Seatac and books about airplanes.

So I've landed at Seatac twice in a row this week. Haha. Jesse's started calling me Seatac Girl. I like Sherlock more.

The whole airport lights up like a Christmas tree.

AND.

I'm editing a book. For this lovely lady.



It's a dark thriller about airplanes and conspiracies and craziness and pilots. What's not to love?

The funny thing is that I started going to college to become a book editor. Halfway through this year, I decided I didn't like overloading on English literature classes and switched my major to computer science. I never would have met her if I hadn't started flying, and I never would have gotten the chance to edit her book, which I am almost finished reading at the moment. She also just gave me Easter candy and a t-shirt that says "Today is my day to fly!" because it is. She's so inspiring and amazing. I hope we can both be small plane instructors one day. :)

I love editing. I have a mental map of the book, and boy, is this one ever a labyrinth. Think three-dimensional Midwestern corn maze. It's quite a wild ride. A lot of it scares me, but it reveals a lot about the current state of the commercial aviation industry, stuff that most people don't even think about or can imagine happening. I imagine a lot of it is scarier to me as a student pilot because not only do I fly ten miles south of the airport where it takes place, but also because this was initially why I wanted to learn to fly. I still want to pilot a 787 someday. I don't want to say I'm rethinking it because of her novel, but it is helping me put things into perspective. Commercial flying isn't red carpets and piano lounges anymore.

However you look at it, it's a great book. You need to buy it and help us make enough money so I can edit the movie script too. Also Karlene and I need to buy a purple Warrior to practice in. Just saying.

Another one leaving.

Flashback to January.

Me: Yeah, Jon's my instructor now.
Ross: You know he's leaving, right?
Me: WHAT.
Ross: He's going into the military.
Me: Next thing you're going to tell me Bryce is moving to Alaska!

Except now he actually IS moving to Alaska. He got a job with Million Air. Be right back, tears.

I love Bryce. I know he's going to have tons of fun because he's also going to learn to fly helicopters (you helicopter pilots have stolen another one from me! :( stop it), but still. He's one of my most favorite people ever and a super amazing pilot. He'd better come back to visit.

Dr. Seuss + Airplanes

"You've got a mind that is one of a kind so why hide it away?
It's time to open the locks and think out of the box and today is your day!
Bounce on the brink of whatever you think and oh, what could be better than that?"

Seussical the Musical. A compilation of Dr. Seuss books, ridiculous music, and surprisingly inspirational lyrics.

This almost has something to do with airplanes, probably. OH. RIGHT.

I won the 99s' flight training scholarship! This is so wonderful, I can barely even come up with sentences. It's so great to know I won't have to worry about having the money to finish getting my private pilot certificate. Even though it's only one checkride, it's the one you need to get before anything else. I've been trying to study like mad to weed out all my weird questions that pop up, but it seems like I keep thinking of more. Oh well. Hopefully I'll do alright.

"Why decry a cloudy sky
An empty purse
A crazy universe?
My philosophy is simply
Things could be worse!"

Exactly.

YAY.

Successful long cross-country. Even though it was more of a condensed cross-country. Basically it was my last cross-country plus three landings at Tacoma. Quote from the instructor who signed off my dispatch form:

"My only concern is that the winds at Seattle are outside your crosswind component limitation, but since we're not at Seattle you should be okay. And you managed to get on the ground safely after that last flight when it was really gnarly out."

Yeah, apparently when I was coming back on the really windy day, a lot of the instructors were standing by the window watching me and hoping I wouldn't die. I didn't find out until yesterday. Somewhat embarrassing.

But still. Gnarly landing. Ahaha.

Also this was sitting next to me in the run-up area.

Weather :(

This week has been almost entirely without airplanes. My instructor and I tried to go flying Monday night, but the plane's vacuum pump was dead, so that didn't work. And ever since then it's been gray and foggy and cloudy and raining and depressing. It's supposed to be slightly better this afternoon when I will possibly be flying, but who knows.

I've also had to write a letter to my school asking for an extension on my flight training because I'm kind of behind on all their deadlines. It's not my fault there's so much weather here. Or that my instructors keep leaving. I hope they decide I can finish. I'm so close. I just have to do my long cross-country and a mock checkride or two.