People and Places

Ridiculously Talented Husband (RTH) – Proud owner of a PPL. As the name suggests capable of turning his hand to pretty much anything and succeeding at it. Give him anything and he will not only have figured out how it works but also how to connect it to the internet for world domination before I’ve figured out which way up to hold it. I love him dearly. I’m intensely proud of him. My life wouldn’t be complete without him. However; if he wasn’t such an all-round nice bloke, his ability to do everything and anything would make him really bloody irritating!

Bob the Flight Instructor – Obviously not his real name (the poor guy deserves some privacy). Why he would choose to spend his weekends with a semi hysterical 30 something female is beyond me! Seriously, though he has many qualities which make him a saint in my book. In no particular order:

·         He’s obviously doing it because he loves flying. His enthusiasm is contagious and  probably counts for a reasonable part of my decision to try to take this as far as possible, rather than just grab a few lessons

·         He’s infinitely patient. He’s never made me feel stupid, despite the fact I’ve done some bloody stupid things up there.

·         He can always find a positive in even the worst lesson. Even when I’ve felt the lesson was a compete write off, I can always think back to at least one thing I’ve managed to achieve.

·         He writes epic lesson summaries in my PTR. This ensures that I have at least a small incentive to attend Ground School after a lesson as I can read his comments in class.

·         He gets (or at least can tolerate) my strange sense of humour and tendency to use vast amounts of profanity.

·         He’s actually a bloody good teacher. Having spent a large portion of my previous career evaluating teachers. I tend to pick up on the features that make good teachers good.  Bob has all those qualities and more. I can spot good teaching practice a mile off, it’s odd to be on the receiving end though. For the record I happen to be an appalling student ( more on that later)

The Gang from work - First initials only to preserve privacy. My group of friends from my workplace. Generally supportive. Willing to listen to what must be fairly tedious recounts of my lessons. Prepared to put up with the fact that it is all I ever talk about. Not a clue about how hard it actually is!

Ground School Group – The random mix of people I find myself with in the classroom, twice a week for 7 years (or is it weeks? Feels like years!). Some really great people to share a laugh and a story with and offer mutual support. Some really irritating people whom I would happily stab with an E6b. Some good instructors , some bad. Some interesting topics. Some boring.

Local Airport – conveniently located within walking distance of my home. Runways surrounded by water for added training incentive to nail those takeoffs and landings. Ferry ride was fun at the start, novelty quickly wears off.

The Hanger of Doom – Otherwise known as the location for Ground School. Ridiculously small, ridiculously hot and with a ridiculous number of people trying to cram into it. I hate that room. Also the location for my ground briefings with Bob. When we are doing S maneuvers, I also hate that room. Nothing worse than having your potential demise spelled out to you in nice colourful bullet points on the board. The furniture looks like it could get up and walk of its own accord. Did I mention how much I hate that room?