02 - A Brief History

In this post I will express the events and influences that took place in my life in regards to flying, prior to writing this blog.  Hopefully this will paint a larger picture for those who may be curious.

Pre-Birth:

My father always had a passion for aviation. As a child he attained a lot of knowledge through WWII books as well as local airshows.  When he was a boy growing up in Crystal, Minnesota, he rode his bike all the way to the old airstrip in Anoka (my hometown) to visit an airshow.  Today, that airport no longer exists.  He dreamed of being a pilot and after graduating in 1976, he went off to the Air Force Academy in Colorado.  Two years in his eye sight began to deteriorated along with his dreams of becoming a pilot.  However, his passion for aviation has never diminished, something he has always expressed to his children.

Childhood:

I can not say that I was exposed to aviation any more than the next child.  I remember playing with toy airplanes and attending the annual airshows.  That one thing that stood out was the respect for aviation that we witnessed in my father.  It was one thing he got really excited about, almost as if it brought him back to his childhood.  My father would later tell me that as a six year old, I expressed that "I want to fly airplanes when I grow up."  As a child and prior to beginning my initial flight training, I had the chance to go flying in a small single engine aircraft only once.  Through the remainder of my childhood, up to the point of graduation I got my aviation fix through flight sims, video games, and the annual airshow.  Until I got my private, there was not a single pilot in my entire extended family.

January, 2005:

After spending the four years post graduation looking for direction in life I attended a motivational/informative seminar.  This moment served as the point I turned my life around.  I decided that I would no longer allow the everyday excuses get in the way of what I have always dreamed of doing.  Within two weeks of finishing the seminar I took my first introductory flight at AFT (Anoka Flight Training) flight School at Anoka/Blaine Airport [KANE] and enrolled in their private pilot flight program.  I financed the estimated cost of the program and began flying right away.

After soloing on March 1st, 2005

Any pilot will tell you that you will never forget the day you solo.  The feeling of operating an aircraft all by yourself.  It is amazing!  My father gave me the WWII Warbirds 365 day desktop calendar for March 1st, it hosted a picture of four P-51's.  I thought this was pretty neat considering it is my father's all time favorite airplane.  Shortly after flying my solo and acquiring some more hours the flight school claimed bankruptcy and closed their doors.  I had logged about 17 hours.

Fall 2005 - Fall 2007:

After the financial failings of AFT I decided to enroll in a 4-Year program at St. Cloud State University, an hour commute from my place of residence.  I would be furthering my education and acquire a B.S. in Aviation - Professional Flight and graduate as a CFI.  I flew as often as I could during the regular school year (Sept-May), this was the most practical approach given my daily commute. It took nearly two years to get my private license, due to a combination of Minnesota weather, scheduling, flight instructor turn around, and my daily commute.  At one point during my training, solo cross countries to be exact, I scheduled an aircraft 9 consecutive times in a 3 week period only having to cancel all of them due to winter weather.  At the time this was a bit discouraging.  However, I pushed on and acquired my private license in September of 2007 shortly before I took my girlfriend (now wife) up for her first flight on her birthday and asked her to marry me.  The picture is the view my wife saw just before I popped the question.  That was of course after I flew to Iowa [KDNS] to ask her father for permission. 

 

Winter 2007-08:

I spent the winter working towards my instrument rating.  Flying slowed down with the wedding around the corner, scheduled for June 7th,2008.  To this point the last time I flew was April 1st, 2008 when the wife and I flew to Omaha, NE in order to deliver some dresses to the bridesmaids.  (My wife went to college in Nebraska.)  

Fall 2008:

What would have been my last semester at St. Cloud State University, had I decided to acquire the Pro Flight degree, turned out to be my second to last.  In order to attain the Pro Flight degree I would have needed to get all my ratings up to my CFI.  This was not going to happen in 4 months, money was tight and my schedule was not going to allow it.  Due to the slow going of my flight training, I had contemplated switching my degree from Pro Flight to Aviation Management for some time.  Given the circumstances, I decided to switch to Management which ultimately added 5 courses and an extra semester (the Pro Flight degree and Aviation Management degree share a majority of the same courses.)  I decided that a Management Degree will make me more marketable when looking for a job.  I also planned on acquiring my ratings through an accelerated flight program some where in the southwest.

Spring 2009:

I have not logged a flight hour since April 1st, 2008, nearly a year.  My total flight hours exceed 110.