Nev's News

I know a lot of you are watching that space to see if I have made it back from the cross country flight. Well ... I'm a day late but I've just got home! The flight was absolutely brilliant and I am now one of the few pilots that has flown a small 4-seater the whole height of the US ... and back again!

I've logged nearly 19 hours in the last 3 days as I flew a friend down to his home in Louisiana to pick up his plane. We arrived safely in one day but then when we both flew out the following morning, he had an alternator failure and lost all battery operated systems (i.e. radios, navigation aids, fuel pumps and important stuff like that). We diverted to another airport close by and after I landed, we noticed that my plane had a fluid leak in the front nose strut, and now my plane was broken too. It turns out that this is the 4th time this plane has had the same problem, so after doing a DIY patch up job I was able to continue to fly it but only if I wheelied the nose wheel off the ground for take off's and landings (it keeps things interesting).

So my plane was flyable again, but we had to stay the night in Missouri to wait for a new alternator for my friend’s plane. This was probably for the best as the weather by this stage was closing in (it was really strange how both planes broke at the same time, maybe God was trying to tell us something). So the next morning the parts arrived and a gap in the weather opened up and we ran the gauntlet north. The weather home was poor but still legal to fly in, the turbulence was mainly light with only a few interesting moments, and the thunderstorms kept their distance.

So ... praise God for a safe trip, a wonderful experience, and lots of valuable flight time that I need before my next flight exams. I'll post a few photos in a day or so. Thanks to all who were praying for the trip.

Talk soon ... Nev

Well I finally managed to sit my written exams today ... and somehow managed to pull out a whopping 96%! Thanks for all those prayers. The next step is to keep building flight hours, practice the commercial manoeuvres, and study for the oral test.

To help build up some time, I will do a really long distance trip to Louisiana this Thur & Friday (that's the whole height of the US!). It should take about 18 hours there and back, so please pray for a successful trip. This will really help me get the flight hours that I need and will also be a wonderful experience.

Anyway, praise God that the written tests are over and I can concentrate on the next step. I'll let you know how the long distance trip goes.

Cya ... Nev

Well ... I had a great flight today, it went something like this:

4.45am - Get up

5.45am -  Arrive at school and check the winds & weather and finish the flight plan

6.45am - Take off as the sun is coming up. Head north for just over an hour

8am - Arrive at Mio Oscoda County airport (otherwise know as a dirt strip in the middle of nowhere). Picked up a parcel and a photographer. Had breakfast at a nearby McDonalds and then back to the airfield

10am - Flew to a nearby Christian camp and did a air drop over the football field (it's ok, we threw out the parcel and not the photographer!) then back to the grass strip. By the way, the photographer was taking pictures of the camp and also doing an article for the local newspapers. I'll try to post a few pics when I get them.

11am - The parcel included an invite for about 100 teenagers to come out to the airfield for a service (singing, mission aviation stories, Bible challenge, etc)

Noon - Headed back to the camp (by bus this time) and had a really nice lunch (perks of the job!)

1pm - Weather starting to close in, thunderstorms reported heading our way, time to go back to airfield and race the storms home. We won on this occasion.

Rest of the afternoon - study for exams and also try to plan a long distance cross country I will try to do next week. By long distance, I mean really long distance. Most flights are about 3-4 hours. This trip will take me about 16 hours in 2 days (going from Michigan to Louisiana, i.e. the whole height of the states and back ). Look forward to that trip.

Midnight - update website before catching a few hours sleep and flying again tomorrow morning.  

Thats the bad news ... the good news is ... that I have just been signed off on my 'tailwheel' endorsement. This is something that I had been working on in the background of my commercial flight training and is a checkbox that I need ticked for Wycliffe/JAARS. Its really great to get that out of the way so early as I can now fly the cheapest plane in the school. Also, as not many people have their tailwheel, then it is easier to schedule a plane to fly during busy periods (It is also a lot of fun to fly, but thats besides the point ).

PS - For all those wondering what on earth a tailwheel plane looks like ... here you go.

Hi all, well its nearly 11pm and I'm still in school. Time is really pressing on as I want to sit my written exams next week, so there's nothing for it but a few late nights. The weather over the last few days has been 100 deg F (about 38 deg C) and I've resorted to flying with the windows open. Last week was different though, as there were thunderstorms most of the week, meaning no flying. I was able to use the time for study, but I really can't afford for many more lost days in flight time (if I want to be finished before the mechanical course starts).

I've decided to do all of my training in a small tailwheel aircraft (flying planes with wheels at the back is an extra endorsement that I need for the future) and this is keeping the cost down a bit and also adding an endorsement that I will need later on in my training. It also makes everything a bit more interesting as learning to fly a tailwheel, or tail dragger, is much more challenging. In saying that, it is great fun with a definite bush pilot feel.

Last week I got a free ride to Oshkosh in Wisconsin for a day. Oshkosh is the worlds biggest airshow and words can;t describe how big it is. I was there for 1 day and probably saw less then 20%. I did see however Wycliffe/JAARS, their new airplane (called the Kodiak) and made a few more contacts. It was a really great time and hopefully next year I will get back again, this time for a few days.

Well I better go, I have a flight tomorrow morning and still need to drive home. Hope you are all well.

Cya ... Nev