Hi everyone! I hope that everyone is doing well. Many of you are likely just getting into your final semester of high school. This is an exciting time of year for everyone, so make the most of it. As you begin to make decisions about schools, you will be tempted to allow your grades to drop off entirely. Just a word of advice on that: be careful. A little drop off will not be a major issue, but keep it in moderation as the school of your choice will still see your final grades. But, enough of my nagging, I am sure your parents do that enough for you! I have had a very exciting few weeks since I last wrote. Much has happened and I have lots to talk about, so I will get right into it!

First, at Daytona Beach International Airport, there is much going on. The main runway, 7L/25R is in the process of being entirely resurfaced while the business, corporate, and air carrier traffic is increasing for the racing events at the Daytona International Speedway. As you can see, the runway is being re-constructed with concrete and asphalt. The center portion is concrete—about 75 feet of width—and the remaining portion is asphalt. This serves to make the project a little lengthier than a purely-asphalt reconstruction; however the results will be well worth it in the end. All in-pavement runway lighting is being changed to LEDs, and an ILS approach is being added for the opposite runway, 25R. This means a lot of construction activity but it will truly be state of the art once the project is completed.

A somewhat unknown and private benefit of the construction is known and only able to be enjoyed by the construction workers and airport employees at the physical construction site. You see, the way the project is progressing is such that they are breaking the runway down into segments and resurfacing one area before moving on to the next. The first segment mandated the runway threshold (the beginning of usable runway for takeoffs and landings) to be relocated forward so that construction could take place on the first part of the runway. What this means is that if you are standing at the construction site, you have airplanes ranging from Cessna 172’s to Boeing 737’s, on final approach in some cases 100 feet or less about your head. They are so close that you can hear and feel the vortices from the jet engines spiraling down toward the ground. It is truly awesome.

Being out at the construction site allowed me to experience this, and it couldn’t have been at a better time either. On the particular day that I was out there, private aircraft from every NASCAR team were flying in to practice on the newly repaved Speedway. The list of aircraft included Saab 2000’s, a Boeing 727, a Boeing 737, Embraer 145’s, and more. The 727 landing so close was unbelievable. Some pictures are embedded throughout this entry.

That weekend, my roommate James and friend Tony decided to go for a flight as I had not flown since my instrument rating checkride in December. Initially, we decided to go to Savannah, Georgia for the day and look around, however when we got up around the Jacksonville area, I determined that the flight time remaining to Savannah would not give us much if any time at all on the ground there before we turned around and had to return to Daytona. So, we went to Jacksonville International Airport instead, a destination which has become a frequent stop for me and is always fun. We went out for lunch and looked around the area a bit before heading back to school.

The Daytona Beach area itself is reaching its peak tourism season as well, which to me is exciting. With the Rolex 24 race having just occurred, about a month remains until the famous Daytona 500, but before then many other, smaller, races will occur and there will be many people travelling here to prepare and attend them. I actually like going to the restaurants in the area and seeing lots of tourists as it almost makes me feel like I am on vacation too. I don’t know, I am weird I guess! Nonetheless, it will be fun time, as after the races end, Bike Week is just around the corner and shortly thereafter begins Spring Break around the area.

This past weekend, my brother and one of my best friends from home came down to visit. I showed them around campus and Embry-Riddle, and then we went to (where else) Disney World for the weekend. They liked the campus and of course we had a blast at Disney World. It is always a great time there and it really is not a far drive at all.

Speaking of Disney World, I just applied for an internship there known as the Disney College Program. I’m sure this is no surprise to you who read my journal regularly as you know how much I love that place, but being a business major here the internship is truly a great opportunity. Essentially, you work in the park as a “cast member” for a semester while attending the world-renowned Disney Institute and come away with the experience and knowledge from working at such an esteemed company. You were able to select different “roles” in which you’d like to work, and I selected transportation (monorails and boats), lifeguarding, and attractions in that order. I interviewed last week and should hear back from them within a few weeks. Wish me luck!

Other than that, my classes are going very well so far. I am enjoying them and am doing pretty well. I have had more free time on my hands this semester as well and I have been able to become more involved with clubs such as the Airport Management Club, which is something I have been meaning to do for a while.

