Travelogue Chapter Thirteen

Saturday, June 15th 6:42 p.m.

I think this weekend is going to turn out to be a non-event. Just as well, I need a break. I went to the Navy Flying Club this afternoon with the intention of joining but it was not to be... Turns out the guy I need to see to sign up isn't there on the weekend. It certainly wasn't a wasted trip, though. I took the opportunity to take the "Local Area/Club Familiarization" test as well as a pretest for the Cessna 172 and one for the T-41. The club certainly is a new experience for me. It is operated just like a Navy Air Squadron. Which means it has a Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, etc etc... Along with being a Navy club also comes the Navy's occasionally asinine safety regulations...

In addition to having to learn and comply with all the new safety regulations I've also got to get used to operating around the Class B airspace. In Guam it was simple. Once you were 5 miles from the airport and as long as you stayed away from the Air Force Base everything was pretty much fair game. You could fly where you wanted and as high as you wanted. The airspace around Lindbergh Field in San Diego looks like a three dimensional puzzle gone wrong. It extends well over the top of the Navy field (but doesn't go to the ground there). The runways of the two airports are pretty close together. The North end of Runway 36 at North Field is about 2 miles from the edge of the single runway at Lindbergh Field. Once I get this all figured out it will make the Class B in Hawaii look like a joke.

I did well on the tests and scheduled for a check ride with a CFI next Saturday. I spent the afternoon talking with the guy and we seem to hit it off pretty well. He is a bit larger than my primary instructor, Al, so it is going to be interesting to see how the two of us fit in that little plane. I'll be doing my initial check out in the cheaper of the two planes so it won't end up costing me as much. Eventually I plan on taking one of the Cherokee's out for a spin or two (no pun intended)... Their most expensive single, non-complex aircraft is still only 80% of what I was paying in Guam...

On the way home I stopped by the food court at the NEX and picked up some Chinese food. I am only telling you this because I've been eating as I type this and I just cracked open my fortune cookie... "You should be able to undertake and complete anything." I guess that Class B doesn't look so daunting after all...

P.S. The ride across the Coronado Bridge is still as neat as it has always been. Even more so for motorcycles because the toll is free for bikes... Next time I'll try to snap a few pictures as I go across...

P.P.S. I just occurred to me that today was the first Saturday since I left Hawaii that I didn't wake up in a tent...!

On to next chapter

113