The week started out very quiet as both on Monday and Tuesday my flights were canceled due to strong, gusting winds that were a bit too much for this stage of training. On Wednesday I was scheduled for 7.00 which meant that I had to get up early but also that the air was still calm and therefore I had an uneventful flight in which I did some touch and go's and several maneuvres in the practice area.
My classmate Mélanie had a good day as she was the first from our class to go solo. The traditional proceedings after this event are illustrated with the photos below.
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I tried but didn't get much more than this. |
On Thursday I had another flight in which I was able to practice touch and go's and other maneuvres. This went well and I was due for the next session on Friday and would then have the weekend off. To be able to do something on my days off I reserved a car at the local rental agency for Saturday and Sunday. As it turned out my flight was canceled on Friday for bad weather and rescheduled for Saturday! I decided to keep the car reservation on anyway as I would not be going that far on the first day anyway, it being my first go at driving in the States. On Friday evening I paid a short visit to the local fair which has set up camp right next to the Flight Academy. As it turned out me and Bas should have paid an entrance fee but as (unknown to us) we used the wrong entrance we avoided this. The fair wasn't that spectacular and after trying to win something by shooting a crossbow, which did not yield the big prize but just some beads, we went home again.
I picked up the car on Saturday morning and first drove to the supermarket to load up on food and other supplies. I showed up for my flight but it was canceled again and instead we did some briefings on some of the subjects that needed to be covered before the pre-solo check. After this I drove to Vero Beach to have a look around and to practice my driving some more.
On Sunday I got up early and was away at 8.10 on my way to Kissimmee, home of Tom Reillys Warbird Restoration Museum. I spent an enjoyable day here looking around the museum and admiring the work they are carrying out on their current projects, a B-17 and a Corsair. I took the scenic route going back after looking around the town of Kissimmee itself. I ended up at the Atlantic coast next to Vero Beach and managed to find my way back home again after driving some 260 miles. The photos below give an impression of Reillys Aviation.