Well, I think that is pretty much it. As you can see, it is a lot of fun here. It really is what you make of it, so make the best!

As usual, if you have any questions or comments at all, do not hesitate to e-mail me. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Pete

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a happy holiday with your friends and family. I had a great time at home over the past month, and got to experience some really awesome things while working at the airport during the winter. Now, classes have started up again, and those seem to be going pretty well thus far too. I will talk about that a little later on in this entry.

On December 15, I finally flew home. That morning, because of the high demand for FAA written tests and the limited capacity of the extremely convenient FAA testing center on campus, I had to take my commercial pilot written exam which, I am happy to say, I did very well on. Even though three hours is allotted for the test, I completed it in less than 45 minutes, leaving me plenty of time to eat, do some final laundry, and finish packing. Then, a car arrived at my dorm to drive me to Orlando International Airport. I was excited because I was going to fly into the airport I work at—Tweed New Haven Regional Airport (HVN)—on a commercial flight for the first time. It was really neat to experience things from the other side and I was able to surprise several co-workers when I flew in unexpectedly.

The very next day, I went back to the airport and started up again working. Since I was only home for a month, I didn’t work any shifts on my own like I did over the summer, but instead helped out people with things they had needed me to do since I went away to school in August. This kept me pretty busy but it was fun anyways. I also had the opportunity to catch up with all of my friends and colleagues at the airport after not seeing them for several months.

Christmas was a lot of fun as usual. On Christmas Eve, we went over to my uncle’s house and I got to see my cousins and other family members.  It was also nice to catch up with them. We tried out a new “tradition” this year in which we all purchased gifts and had a grab-bag exchange. It was very funny and a lot of fun with everyone arguing to get the others’ gifts, etc. I received many nice presents from my family, and gave out some nice ones too. The holiday was very relaxing and that was just what I needed after the hard work I put in the past semester.

The day after Christmas though, the 26th, was much different. Connecticut and the surrounding states got slammed with a blizzard the likes of which we had not seen in years. At the airport, the weather equipment recorded sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, enough to prompt an evacuation of the Air Traffic Control Tower. I was at the mall with my family when I got called into work, and knowing that my 30-minute drive home would be nearly impossible in that weather, plus the fact that I would probably be needed all night, prompted me to pack a bag of some extra clothes and a toothbrush before I went in. Good thing I did, too, as I had to spend the night at the airport.

When I first got in to work, the snow was still just beginning, with minor accumulations. But, what seemed like right after I got in, it started coming down hard and the wind began to pick up. As nightfall set, this just got worse and worse. Because of the blowing snow, many of the parts of the airfield were not covered in a solid layer of snow as it would blow around a lot. However, after the maintenance department hit an area with their huge pieces of machinery, it would be covered again instantly by the blowing snow. Believe it or not, two corporate aircraft were trying to come in, but we closed the airport because of the poor braking action values we were getting on the runways and taxiways. The airport bought us all food and drinks, and it actually was a lot of fun.

As I just mentioned, airport maintenance plows the taxiways and runways with their giant plows and blowers, but operations still does plow some areas, such as the Perimeter Road and the firefighting access locations. It was my first time plowing, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The wind was intense and was making it painful to get out of the truck. Moreover, the visibility was so poor at times that I could not see the hood of the truck right in front of me. One time, I thought I was plowing a road, but instead I was in the middle of a grass area. Another time, in this low visibility, all of a sudden a blue flash of light lit up the night sky. It was very eerie but was most likely lighting from thundersnow. I got stuck in a snowbank so deeply one time that the wheels of the F-250 were completely suspended off the ground, and another plow had to come and push me out. It was really crazy. My coworkers and I would rotate positions, and then I would be in the office issuing NOTAMS, taking phone calls, and just coordinating everything in general. We got the airport back open as soon as the storm ended, though, so it was a very successful effort in my opinion.

