Nev's News

OK ... so i really wasn't planning on doing this today, but after a few practice tests, I decided to give it a go and do my 'general' written exam. So I paid my $85 and 60 questions later I had done as much as I could do. It's an online test and the test facilitator was able to tell me straight away if I'd passed or failed.

Well ... I am very, very glad to report that I passed with flying colours and can now concentrate on the next written test ('airframe' section). It will take me at least a week before I'm ready and upon successful completion I will be a fully fledged 'airframe' mechanic.

Meanwhile, school is progressing well and we are now working on the engines. I've teamed up with a friend to work on a 3 month project where we overhaul an engine and then test it. The engine class so far has been really good and it is nice to learn a new skill that will enable me to not just work on airplane engines but also lawnmowers, chainsaws, car and bike engines, etc. All useful stuff when I'm in the field.

Thanks again for all who have been praying for me and the test ... I really appreciate it! Praise God for His hand of guidance today as I sailed through the test!

Well ... last weekend was interesting. I took a few days off from studying for my written exams and flew Chris (who I live with) to Oklahoma. He had just bought a truck on ebay and needed to a lift down so he could drive it home. The weather was absolutely beautiful and even though we had a bit of a headwind on the way down, that just meant that it was a really nice tailwind the whole way home.

Here's a pic as we flew over downtown Chicago at 11,500 ft

All in all I was able to log nearly 12 hours of flight time ;-) And even better, another friend let us use his airplane (a Cessna 182) which has 235 hp, putting it in the high-performance category. This was real quality time and definitely helps my log book. So far I'm up to around 260 hours total time.

Now that the weather is getting better, I'm looking to start back to my commercial license training within the next few weeks (just as soon as I get my written exams out of the way). It shouldn't take long to get back in the swing of the training. At the same time I'll also need a sign-off for a rating called 'complex' (i.e. retractable gear and adjustable propellers). The good news is that the school is looking at purchasing a plane that is about half the rental price of their existing complex trainer. If all goes as planned, it should be arrive just at the time when I need to do the 'complex' add-on ... God is good, and I can see now why things didn't work out for me to finish it off last year!