It’s officially been two weeks since I returned from fall break! So far school’s been pretty much the same. I took three tests since I’ve been back. One in Private Pilot Operations (AS 121) which I got a 90% on. I’ve already taken Private Ground course when I was doing my flight training back at Caldwell, so that course is mostly a review for me. I took a test in Instrument Pilot Operations (AS 221), which was on reading IFR charts and approach plates, of which I got a 93%. I also took a test in Math (MA112), which required me to spend a little more time studying, due to my lack of understanding the course material. However, I felt that the test was fair-to-easy, so I’m hoping I did well on it. I also have an upcoming research project for Aeronautical Science Success on the Honors Program here at Embry-Riddle. So to tie it all together, it was just an average two weeks of college. However, a lot of events are coming up for Homecoming Week, which I’m excited for because it’s my freshman year. What I find interesting about it is that we don’t have a football team.
As far as flight is concerned, I flew twice (Oct 21st & 23rd) on the week that I returned to campus from Fall Break. Surprisingly after that, I did not have flight for ten days. This is because my flight instructor was moved from the morning shift to the evening shift and with my classes being in the evening, I was unable to receive a flight block with him. But finally, I was paired with an instructor who is more than familiar with my situation, as he himself came to ERAU with only flight hours and finished up his license in just about the same amount of hours as I. Having to transition to a new instructor so late in the game is a little odd I think, but I’ve been credited two flights and an oral, as a result. It seems that my new instructor and I get along great and think alike as well. I’m hoping all goes well from this point on, I know this private pilot’s license is just being dragged out beyond belief, but I’m keeping a positive outlook about it and am using it all as a learning experience.
My message to all you prospective students is to take a flight to two while back home at your local airport to see if you like flying and if you wish to pursue it. Then come to Embry-Riddle and learn how to fly correctly the first time around. There are flight schools out there that have very good programs, I myself went to a school with a very good program. However, ERAU likes to take what is required and bump it up a notch or two. In the long-run, you will be able to complete your training in less time, and be a much more precise and safer pilot in the end.
Outside of school, I went to a Volvospeed Car Meet at IKEA of Orlando on November 1st with a friend of mine from here. At the meet were of course Volvos and also there were some VWs, Mercs, BMWs and even a Citroen. I had a lot of fun checking out the cars and I even won a raffle prize of leather conditioner/cleaner. Since the meet was held at an IKEA we all had lunch there and I also got to do some shopping for the dorm. Both IKEA and Bed, Bath & Beyond are the two stores I swear by and I highly recommend them both for almost all your college dorm needs.
Over and Out.
Last Thursday, I was given the opportunity to miss class and drive to Orlando for the National Business Aviation Association Conference. This conference allows aviation businesses to come together in one location and showcase their products to potential buyers. My Professional Selling professor wanted us all to attend so we could observe some sales people and see how they sold their product. I got to see a lot of different companies and how they tried to entice the customer to come to their booth by different display techniques and free promotional products. For example, one booth put on a magic show and in the end gave away a bunch of prizes for audience participation. A group of my classmates and I were able to talk candidly to one company and we found out that it was one of the smallest conventions in the past three years and they blamed it on the economy. Furthermore, they stated that the aviation industry will most likely be in a recession until 2012. The good news is their company was able to get some prospective new customers out of the show, so hopefully they will survive the economic downturn. Overall, the conference was interesting and I learned some new information, so I’m glad that I made the trip to check it out.
My scooter and I took a trip to one of my favorite locations: the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. It was a beautiful day and I hadn’t rode my scooter for awhile. During my freshman year, I made my first trip to the lighthouse and was impressed by the magnificent size and beauty. I’ve always enjoyed lighthouses and this was the first one I was able to go inside and climb to the top. I think it’s about 200 steps to the top and once you are up there you can see for quite a distance. I had a fun time and enjoyed having the break from homework.
So many things to do, so little time to do them all—that saying seems to be the story of my life right now. I’ve been keeping busy with classes, ROTC, my job, Silver Wings, my friends, and thinking about the future. For the first time, Embry-Riddle granted all students a Fall Break this past weekend, and I hope they continue with it in the future. Having a four-day weekend was great and allowed me to get some rest and get caught up on homework. Unfortunately, I seem to get sick at least once every school year and this year was no exception. I wasn’t feeling very good last weekend and decided if I wasn’t better by Monday that I would go to Health Services. I went and they diagnosed me with an upper respiratory infection. They prescribed lots of rest and to flush my system with fluids. I decided that the best thing for me to do would be to skip some classes and get better faster rather than attend class and take forever to get better. Now, I’m feeling a lot better and am hoping I can avoid getting sick until I’m back at home.
