Series Begins Monday, May 12

by ANN Managing Editor Rob Finfrock

"Coming Next Week -- Emergency Procedures, And Dealing With Strong Winds." Those words, written in March 2007, were the last I posted on the pages of ANN, until now, regarding my efforts to earn my sport pilot license. As regular readers might recall, I had just soloed an Evektor Sportstar at Grand Prairie Municipal (GPM) and was looking forward to moving on to my dual and solo cross country flights, taking the written exam... and finally, the checkride.

Alas, things didn't work out as intended... certainly not the first time that's happened in my life, but still a bummer. First of all, I knew I was coming up against a hard deadline for my training to be completed -- I planned to move back to New Mexico in July. That wasn't much of a concern in March, however... I still had plenty of time!

As the weeks went on, however, time became increasingly compressed. The Evektor suffered a landing mishap in early April (with another student at the controls) which resulted in a scraped wing that put the plane out of service for three weeks. I was able to take the SportStar up solo a couple times after that, complete with its new, freshly-painted aileron... but that was it. In late June, 'my little SportStar' departed the side of the runway on takeoff, went into a ditch and wound up battered on the taxiway... fortunately resulting in no injuries to the pilot and his female passenger, but pretty much scrapping the plane in the process.

I couldn't blame the fact I still didn't have a license on bad luck, though. Truth is, I could have accomplished a lot more than I did in the time I had. There were many mornings I'd look at the sky, and think "hmm, that ceiling looks a little low for touch-and-goes, only 600 feet above pattern altitude" or I'd call the AWOS at Grand Prairie and note "uh oh, there's a pretty stiff crosswind, 10 knots" -- and I'd decide to stay at home, instead of making the 45-minute drive to GPM.

Go ahead and say it; I have. Wimp! Groundhog!

In some cases, of course, the decision not to fly was a no-brainer: Spring 2007 was a particularly windy one in Dallas, and a stormy one as well. But I also shied away from the less-than-optimal -- but still entirely flyable -- conditions that might have challenged me, and forced me to learn new things. And if I kept doing that, I'd never be a pilot.

In fact, soon after I moved back to Albuquerque, I started to question whether I had the wherewithal to continue with my training. Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something, six years since I first thought of becoming a licensed pilot.

Fast forward to this past January, at Sebring. Several people at the show asked me if I'd ever completed my sport pilot training; most nodded in understanding when I explained why I hadn't.

One of those people also had an intriguing idea. "You know, we're going to have a plane in Florida a few weeks before Sun 'N Fun," said Dave Graham, vice president of Gobosh Aviation. "Maybe we could free up some time for you to finally get your license."

THAT definitely raised my eyebrows... and over the next couple months, plans were finalized. Gobosh was even able to find an instructor who agreed to take on the challenge of seeing a student -- with some 65 hours in his logbook, in five different plane types and with four different instructors, but not a solo cross-country flight or written exam in the bunch -- through to his checkride.

"You've got the desire and the skill, now we just need to get you the rest of the way. And we will," reassured my CFI, Jim Crone, in a phone call the Friday before I headed out to Florida.

Over the next two-and-a-half weeks, I think I learned more about the nuances of flying -- and how to do it right -- than I ever had before. Here are a few of the things I learned:

• There's a reason John and Martha King are so highly regarded in the industry for their training acumen;
• I LOVE grass runways! And crosswinds aren't that scary, after all;
• There are many planes -- even some LSA -- that will let you get away with sloppy rudder use. The Gobosh 700S is most emphatically NOT one of them, and I am absolutely convinced that's how a trainer should be;
• I'm less sold on free-castering nosewheels, and non-vernier throttles on Rotax-powered aircraft;
• Most birds will try to fly away from your aircraft, if they see it in time... but Florida buzzards apparently think "hey, there's lunch";
• There's nothing like flying to an airport you've never been to, alone; slotting into the pattern with six other planes; and performing a perfect landing, right on the numbers;
• Seeing the Atlantic Ocean from 2,500 feet after taking off from that same airport runs a very close second, however;
• Returning from your solo cross-country, only to find your instructor has already gone to lunch without you, is a fantastic affirmation... even when you're hungry, and a little miffed he took the car;
• And while I still believe the three sweetest words in the English language are "I love you," there are three others almost as wonderful, especially when spoken by a somewhat gruff examiner:

"You're a pilot."

One month later, I can't believe it. Starting Monday, I'll tell you how I finally got there.

FMI: www.sportpilot.org, www.eaa.org, www.gobosh.aero