Spring break has come and gone and there are only five weeks left of my first year here at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. This year has gone by so fast and it is weird to already be making plans for my summer.

I am looking into taking some courses over the summer at a Community College near my house. This is a good way to save a bit of money and get some of your general education credits out of the way. I am also looking for a job where I can make enough money to pay for next year’s tuition. So, if anyone knows of any openings please don’t hesitate to contact me. Hopefully I can make enough to fund my instrument rating as well, wouldn’t that be nice! Anyways, now that we are on the home stretch, it means that final exams are approaching and I will most likely be spending most of my time in the coming weeks studying at the library.

One thing I have noticed about college that is different from life in high school is that during college, there are distinct “phases” throughout the academic school year. In other words, every couple of weeks seem to be different in terms of what you are getting ready for. It seems like you are always preparing for something (i.e. an exam, presentation, break or a new unit), whereas in high school it seemed (at least for me) that there would be weeks, if not months, where school just felt unproductive, time-consuming and, for lack of a better word, boring. Things are much different here at Riddle and therefore, that is my theory as to why time literally flies by when you are in college. However, I will understand that this might change as I get closer to graduation.

As I wrote earlier, I decided to wait to take my Private Pilot Check ride until after spring break. Now that it is “after spring break”, I should be flying towards the end of this week or beginning of next, weather and schedule permitting, so stay tuned for updates on that. Other than that, I don’t have too much else to inform you about. Sorry for not having a plethora of pictures for you this time (I know that is what everyone looks forward to). The camera on my phone which I usually use to take pictures for my journal entries has decided to stop working for me. However, I didn’t want you to leave feeling empty handed so here is a picture I thought was pretty cool which I took with my iPod on my way back to Florida after spring break.

Sunrise at 35,000 feet

I normally try to start each entry with a type of “hook” to grab the reader’s attention. But, to be honest, I can’t really of anything clever to say without sounding like a broken record. So I’ll just get right into it. Last weekend was family weekend down here at Riddle. The University put on a bunch of events for parents and families to attend while visiting their Riddle student away at college. Festivities kicked off Friday with the “College Student for a Day” event, where parents were able to sit in on classes with their son or daughter. Unfortunately, my parents weren’t here for family weekend, but I assume that this was a pretty cool opportunity for most parents and something they enjoyed. This school definitely had a different look with parents and families walking around everywhere all weekend. One of the most popular events of the weekend (not surprisingly) was the “take your parent flying” opportunity. As you would expect, many of the students were eager to showcase their flying skills to their parents. I also assume this was one of the highlights of the weekend for most parents and families. Some of the other events of the weekend included an ERAU baseball game, a magician and a showcase of the ERAU Jet Dragster (shown below), just to name a few.

Photo credit thanks to Jay Weiss

My flight course has been going well and I am almost up for my end of course checkride. Hopefully by the next entry I will have my Private Pilot Certificate, but some of that will depend on the weather and how quickly I can get scheduled for my checkride. Once you get to the end of course, you have to spend some time going over each and every maneuver you were taught earlier in the course. It’s taken me a few refresher flights to make sure I’ve got each maneuver nailed down. Hopefully I’ll just need one or two more flights to practice landings and I’ll be ready to go. Another part of the end of course check that often gets overlooked is the Oral Check. Basically, you have to sit down with a Check Airmen while he evaluates your cross-country flight planning, knowledge of weather and use of charts, publications and data, knowledge of operations of systems in the aircraft you are being examined in, Aeromedical factors such as hypoxia and spatial disorientation, night preparation and other items relating to Private Pilot Test Standards. To say the least, it’s a lot of studying and reviewing key terms and procedures. But, nevertheless I am feeling confident about the end of course checkride and oral and will keep the internet world updated on how it goes in the next couple of weeks.

I recently applied for the Resident Advisor (RA) position here at Embry-Riddle. A Resident Advisor is an older student (Sophomore, Junior, Senior) who is in charge of overseeing the living halls and making sure policies and rules are followed. For freshmen, an RA should also strive to create a sense of community for his/her residents and be a good friend and leader for them. I applied for the position because I thought it would be a great experience and just a good solid job. So far, I’ve been through two interviews and up next is a four week class which meets for two hours on Tuesday nights. After the class, the Housing & Residence Life Office will make a decision on the final selection of Resident Advisors.