New Year’s Eve was nice and relaxing for me as well. While I had to work during the day, that night my family and I went out for a nice dinner. I was able to meet my brother’s new girlfriend since I had been away, and that was fun as well. I tried to relax as much as I could when I was home, and that is what I did on New Year’s Eve and Day. I purchased a new TV for my room and got an HD cable box, so I spent a lot of time on my bed watching it.

Then, just a few weeks after the first storm, another significant snowstorm came and a similar response ensued. This storm, however, had been forecast to be minor, so when it ended up becoming a significant snowfall with low winds, it took us by surprise. Many aircraft already on the ground and en route to the airport were surprised as well, so I got many phone calls that night. First, the FBO called saying there were jets wanting to depart. Then, New York Approach control called and wanted a status update on the airport condition. While I was talking to him, the US Airways station manager called informing us that one of their inbound flights, Piedmont 4507, had been struck by lightning over Long Island and made an emergency landing at MacArthur Airport there. It’s very, very rare for this to happen in the middle of a snowstorm, but everyone was safe and they were being bussed in to New Haven. In times like these is when my job is the most fun, with a hundred different things going on at once and it all being your decision. This storm was actually on my last day working, as I took the rest of the time off to relax and be with my family.

I flew back on January 11th, again out of New Haven, and managed to get back to Daytona just before a storm dumped 3 FEET of snow at home. I can’t remember ever having a winter like this at home in my 20 years of living in Connecticut. Usually, too, the snow melts in the days after the storm, but the temperatures have been so cold at home that it just sits on the ground building on top of itself.

Everything back here at school has been very good so far. I like my classes and professors, although I haven’t had a real class yet (just the introduction classes). It was nice to see all of my friends again when I got back and already we have had some fun times. Last night, we had dinner and went to see a movie, and today we decided to drive around and explore, which ultimately lead us to DeLand, a little bit inland, and to the college in the town, Stetson University. We just walked around looking at things and discovered a very nice, small town surrounding the school.

With the continuing runway construction at Daytona, we still get a front row view of jet landings on runway 16/34. I sure missed waking up to the sound of roaring jet engines at home!
You all are probably in the middle of, or just finished, your semester exams. If you haven’t taken them yet, best of luck to you. Keep working hard and please do not hesitate to e-mail me with any questions.

Talk to you soon!
Pete

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome board Riddle flight 2011, it’s going to be a great flight! Yes, we are back to Embry Riddle and that means winter break is over. It was an amazing break and, while disappointed that it was over, I was also excited to start new classes and see all my friends again.
During the break I worked back at my job at Giant for about a week or two right before Christmas and afterwards. My brother, his fiancé, and myself, went to her family’s house in Pennsylvania and it was so much fun. I had yet to meet a large side of her family so it was great to be introduced to them. Christmas afternoon, we headed back to our house and then to my mom’s side of the family. It was a great holiday and wish it lasted longer.
During the new year we practiced some of my future sister-in-laws traditions like putting money in our wallets and putting them out on the back porch and holding silver when the clock struck 12. Also we ran outside and smashed pots and pans together and yelled Happy New Year. I also yelled at the end “Don’t you just love your neighbors?!” It was very amusing, as you can imagine.

 A week before our return to Riddle, I noticed on the weather site that a storm would be moving across the country on Monday, our travel back to campus day. I began to freak out and started warning everyone, obviously via Facebook. The Friday before the storm, Delta had already cancelled my flight from BWI to ATL to DAB three days in advance of the storm, when they didn’t even know how sure Mother Nature would play. We got a refund after being on hold with them for 45 minutes and then rebooked with Southwest (my favorite airline). I stopped in BHM (Birmingham, AL) where there was snow on the ground! I left the north where there was nothing and went south and saw snow. It was pretty crazy. I was in BHM for about 4-5 hours and then I arrived in MCO instead of DAB, which meant I had to take a shuttle. Once back in DAB, my friend and I had to drive back to MCO to pick up another friend who missed his flight by 5 minutes. Basically, I didn’t get to bed till about 4 a.m.

The next day was our prep day where we were to buy books if we wanted and get organized for the new semester. My friend, Christina, got delayed due to another storm that hit the northeast and I had to pick up her in MCO that night and again didn’t get to bed till 3:30 a.m. I was supposed to fly the next morning too which made a lot of my friends say I shouldn’t go, but I wouldn’t want my friend to have to spend the night in the airport. Plus I know she would do the same for me.

