Here we go again....

[doodler]

Yeah I a excited to do my first solo. My instructor thinks I will be ready in about 5 more lessons for that! I am so excited but also really nervous about it. My goal is to have my license by next spring so I can spend the summer flying!

I was excited and nervous about my first solo, but as soon as I started down the runway on my first solo flight, it was as if my instructor was sitting next to me scolding me for my little transgressions. I've talked to other pilots and they said they had the same experience. You'll do great as long as you don't practice your stalls on takeoff.

When I soloed, I didn't know about the ritual of cutting a square out of the back of your shirt to commemorate the occasion. Back then, I rode motorcycle and my shirt had a streak of chain oil up the back. As it turned out, it was a great keepsake that reminds me of the solo flight as well as my beloved bike.

So I am having an extremely hard time today... Knowing my W is in the progress of moving all of her stuff out of our home and into her apartment today is killing me... I am thinking of stupid things that come to my mind -

I had a hard time with the move-out as well, but within just a couple of days I realized how much better it was when she was gone. I wasn't expecting that. Maybe you'll have the same experience.

[DonH]

Just happened to catch the words "first solo" while scanning your thread which of course caught my eye. I got my private back in 1991 (crap I feel old) and my instrument the following year. I've got just north of 1,000 hours. For a variety of reasons I had to sell my quarter share in my Cirrus SR22 about five years ago. No medical at the current time. Hmmmm maybe that's why I have not had a lot of dates lately? Nothing impresses more than a first or early date flying some place for dinner.

Keep at it and let us know when you solo. It's cool as heck but slightly anticlimactic as the years go by - at least it was for me, then again it was 25 years ago. Nothing cooler at the time though!

Are you still flying Doodler? Did you ever get your ticket or just get through solo? Many, many start but are not able to finish - mostly due to time or money or both.

No better GAL than flying lessons!

[doodler]

Don,

Yes, I got my license in 1981 when I was working as an aircraft mechanic for an FBO. As an employee, I was able to rent a Tomahawk for $18 per hour wet.

[DonH]

Wow, you're even older than me. Lol. I think I paid $37/hour for the C-152 trainer plus instructor. The last time I looked at rental rates OMG. I bought into a C-172 a month after taking my check ride and flew over 700 hours in that over about 15 years. That's where the great memories are including second date with ex w and trips with the family before the kids got older and put us over weight. .

Waiting for the new 3rd class medical reform to take effect and then hope to get back in the air. Problem is, after flying the SR22, it's hard to go back to something else - although at about $225-$275 an hour rental rates...

Sorry for the thread hijack!

[Ginger1]

Don,

Yes, I got my license in 1981 when I was working as an aircraft mechanic for an FBO. As an employee, I was able to rent a Tomahawk for $18 per hour wet.

I was born in 1980.

Sorry also for the hijack, but I just had to point that out.

[matw]

Hey DonH and Doodler I love reading about how people got into flying and what they are doing it with it now. I have always wanted to learn how to fly so last spring I went on a discovery flight at KAPA and was hooked. I started my lessons the next week. Had to stop though in July because it was looking that the W and I would be buying another house. Now that we aren't doing that and we are separating I decided to get back up in the air. Pretty excited for tomorrows lesson which will be in a Piper Archer. I have only flown in 172's so going to a low wing should be a lot of fun. I can't wait until I solo and eventually get my license. I am really looking forward to some of the cross country flying.

journaling...

So my W moved a lot of her stuff to her apartment and will be finishing up on Saturday. So tonight will be her last night sleeping in my house. I will have the kids the rest of the weekend and then they will go over to W apartment Monday and Tuesday.

My W wants to go back to school to become an addition counselor and found out last night she got accepted. I told her congrats and we talked about how she is going to be really busy starting in Jan with School, Work, and the kids. Other than that we talked about the logistics of moving the rest of her stuff and what she would be keeping here. She asked me if I wanted to see he apartment and I told her yes I would like to see where our kids will be.

So a thing I continue to have an issue with is the wedding ring.. I plan on wearing mine unless we do get a divorce then once that is final I will take it off and give it to her. I had asked her if she wants to continue to wear hers and she said yes we are still married. I have just noticed that she is always forgetting to put it back on after showers/the gym/doing dishes. When I see it off her finger I freak out and ask her where her ring is. I know its not good to continue to do that and need to change that habit. She told me today that every time I ask her about the ring it makes her not want to wear it. When she said that I realized she is looking for an excuse to stop wearing it. I need to realize it will mean a lot more if she wears it by her own choice and if she doesn't then I know how she feels about our marriage. Again why detaching is so important and why I read all the vets giving that advice over and over again.