Lastly, I just wanted to add a cool picture I took from the top of Joe’s Crab Shack the other night right after the sun set. The weather has been beautiful the past couple of weeks!

View from Joe’s Crab Shack looking south as the sun sets on Daytona Beach

January 2013

I am in my fourth week of the Spring 2013 semester here at Riddle and operations are in full swing. I have been very busy with my classes. I’m taking 16 credit hours this semester which means I spend a lot of my time studying/doing homework during the week. What has worked out so well this semester is the fact that I was able to set my schedule and pick my own classes. I was able to stack four of my classes together on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I go right from one class to another without having much down time (other than an hour lunch break). Last semester I had class from 9:45-12:30, then I had to wait around for a class at 3:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other than the fact that I could take a nap after lunch, I didn’t really like that schedule; I just didn’t feel very productive. So this semester should be better from a schedule standpoint.

As I briefly mentioned in my last entry, I really like all of my professors this semester. All of them are so knowledgeable in their subjects and passionate about what they are teaching. For example, my Introduction to Rhetoric Professor spent 20 years working as an award-winning journalist for the Daytona Beach News Journal, while my Instrument Pilot Operations professor spent years flying the DC-10 for Hawaiian Airlines. It really makes each class engaging and I feel like I can take away a lot from each of my professors.

ROTC is also in full swing. We have been having Physical Training (PT) on Monday and Friday mornings and Leadership Laboratory on Wednesday mornings. I have been working hard at PT getting ready for our Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) which is graded based on sit-ups, push-ups and a mile and a half run. Your PFA score is important in determining scholarships, rank and Officer Potential so it is important to me that I do well.

Ever since coming back to Daytona Beach in early January, the Daytona International Speedway, which is adjacent to the Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach Campus on the other side of the airport, has been alive with action. This past weekend they held the Rolex 24 race, where race teams compete for 24 hours around the track. It is a test of endurance and skill for the drivers and their crews. My Air Force ROTC program sends cadets each year to volunteer at the Speedway and help with the races. This past weekend, me and a couple of friends worked for 11 hours on Saturday helping load and unload trams that would shuttle fans from one side of the track to the other. The best part of the job was taking a break for dinner, where we were able to watch part of the race right on the track. It’s amazing how fast (and LOUD) those cars are. It was a great experience.

Watching the Rolex 24 as the cars speed by

Also, my friends and I have taken up a new hobby: surfing. All of us have really wanted to learn since coming down to Florida in August, but we didn’t really know where to start during the first semester. About two weeks ago, we did some research, drove down to a local surf shop and purchased some surfboards. Ever since, we have spent almost every minute of our free time at the beach learning how to surf. Let me tell you, it is not as easy as it looks. Like any sport it takes a lot of practice and determination (not to mention an amazing amount of core strength) to master. But after last weekend, I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of it.

Driving down the beach on a sunny Sunday afternoon, ready to surf.

More to come on surfing, flying, and Embry-Riddle in my next entry, stay tuned!

Half way! It’s really hard to believe that I am already over halfway done with my freshman year of college. This year has really been flying by (pun intended). I’ve been back at Riddle for almost three weeks now since traveling home for winter break. Boy was it good to see my friends and family back in Seattle and spend some time with them over the holidays. It really never felt like I even left! My room was the same, my clothes were still there and my dog was still happy to see me. I was able to get some snowboarding, hiking and some good ole’ R & R in the three weeks I was home for. It was a much needed break. It worked out well because by the time I was boarding my flight to head back to Florida, I was ready to hit the ground running for the spring semester. I’m going to have to keep that mentality going because I have a busy semester ahead of me. I’m taking six classes, ROTC, working, playing intramural sports and getting ready for a Private Pilot check ride, just a few of the involvements I have ahead of me the next few months!

After returning to Florida in early January, I got right back into the swing of things with my flight training. The first day back my instructor did my dual cross-country and flew to St. Petersburg. We were able to get quite a bit done during the week before classes started despite relatively bad weather. The flight operations discount all flight activities by 50%. It worked out perfectly because I was able to get all of my cross countries done during that time. Last week I did my local solo and my first solo cross country. For my solo cross country I flew to Gainesville and back. It is about a 150 Nautical Mile round trip and takes about 2.3 hours. Tomorrow I am scheduled for my long cross country where I will be flying to the Tampa area, then up to Gainesville and back to Daytona. This is a much longer trip which is about 250nm and should take close to three hours. After that, I have a couple of practice flights then I’m up for my check ride! It’s hard to believe I’m already at the end of course. A bunch of my buddies  and I already have plans to go flying once I get my license, so I’m definitely looking forward to that.

