while, so I didn't feel the absence of my instructor's remarks. We flew a couple laps in the pattern (takeoffs and landings in loops, in the airport vicinity) and then he got out, took his stuff out of the plane, and sent me off! I did three landings (and one go-around), and that was that! I did get the feeling of "hey, I'm flying an airplane--by myself. sweet!" This is the type of plane I fly, a Bellanca Citabria. Many of them are around 50 years old. Fabric wings and fuselage! Roughly 110 horsepower! a 4-cylinder engine with a carburetor! Two seats, in tandem (rather than side-by-side) As you can see, the little wheel is in the back ('tailwheel')--it's a more traditional gear setup (most modern planes have a nosewheel) and is harder to fly (takeoffs and landings). The word on the street is that tailwheel pilots generally have better "stick and rudder" skills (i.e. flying technique). I can't really be the judge of that, but it's kind of the equivalent of learning to drive a manual/standard transmission car. Because it's fairly straightforward for a tailwheel pilot to transition to nosewheel aircraft, and not the other way around, you must have a "tailwheel endorsement" on your license to fly tailwheel airplanes. I had to earn that endorsement (even though my license is a student license) to fly solo--so yes, I can do wheel landings. I've also gotten very proficient at performing slips, because there are no flaps on this model. Here's what I see inside. Notice that there isn't even an attitude indicator (also called an artificial horizon)! (Yes, I've had to do my simulated instrument training "partial panel" by default, learning to fly the plane without looking outside and without an attitude indicator) I've got a few things left to do to earn my private pilot certificate-- get 10 hours total solo time, get 5 hours total solo cross-country flight time, do my long cross-country solo, do 3 hours of night flight, and prep for (and pass) the oral exam and checkride (flight exam)! I can't wait for electric airplanes to become more common (https://www.diamondaircraft.com/en/service/electric-aircraft/ !!), but in the meantime I buy carbon offsets because the one thing that really makes me ambivalent about pursuing this as a hobby are its carbon emissions...
Feeling like shit, don’t think the seasonal funk ever hit me this hard. But we got a curfew and a gathering ban in place, while a good party would make me feel better. Most my energy is going towards not up and quitting my job to fuck off to Mexico for 3 months and wait out the winter there. I think I’ve been crying once a day lately. I’m not exited about seeing anyone or doing anything, including my friends. Everything sucks. While “objectively “ everything is fine and I’m crazy lucky compared to many people around.
Got my booster yesterday, and got lucky again with effectively no side-effects! My arm wasn't even sore. My Christmas holiday was great, two weeks to decompress from the past months of hard work. The only downside is that the SO and I got a good ol' flu for a few days. This weekend the SO and I did our Yearly Review, which were a bit more depressing for both of us than we'd expected. Last year felt like 50% lockdown/waiting for vaccines, 40% stress and 10% fun. Despite (or because of?) that conclusion, we did both find a lot of things we want to work on for next year. I got both of us a Theme System Journal which we've now filled with our themes and which I will use as a place to keep my weekly review and expand it with more concrete goals. I've picked the Year of Reinforcement as a theme; I want to strengthen the bonds between myself and the people around me, become stronger/healthier physically, and try to read more. Professionally, I now know clearly how I want to grow to a new level, and I want to do more to strenghten my professional network, to make time for meetings and get-togethers. So I'm cautiously optimistic for 2022, although I can't deny that there's still a bit of "it can't be worse than last year, right? riiight??!?!