[matw]

Don,

Yes, I got my license in 1981 when I was working as an aircraft mechanic for an FBO. As an employee, I was able to rent a Tomahawk for $18 per hour wet.

I was born in 1980.

Sorry also for the hijack, but I just had to point that out.

Hijack away! I enjoy reading everybody's comments and helps to keep my mind away from my W.

[matw]

journaling...

On Saturday I went up and had my flying lesson which I always look forward to. I am so excited to be able to continue my flying lessons and getting back on track with that. It really is 2 hours that I don't think about my sitch or and just have a lot of fun.

Also on Saturday my W moved all her stuff to her apartment and spent her first night there. I really thought it would be hard for me but it wasn't. I was strangely relaxed and able to spend some good quality time with my kids. We had a lot of fun playing video games and hanging out. I was worried that I would be depressed especially after I found out she was going downtown with a friend do some bar hopping. I realized it doesn't matter what she does anymore. I can only control myself. I guess I am getting sick of letting her be my only thoughts. I actually have a pretty good life with or without her.

On Sunday we did meet up to go grocery shopping together. We did this just because we are doing the 2-2-3 split so I will be responsible for the kids school lunches and what not. Also we meal prep everything on Sunday for the week since we are both into fitness. She normally did the shopping and I just wanted to make sure I got everything we normally do. So we did all that then went back to my house to cook our meals. Then she went to her apartment and I had the kids to myself again. Again a lot easier once she was gone.

So it appears that our in house situation wasn't working very well. Now that she has moved to the apartment I think this is will work a lot better for us. I became so dependent on my W that I lost who I was. I need to be alone for awhile to get back to the person she married twice. Also I need a bit of space to figure out what I want. Its also going to be a good time to work on my boundaries and what I am going to put up with. I was failing at that miserably I think because I was hoping for whatever reason she was going to change her mind.

Tonight will be the test because its the first night I will be at home without the kids. I plan on going to the gym and then back home to do some cleaning. I need to empty out my closet of all my old clothes. I have lost about 60lbs since April and need to make room for new clothes. I want to get all my old clothes ready and donate them to Goodwill. I plan on keeping myself busy and doing things I don't normally do when my W was living with me.

[doodler]

Also on Saturday my W moved all her stuff to her apartment and spent her first night there. I really thought it would be hard for me but it wasn't. I was strangely relaxed and able to spend some good quality time with my kids.

matw,

I had the same experience when my W moved out; it was totally unexpected.

With regard to flying, I have a correction to make to one of my previous posts. The Tomahawk was only $12 per hour (in 1981), not $18 per hour. Of course, that was the employee rate. I paid $18 per hour for a Cessna 150 way back in 1976. I've forgotten what I had to pay for the instructor back then. And, my pilot's license was printed on heavy paper/thin cardboard; it didn't have a picture on it like they do now.

And, navigation was VOR, RDF (yuck) or compass (i.e. highways and railroad tracks). There wasn't any of that newfangled GPS stuff (at least not in private aviation). Some people were using LORAN.

I knew that Ginger was the perfect age for me. I just have to convince her to move within 20 minutes of where I live. Hmmm...

[matw]

Also on Saturday my W moved all her stuff to her apartment and spent her first night there. I really thought it would be hard for me but it wasn't. I was strangely relaxed and able to spend some good quality time with my kids.

matw,

I had the same experience when my W moved out; it was totally unexpected.

With regard to flying, I have a correction to make to one of my previous posts. The Tomahawk was only $12 per hour (in 1981), not $18 per hour. Of course, that was the employee rate. I paid $18 per hour for a Cessna 150 way back in 1976. I've forgotten what I had to pay for the instructor back then. And, my pilot's license was printed on heavy paper/thin cardboard; it didn't have a picture on it like they do now.

And, navigation was VOR, RDF (yuck) or compass (i.e. highways and railroad tracks). There wasn't any of that newfangled GPS stuff (at least not in private aviation). Some people were using LORAN.

I knew that Ginger was the perfect age for me. I just have to convince her to move within 20 minutes of where I live. Hmmm...

Yeah I am not sure if its out of sight out of mind.. Or if maybe it because I don't feel I have to walk on egg shells. I can really start concentrating on myself. I am beginning to appreciate that a separation in different houses is better than an in house separation.


Yeah I pay around $100 to $135 per hour depending on what plane I choose(plus an additional $50 per hour for instructor) Usually I do the 172N model but sometimes I spoil myself with a S model. Flew a G1000 eqiuped 172 once which was really awesome! On Saturday I went up in a Piper Archer II for the first time. I think I like the 172's a little more.. I have always thought the Pipers look cooler though so I am going to take it up a few more times to get a little more comfortable in them.