My classes are going great. I was able to pick my classes and set up my schedule this semester and I have to say, I did pretty well. I really like all of my teachers and I am very interested in the classes I am taking. I will go into greater detail about my classes and ROTC in my next post which will be in the next few days.

Stay tuned for important updates on the Daytona Speedway, college professors, Florida weather, flag football, aviation, and possibly even surfing, all to come next week. Happy New Year!

Cruising above the clouds on my solo cross country.

September 2012

Greetings from Daytona Beach! I’m looking forward to writing to all of you and sharing my experiences down here at Riddle. I remember when I was applying to Embry-Riddle, reading the student blogs really helped me get a good idea of what life would be like here on campus so hopefully I can do the same for you.

I should start by telling you a little about myself. My name is Dylan and I’m a freshman here at Riddle. I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington so you could say I’m pretty far away from home. However, you will learn that this campus is very diverse. Students from all over the world come here to study. Compared to the travels some of my classmates had to take to get here, it makes the distance I had to travel here seem short. Ever since I was little I have been fascinated by airplanes. When my family would take a vacation that required air travel, the best part of the vacation for me was the flights to and from our destination. When it came time to start looking at colleges I did some research (I didn’t have to look very far) and discovered that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was the premier school to go to if you wanted to learn how to fly. Talk to anyone in the Aviation Industry and they will tell you the same thing. I came here one month ago with absolutely zero flight experience, and as of today I already have 5.8 hours of logged flight time under my belt. I am also participating in Air Force ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) here. So yeah, you could say this past month has been quite the change for me. Not to mention the fact that the Florida weather is just a little different from the cool, dampness of the Pacific Northwest.

In case you didn’t know I’m majoring in Aeronautical Science which is basically fancy terminology for “Professional Pilot.” Aeronautical Science and Aerospace Engineering are the two most popular majors here on campus. Coming here with no flight experience I wasn’t really sure what to expect with how the flying would work. Now that I’ve been here for a while I can see why this place is so good at training pilots. There are times I feel like I could be in the movie Top Gun. The flight line is incredible; there are over 60 airplanes in the fleet, from a variety of different manufacturers. The best part of my day is walking to the flight line and checking in for my flight and walking out to the plane with my instructor. They really make you feel like a professional pilot from day one. This week I have three flights which I’m really looking forward to. However, don’t expect to be flying every single day. The flight curriculum for the Private Pilot Course is based on Modules. For each module you will have an oral, FTD (Flight Training Device) and flight. Basically, you and your instructor will spend a day discussing what you will be practicing. Then you will practice in a flight simulator. After that you will apply it to the skies in the airplane. So realistically you will have 1 or maybe 2 flights per week depending on when your flight block is and how the weather is, but it varies.

My roommate and I are living McKay Hall. It is one of the four dorms that are generally designated for freshman students. I have to say that I think McKay is the best dorm to live in. I also lucked out with the fact that my roommate is very clean so our room is never dirty.

Also, Air Force ROTC has been pretty busy lately. We have PT (Physical Training) on Monday and Friday mornings. I’m really glad I stayed in shape over the summer because PT would be a killer if I had not. Last Friday we did the famous beach run. We all met up and drove down to the beach at about 0530. We ran up and down the beach chanting Jodie’s, and watched the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean. It was a really cool experience and it made PT a lot of fun.

I’ve only been here a month but I already feel like I have been here for 2 or 3. Some friends and I have been busy. A few weekends ago we went to Disney World for the weekend and stayed at my roommate’s house in Orlando. This past weekend we went to the Coco Beach Airshow. We’ve already been to the beach at least a half a dozen times. It’s cool how you can go to the beach anytime of the day and not worry about being cold. The water is warm and the weather is even warmer. We went body surfing at 8AM a few weekends ago.

Anyways, that’s all I have for now. There will be much more to come next time. Feel free to e-mail me at johnsd66@my.erau.edu with any questions you might have.