The countdown is approaching the end. Classes finished on December 9th and final exams are scattered between then and December 16th which is the day students have to check out of the dorms. For me, I only have one exam, a business exam, on Monday at 7:15pm. It will be weird to have a test that late at night, but they schedule it like that so that students can have enough time, more than the normal class time.

Friday December 10th was dedicated a “Study Day” which is basically a day off where you can begin to review everything for exams. On that date as well I signed up for my FAA Written Private Exam, which is basically the exam you have to pass in order to get your private license. Before taking the exam, however, you take AS121 aka Private Pilot Operations, which is a class dedicated to teaching you the basics on flying and how to pass that exam. Throughout the course you are required to take Gleims, which are basically practice tests for the FAA Written. They are practically the same thing and at the end of the course you take a LaserGrade, which is the last practice test and combines all units and chooses 60 random questions, just like the written. You have to get an 80% to pass the final gleim, even though you only need a 70% on the written to pass. The teachers do this to basically make sure that you could pass the real thing, which is a good idea. Thank goodness, I passed. The tests are $130 which is the increased price after it got changed from $80 this past April.

I will be leaving school on Tuesday evening and I am extremely excited to get back home but I definitely will miss my friends and the whole environment. It will be weird not flying for a month but I might be trying to fly a little bit at my local airport. When I go home, I plan on working over the break, just enough to get a little bit of money but I want to be able to enjoy my break. If you are my friend on facebook, you will most likely see pictures of me dressed up as an elf. I work at a grocery store and the thought it would be funny if they brought in a Santa and had an employee dress up as an elf and take pictures of the kids with Santa and give out candy canes. Of course they chose me, one of the tallest elfs you would ever see. Alot of people said I reminded them of the movie Elf with Will Ferrell.

Here’s a picture of last year so you can have a laugh but it was definitely fun, a good way to get in the holiday spirit, which you don’t really have as much down here because it usually is warm, however, it has been some crazy weather here in Daytona Beach. Never did I expect it to get as cold as it has. This past week I preflighted the airplane when the temperature was 27 and the wind chill was about 20 or so. Even if you’re coming to Florida, bring gloves! Once you’re here for a while, your body adjusts to the heat. So even when it drops to about 60 degrees or so, it feels a lot colder.

I also have applied to be a Resident Advisor since the last journal, so hopefully I might be one of your RAs next year. If I don’t become a Resident Advisor, I will most likely move off campus to one of the local apartment complexes with a friend. I like living on campus, seeing how everything is so close, but I like having my own place, where there is more to customize. I can buy my own sofa, own bed, and own desk. Well I guess this basically wraps up our last journal of 2010. I cannot wait to start a whole new set of classes and I hope you all have happy holidays and a great new year! Ladies and gentlemen, we have just been cleared to land into Daytona Beach, local time is 1232 and temperature is 57 degrees. Please make sure one last time your seat belt is securely fastened. The flight attendants are currently passing around the cabin to make a final compliance check and pick up any remaining cups and glasses. Thank you.

Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well. It turns out I will end up writing for you one more time prior to the end of the semester, however I don’t have that much to say! Why, you may ask? Well, because the majority of the last two weeks have been spent studying for finals.

Perhaps the most significant thing that has happened since I wrote last is me receiving my instrument rating. After about 4 months of work and a good deal of studying, I passed my checkride and am now certificated to fly in the clouds, shooting approaches down to minimums. Would I do that right away? Absolutely not. Training does not always constitute experience and to push your privileges to their maximum with little to no actual experience is foolish. By working your way down (in terms of the weather) to minimums and building experience is truly the only way to do it.

Finals have come and gone, thankfully. I actually really lucked out this semester in that I had no cumulative final exams. Either because no exams were given by the professors or because I had a high enough grade going into the exam where I could bypass it with no effect on my grade, I was able to get away without a tedious week of studying. What I did have, though, in terms of finals were a practice FAA Commercial Pilot Written Exam, a normal class exam in lieu of a final exam, and the real Commercial Written exam.

For any pilots who are reading this, I will clarify a bit about the finals/written exams for your flight ratings. Essentially, at the end of any ground school class for a rating at Riddle, you take a “practice” written exam for the respective real written exam that you would take for the rating. You must pass this practice written with an 80% or higher to receive the endorsement from your professor to take the real written exam. Additionally, if you pass this practice exam with an 80% or higher, 10 points are added to your final grade for that class. This may make the whole situation sound stressful, but if you study (and memorize) the Gleim studybook, you are essentially certain to pass.

Tomorrow night, I head home for just under a month before returning to Riddle for the Spring 2011 semester. The end of a semester always has an exciting feeling to it. Unfortunately, if you live on campus, there is a lot of cleaning that must be done before you leave to ensure that all perishable food items are disposed of and the room is left clean. Of course, you must also pack your things up, which can be challenging especially at the end of the second semester. But, don’t worry, I will discuss that when the time comes!

One misconception you might have about Florida is that it is hot ALL the time. This, unfortunately, is not the case as when a cold front moves through the temperatures can drop into the 30’s and even 20’s. As I write this now, it is only 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside. It can be helpful if you are trying to get into the Christmas Spirit though, as you can see in the picture above of Santa, Mrs. Claus, and even the reindeer driving down a road. One good thing, for me, that comes with cold weather is that usually it means that the airport switches to a runway 34 operation, resulting in airplanes landing right in front of my window as you can see. Crazy!

Sorry guys, but that is really all I have for you this time. I wish you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season and New Year. Talk to you in 2011!

Take care,

Pete