I had a presentation last week in my Strategic Management class and I enjoyed doing all the research for it. I had to find an article on an aerospace company that had changed strategy within the last year. The company I choose was AeroVironment and I learned so much new information about unmanned aircraft systems. Overall, I think the presentation went pretty well but I’m still waiting on my grade. For my Professional Selling class, we had our first sales call and boy was I nervous; however, I calmed down once it started and looking back on the video you can’t really tell that I was nervous. I’m excited for the next one coming up this week and I think I’m more prepared because I know what to expect. I think pretty soon we will start registering for next semester’s classes—hard to believe!
I mentioned earlier how I was busy thinking about the future. I graduate in May but I will be staying another year because of ROTC, so I want to start work on my MBA; however, this means I have to take the GMAT (a standardized test like the ACT/SAT) and fill out the application for graduate school. I’m working on studying for the GMAT and the application but they both are just going to take some time. This summer I really want to get an internship and last week I attended a workshop hosted by Career Services on how to get one. I think there is a pretty good chance I will be able to find one. Speaking of Career Services, they are putting on multiple workshops throughout this month in order to prepare us for the Career Fair in November. I haven’t gone to the Career Fair these past two years, so I’ve decided that I’m going to go see what it’s all about this year. I’ll be sure to let you know all about it!
These past two weeks were so much fun, but also filled with studying. Last weekend, I went with nine friends to St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest city. We rented an Embry-Riddle plane, and met up with the guys in the other two aircraft at St. Augustine airport. The FBO, Galaxy Aviation, was kind enough to drive us to downtown St. Augustine, where we ate and toured historical sites (like the fort). At Embry-Riddle, there certainly isn’t a shortage of pilots with their license, and it’s easy to escape to a different city each weekend.
Since I last wrote, I’ve made much advancement as far as my flight training is concerned. I am pushing the 100-hour mark, but nevertheless I believe that it is all for a good cause. Since my failed check-ride last August, I’ve been able to perfect many maneuvers. Some maneuvers themselves may have been to the Practical Test Standards (PTS), however I realized: why would you ever want to be ‘flirting’ with the tolerances? By perfecting all of my maneuvers and flight activities, I have a better chance at achieving my goal of Private Pilot. I am not saying I am a perfect pilot, because let me get that straight; nothing in this world is perfect. What I am saying is that I am currently a much better pilot than I was before I came here (ERAU).
The flight department, and most importantly my instructor, has been helping me a great deal along the way. I’m glad to see that all my studies and practices are finally paying off. There still is a lot more coursework ahead of me and I do not see this as an opportunity to close the book. Like others have said before me, “a good pilot is always learning.” With that in mind, it is always good to re-read many topics in your text to maintain knowledge and possibly re-learn topics you may have forgotten.
During my free time, I write articles for our school newspaper, The Avion. So far I’ve completed three assignments and am currently working on two for this week. Although I dread the thought of writing, I find that once I get going, it’s hard for me to stop. I do enjoy writing; it’s just the motivation part gets me once and a while. I know, how ironic, right?
One weekend, a bunch of friends, including myself, took a trip to St. Augustine, Florida. What a really great day it was too, perfect flying weather! We rented three aircraft and flew from KDAB to KSGJ. There got a ride into the town, where the spent the day sightseeing. While there, we visited the Castillo de San Marcos, the Old Slave Market and the statue of Juan Ponce de Leon, the discoverer of Florida. The trip itself was relatively inexpensive, due to the fact that we all split the aircraft bill. Driving of course would have been cheaper, but when you go to a flight school and have your pilot’s license, you tend to fly a whole lot more.
This month our school was one of the few to offer its students a fall break. I spent this time back up north with my family, and had a blast. It had been awhile since I’ve seen my parents and what NY actually looked like during fall. Fall itself is nice, until you actually have to rake up the leaves and clean away all the acorns. Glad I don’t have to worry about any of that down here in Florida.
While back home I also got a chance to visit the neighborhood, as well as some friends, and even took a trip back to my high school and saw some of my former teachers. I then realized that I was glad to finally be in college. The freedom itself is most enjoyable, but at times can be your worst enemy if not used properly.
