Saturday, December 31, 2016

2016 - What a Year!

Yes, I am still alive!  And yes, it's been over six months since my last blog post.  Between the project at work and everything else that's been happening, 2016 has kept me very, very busy.

I'll be as brief as possible catching up on things this time around.

First, the other "big thing" that I mentioned happening earlier this year is this:


She's a 1975 Cessna 150M, and on June 24, I made her mine.  Compared to the other 150s I was looking at online, she was practically in my back yard (KGEZ, Shelbyville, IN), and for the price I paid I practically stole her from the seller.  I've had to have some work done on her in the fall, including about $3000 worth to the ignition system, but she's running great and flies straight and true.  Best of all, I can go fly her anytime I want if the weather is good, and I'm saving $130/hour each time I fly her instead of renting the Skyhawk.  Yes, the last three numbers of her registration are 420.  And yes, I've already caught grief from fellow pilots online over that one.  At best when I abbreviate my callsign I'll say "Cessna four-two-zero, left downwind..."  I just can't bring myself to say, "Cessna four-twenty" haha.

Of course, having ready, quick access to my own plane led to another proud moment - I took my daughter up for her first flight.  It was one trip around the traffic pattern to see how she would respond, and she loved it!  (This pic was taken after I removed her pink headset (thanks PilotUSA for making a pink set!)



Secondly, the project I've been involved in at work went live in Mid-December, and there are only a few other components that I need to develop in the next month or so before my initial work wraps up and I move into a maintenance and monitoring mode for that project.  

Thirdly, my daughter has had some big challenges with her health this year, and as a result will be having surgery in January.  The ultimate result will be relief from the majority of her discomfort and pain, but will mean big changes to her care and changes in the challenges her mother and I will face as parents.  One of the biggest positives is that it could potentially eliminate the issues that pose the most concern with her comfort during flying, meaning she and I could be able to share many more father-daughter flights this year. :)

It's been a challenging year.  I won't water it down, there were times, some in the last few months, where I wondered if I would even make it through some of the difficulties, but my faith and determination kept me going, not to mention my daughter's smiles and laughter.  For all the challenges and setbacks this year threw at me, I'm still very, very blessed, and looking forward to an even more amazing year in 2017.

Happy New Year everyone!  Blue skies!

Two Victor Uniform, clear of Two-Seven.

2 comments: