Wow, It’s been almost three months since I wrote anything for my blog.  I guess it’s time for some ‘blog CPR’, as I recently heard it called.

So, what have I been ‘Dewing’?

Unfortunately, not a lot of flying.  Learning to fly at a grass strip in the Midwest leaves you to the mercy of the weather.  When 20 inches of snow falls, you know it’s going to be awhile before the hangar door opens.  Frankly, when there’s that much snow, there’s not a lot of motivation to even leave the house, so in that sense the weather has helped ease my aviation cravings.  My last lesson was on January 8th.  Maggie and I flew up to Burlington, WI to introduce me to that airport and right-handed patterns.  I shot some video with my phone, and one of these days I’ll get around to editing it.  I also got a chance to redeem myself recently with the “So Simple Anyone Can Land It” Aircoupe, but that’s a story of its own.

I took advantage of this downtime to knock out the FAA Airman Knowledge Test.  Passing this ‘written exam’ (multiple choice, really) is just one of the requirements for the private pilot certification.  A passing score is 70%, but since my wife made some comment about not flying with a ‘C’ student, I put some effort into it and passed with a 97% (will you fly with me now, dear?).  Now the clock is running.  I have 23 months in which to pass my Practical Test otherwise I’ll have to take the written again.  I need the weather to start cooperating soon so I can get my flying back on track.

In the mean time, I’m keeping the aviation bug alive and well by helping out on Jamie’s wing project.  We’ve made quit a bit of headway during this past week while he’s been home.  We’re getting close to having all the fabric glued on and soon we’ll be ready to start shrinking it.  Here’s just a few of the pictures I’ve taken along the way  (the rest are here):

I’ve learned a lot about aircraft covering during this project and I tell Jamie often that I’m grateful to be able to live and learn vicariously through his wallet on this project.  I can see myself working on a project plane again in the future.  I can’t see myself building a plane from scratch, but I certainly can see restoring an old Cub.  I’d better start saving now…