Happy October! I can’t believe how fast this semester is going! We are a third of the way into classes and I’ve had a test in each one. All of them are going well and I’m learning a lot of information that is very relative to the real world. In fact, my favorite class this semester is probably my Insurance class. The professor is really nice and he does a good job of teaching so everyone can understand. On the first day of class, I was afraid that I would find it so boring; however, that has not been the case at all. Another class, Professional Selling, is starting to become exciting as we began our selling role-plays. I think practicing my public speaking skills is always a good thing and this class will help me realize what I need to work on. Overall, I think this semester’s classes are turning out to be alright.
Last weekend, I was able to attend a dinner hosted by the Air Force Association and Arnold Air Society. The purpose of the dinner was to give us a chance to interact with the older Air Force Association members. I was happy to have a reason to get all dressed up! The picture is of me with my next door dorm neighbors from last year. I became really good friends with both of them and part of that is because we lived next to one another. The best part about living in the dorms is that making friends is easy and you know that people are around willing to help you. Anyways, the dinner was a lot of fun and it was an opportunity to socialize with friends that I hadn’t seen in a while.
Silver Wings got down and dirty over the weekend while helping out the community. The service project was helping to create a garden for low-income families in the Daytona Beach area. We dug up a patch of grass and turned it into a plot for some vegetables to be planted. Some of us planted broccoli, while others spread mulch around the various garden sections to make a pathway. It was hard work but we had fun and are looking forward to going back next month. I thought that it was fun to work hard and rewarding knowing that we were helping families get fresh vegetables. Community service is something that I enjoy doing and our campus is always advertising ways for students to get involved and help out.
Another first that I can now cross off my list of things to do is CAMPING. I had never been camping before this weekend and by that I mean sleeping in a tent out in the wilderness. My friends convinced me to go with them on a camping trip to Ginnie Springs. I decided to go and I had a pretty good time; however, I don’t know if I can say that I will ever do it again! The mosquitoes were pretty bad and I forgot my bug spray, so now I’m itching like crazy. I did set up a tent for the first time and it wasn’t as complicated as I thought it would be. The pictures are of me holding the tent and then the tent all setup and ready to be slept in. We floated down a river on inner tubes and that was my favorite part of the trip!
Last weekend, I flew with my roommate, and his instructor, to Marathon airport, located on the Florida Keys. I sat in the back, but who could pass up an opportunity to fly for free – and to the Keys? We grabbed dinner, and then flew back at night.
This past week I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. and spend five days there. The reason I had this opportunity goes back to my freshman year when I decided to join a club on campus called Silver Wings. Silver Wings is a national, co-ed organization that focuses on professional development and community service. The club’s members are both AFROTC cadets and civilians and one of our purposes is to create awareness throughout the community about the military. Over the past three years, I’ve been able to develop more as a leader because of the positions I’ve held in the organization. This year I’m the Silver Wings National Treasurer and the reason I went to Washington D.C. is because we had our Executive Boards. Executive Boards are when the National Staff shares with the eleven Region Presidents what the vision is for the year. Also, our sister organization-Arnold Air Society-meets and we discuss what community service projects we will work together on amongst other things.
My time in D.C. was not just spent in hotel meeting rooms; I did get to go out and see many of the monuments. I saw the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the White House, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. I had never been to Washington D.C. before and to see all these monuments was an amazing experience! Also, we did get to go to one museum-the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. We decided to get a group picture taken in front of the original Wright Flyer, since our school has a replica of the Wright Flyer in front of the library. One day I want to go back, so that I can spend more time exploring the city!
One of the reasons we have our Executive Board Meeting in Washington D.C. is because the Air Force Association invites us to their Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition. When we finished with our meetings each day, we were able to go downstairs in the hotel and attend their conference. Some of the briefings I was able to listen to were from the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force, and many other notable people. On Sunday morning, we were guests at the Air Force Association Wreath Laying Ceremony for fallen Air Force Association members. The ceremony took place at the Air Force Memorial and I was impressed at the size and beauty of the memorial. Also, we were included in the two formal dinners they hosted. One of the dinners was to honor the 12 Outstanding Airmen and the Air Force Band along with the Singing Sergeants put on a performance. To be able to attend the Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition was an experience that I will remember for a long time.