Well, we officially have less than a month of school. Whew, it’s been fun. I’m going to miss my Aeronautical Science classes.

Today was awesome! Remember how I told you guys that I would be taking a final in AS 420 which consisted of a simulator session on the computer? Well today, we did a practice version of the test. It was so awesome to see a group of 5 people working together as a whole. I was the captain and my group played the role of first officer, dispatcher, air traffic control, and the flight attendant. We all walked up to the “airplane” and began our preparation. My first officer and I ran the checklists, programmed the flight management system, and received our clearances out of Daytona Beach for a routine flight to Miami. After departure, we experienced an interesting issue at 21,000 feet abeam Orlando. The flight attendant called the cockpit and said that a passenger found a note written in Arabic and the passengers were a little upset. While my first officer and I discussed our plan of action, the flight attendant called back. He said that a passenger translated the message and it said that there was a bomb on board. The message indicated that it would explode 30 min after takeoff! My first officer and I immediately decided to divert to Orlando International Airport. I then proceeded to transfer control of the aircraft to my first officer while I explained the situation to air traffic control, the flight attendants, and dispatch. Everything went extremely well. I was very impressed on how much our professor’s stories and exercises helped us succeed in the cockpit! The situation was handled, and our aircraft touched down exactly 25 min after takeoff in Orlando. What an experience! I can’t wait to do the real test. Hopefully we will do as well as we did today.

I can definitely tell the semester is coming to a close. Next week is going to be the busiest week of the semester. I have 2 tests on Monday, a presentation and group paper due Wednesday, another presentation and group paper due Thursday, and my simulator exam in AS 420 Thursday afternoon. I definitely will be in the library all weekend preparing for next week.

Finally, for the past few weeks I have been trying to decide what my plans are after graduation. Well, I made the bold move and decided to get my masters! I’m really excited about it. My plan is to upgrade as a full-time instructor, hopefully, and then take master’s classes at night. I am going to apply for the MBA (Masters of Business Administration) program. It will not only prepare me for the constantly changing airline environment, but it will also help me be successful in my own life experiences. Also, I wouldn’t mind working in upper management for an airline and flying on the side later in my career.

Well have a great week everyone. I’m going to start on the pile of work I have for next week. Wish me luck!