Once I wake up to fly, I find out that it’s so cold out that the planes are frozen, so I got weathered, which enabled me to go back to sleep for a couple hours until my next class at 1:00. I’m taking HU145 (Science Fi Heroes and Modern Monsters), which seems like an interesting class and a bit better than other literature classes. My class at 215, Flight Physiology, was supposed to be after that class but got cancelled due to the teacher being out for surgery. After that I have Technical Physics 1 at 330, which should be an easy class for me since I took AP Physics in High School. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I don’t have class till 215, which is Aviation Weather, and at 345 I have Instrument Pilot Operations. Nonetheless, I am glad to be back and looking forward to a new semester and a new step towards graduation. I would also like to make a note that I am now making Youtube videos in order to show you around campus, show you the dorms, and answer any questions you guys might have. Please just leave your comments or questions in comment box on the site and subscribe to stay updated for the most recent content. Welcome Aboard!

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

Hello everybody!

I hope all is going well with everyone! I am doing well, just working to finish up the semester. It is about time for finals and the due dates for semester projects have come and gone. In nearly every aspect of my academic life, things are starting to wind down. Just a final push and I will have a nice month off to relax! Several things have happened since I last wrote. For one thing, Thanksgiving was last week. It is hard to believe that it is already that time of year. This year, my family decided to try something new for Thanksgiving, so instead of me going home as usual (which often didn’t make sense because I would fly home and back just to fly home two weeks later), my family came to Florida and we spent Thanksgiving at Walt Disney World.

If you’ve read my other entries, you already know how crazy I am about Disney World. Next to flying and aviation, Disney World is truly my other passion in life, from going there for fun to its technical workings and operations. In any case, it was truly a great time. We stayed at my favorite Disney resort on the property, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn. This resort recreates Atlantic City, New Jersey around the turn of the century complete with a full wooden boardwalk and vendors to boot. It is quite something. It is also within walking distance of both Disney’s Hollywood Studios (formerly Disney’s MGM Studios) and the EPCOT theme parks.

My grandparents came on Thanksgiving morning and we enjoyed a day together at Hollywood Studios where we later had a great dinner at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant in the park. It was actually one of the best Thanksgiving meals I can remember and I for the first time understood the full-to-capacity feeling that people get after Thanksgiving meals. Being my grandparent’s first visit to Disney World in many years, it was fun showing them all over the parks. One of the greatest parts about Disney World at this time of year is the decorations for Christmas. All of the resorts and parks are decorated for the holidays. Perhaps the most impressive of these decorations is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios where the “Streets of America” facade is decorated with 5 million LED lights amongst other decorations in the style of the Osborne family’s house in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is truly amazing, particularly when they have the lights dance to Christmas songs.

Other than Thanksgiving, my focus this week has been on my Instrument rating checkride, which I have this Saturday. I am very nervous but I know I am prepared for it. Checkrides are something that take a lot of effort and energy and cause a lot of stress, but it is important to remain calm and remember what you know. Nonetheless, I will be glad when it is over. For any future pilots wondering what is involved for this rating, essentially you must learn to fly solely by reference to the flight instruments due to you now having the ability to fly in clouds. This includes learning approaches to airports without being able to see the runway until you are a few hundred feet above it. Wish me luck!

Now that the majority of the semester projects themselves have been completed, it is time for the associated PowerPoint presentations that must be presented to the class. This is usually the easy part of the project and somewhat enjoyable, and once this is completed, I am totally done with the associated classes.

I sort of lucked out this semester in that I only have 1 final exam, and that exam is not cumulative. In addition to that test, I have to take the Commercial Pilot Written exam which is required after completing AS321, or Commercial Pilot Operations (the ground school for the commercial rating). After that, I head home December 15!

I am not sure that I will talk to you all again before then, but even if I am not writing, please do not hesitate to e-mail me your questions. I love hearing from you. If I don’t talk to you, Happy Holidays and talk to you next year!

Pete