Winter winter go away, come again...never.

The year is 1/6^th over.  Taking stock of what I’ve gotten done so far…meh…not so great right off the bat.  Again, patience is not a virtue that I have. 

Flying has been slow so far.  I haven’t practiced so much on the acro side of things.  I’m conserving my pennies so that when I get closer to contest season I can really pack in the flying.  I’m staying active still though, giving lessons in the Decathlon on the weekends.  Spins from the back seat are insanely fun to do.  I’ve had a few students that are either working on their CFI licenses and need a spin endorsement or just want to go explore the world beyond the normal stall recovery.  They say you don’t really learn anything until you start teach it.  I’ve gone back and re-read everything I can on the aerodynamics and teaching techniques.  I guess I’m feeling pretty good about the flying side of things after all. 

The other day I spent about a half hour talking to Greg Koontz down in Alabama (www.gkairshows.com).  Greg has been flying airshows since 1974 and has thousands upon thousands of hours of dual given (lessons that he has given) in taildraggers and acro mounts. His favorite plane to fly:  the Super Decathlon.  He has also published a series of articles in Sport Aerobatics all about how to instruct…prime cut stuff.  I wanted to talk to pick his brain on getting to the airshow circuit and things to work on.  Turns out he is the new Chairman of the A.C.E committee…the Aerobatic Competency Evaluator committee…the people that grant airshow waivers.  Serendipitous?  Maybe.  I’m hoping to head down to ‘Bama sometime after contest season is through to do some flying with him and learn from a modern day acro Jedi master.  

I also recently obtained a copy of the syllabus provided to airshow hopefuls that provides the background knowledge and considerations in all this crazy stuff.  With the weather for the next week showing 100% chance of rain almost every day I'm planning on getting through as much of it as possible…at least make a first pass on everything. 

I’ve got about four months left until the first contest.  Four full months that is.  With the weather improving and the winter winds starting to wither my practices should be coming more frequently.