Cold weather = lots of time inside

It has been very cold here for the last couple of days. I'm lucky in that my job does not require that I come in every day...so I've been working from home since last Friday. Hopefully things are better tomorrow and I can go into the office before I take 2 weeks off for the holidays.

On Saturday I went hunting (my other passion) with my uncle Manny for elk just outside of Sweet Home, Oregon. We saw some deer but no elk. It was a nice hike in the snow and cold...good exercise! Even when I don't see any animals I always have a good time. It is a chance for me to recharge my batteries and think about life.
Only a couple of weeks left in the year for hunting...hopefully I can get out there one more time. Then maybe I'll start thinking about winter steelhead or goose hunting.

With all this time inside, I've been working and playing. I created a Tetris game on the PC that I am porting to BlackBerry and Windows Mobile. Had some time to catch up on reading. Began working on my new course material for the Software Quality class I teach at OIT. And of course...thought about flying and building airplanes. I got a free DVD in the mail from AOPA. It was a basic intro to the joys of flying. The best part for me was seeing this 40ish guy take off and land for the first time. He looked like an 8 year old kids that was just handed a $10,000 Toys R Us gift card. I can't wait to experience that and share it with others.

I invision weekend trips to centeral Oregon. Fly in and camp...and then fly back. I've always loved road trips because you get to see the country. Unlike airline travel where you are 30,000 feet high and can't make out detail. That is where flying small planes melds the benefits of the two together. You get their faster...but you still get to see all the scenery and detail.

Unless I get rich...and can afford something like a Diamond DA40 or a Cirrus SR 22, I would most like to own a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. (I actually had a remote control 172 that my dad and I build back when I was in junior high). Something with some updated avionics would be nice and should come in <$50,000. For the type of flying I eventually want to do, this would be a great plane.


And here is a view of the cockpit. This plan can carry 4 people plus some "cargo". Looks cool huh?




Anyway, once the holiday are over and all the decorations are packed into the attic, I will shift gears and focus on getting a work area setup in the garage. 2009 is going to be a great year!

Private Pilots License

There is something to be said for momentum. When I went back to school, I started with the understanding that I would get my associates degree (and keep myself busy). Once I started taking classes and got into a rhythm, it got easier and I set my sites on finishing my bachelors’ degree. Looking back, it would have been easy during a rough time of balancing family, work and school to take a couple of terms off. I knew that if I did that, I would lose my momentum and maybe my interest in even finishing school. Therefore, I kept my head down and got it done.

If I am going to build an airplane and learn how to fly, I’ll have to apply the same determination…and keep that momentum going.

Flight school is going to be expensive. I’m looking at $6000-$9000 to get my private pilots license. I could go with a lesser license, but there are too many limitations. It’s just like going for the bachelors instead of the associates degree.

The private pilot license is going to get me the following…

- Unlimited size aircraft can be flown (special rating require for larger planes)
- Can take up more than one passenger
- Can fly at night
- Allowed to fly in more airspace and outside the US
- No maximum range or speed

More info here.

So, once I start I’ll be going for the “real” license! This is much more than I need to fly the plane I will be building. However, there are two sides to my desire to fly. One is to build a plane that I can actually fly…something inexpensive and easy. My other desire is to share flying with other people. This means a bigger plane and more training. I can use this inexpensive plane (not only to built but to fly) to log a lot of hours and get some good experience, before I move to the bigger and more expensive planes.