Aviation Time

One of the hardest things for me to adjust to in flying is 'aviation time'. I remember when Husband was first working on his license... I could never understand how he would leave for a 2 hour lesson and not be back home for 5 hours. I understood that the airport was 1/2 an hour away, each way... so 3 hours, I could understand. I could even understand that the instructor might be a few minutes late... but what happened to the other 1.75 hours?



Now, I fly too, and have both experienced aviation time and probably have been the cause of it at some point. All GA pilots probably know what I'm talking about. You show up for your cross country flight, all prepared and ready to go. Only to find that your plane is late coming back in from a previous lesson, or there's no fuel, or the door is stuck, or some other issue. And, if the plane is all set to go, then your instructor is late. Or if both the plane and the instructor are present and accounted for, unexpected weather hits.



Well, I've been hit hard by aviation time lately. And it's a bummer. All of it is understandable, but at this stage in my training (I'm hoping to finish up within the next month or so), I'm anxious to keep things moving. But part of learning to fly seems to include a hefty bit of learning to be patient. I guess it's good practice for waiting out the weather!



An example of the last few weeks:

Last Saturday: I got to solo, but before Husband could go out for his turn, the winds kicked in.

Last Sunday: I was able to do my stage check due to Husband's good nature, but winds were too strong for him to get his softfield landings in.

Last Monday: I was supposed to fly with my dad and M for a special birthday flight to the Bay... but not such luck. The attendant put too much fuel in the plane so we were too heavy to fly with all three of us!

Last Tuesday: My night cross country was canceled due to winds.

Satruday: M canceled my night cross country so he could study/rest for his ATP.

Sunday: Husband and I both snuck in about 1/2 hour of landings each before the winds got really crazy... oh- and M canceled our dual flight for a personal engagement (albeit a cool one).

Monday: Husband's softfield landings-- and my night landings-- canceled because the transponder on the plane stopped working.

Tuesday: My night landings again canceled because M forgot and told another student he could fly.



So... I guess my night stuff will have to wait till M returns from his vacation (lucky him!). Oh well. But it sure is hard to be patient! I guess the trick is to remember that I'm pretty lucky to get to experience such a cool hobby!