CAT I Medical

So my Catergory 1 medical expires by the end of April and so today I have scheduled an appointment with the Aviation Medical Examiner that our school recommends.
It is only my third time of getting my medical, second time getting it renewed, but the excitement along with the fear is always there. It's like going to a doctor and he's about to tell you if your days are numbered, in this case if your flying days are numbered.

The reason why our school makes us go get a CAT I medical all the time, even though Private Pilots can fly with only CAT 3, is ...I think...because we are considered a Commercial Operator. I believe it's part of the deal that Transport Canada had made with the school to make it an Integrated ATPL program. With that said, there are approximately 30 people in each class year for this program, but for my year and the year below (for now) we total 140. So a brief arithmetic estimation, if everyone in my program went to this AME every year, he would be earning $20k a year just from the students in our program. I could imagine that a lot more people go to him for a Medical and other issues.

Anyway, the students and some staff at school have kinda made a small joke about all of this and how this AME would give a medical as long as you have $100.

"He takes his stethoscope to listen to your lungs only to hear $100, $100..."
"Checks your blood pressure, and of course it's going to be $100 mmHg"
or the classic "Shouldn't take long, I have my $100 ready..."

Anyways, I'm sure he does a great job and it's all fun joking around about it..
However, the joking around stops when that day comes where $100 still can't give you a valid Medical...I hope that's infinitely far away from now for me.

In other news, one of our Bonanzas are coming back on line. Should be fun to see people fight for it.

0.3 hr

So I "finished" my pre-flight test today. Okay, well I was short on time by 0.3 hours because I had to get to class. I believe it went pretty good...I think I just have to do precautionaries and practice soft field landings again.

This is my problem, in normal or short field landings, I land it pretty good at least no hard bounces or porpoising. But when I try to do soft field landings, it always lands hard or bounces or something wrong happens. Maybe I'm doing the procedure wrong. When I add power to soften the landing, I balloon and then instinctively (which is wrong) I pitch it down a bit and I end up landing flat, harder than usual.

Sometimes, my short field landings are way softer than my soft field landings. Maybe I should just pretend it's a short field landings minus the flaps up and maximum braking.

Anyways, I don't know when I'm gonna get that 0.3 hr left before I get recommended. But next week is study week so there's no flying. Maybe I'll go to the sim just to keep refreshing my mind.
Hopefully the week after study week, I can get the solo flight done then my flight test, and I really hope I don't get partial or have to repeat it or have it postponed.

I was flying today, and it was really nice out, the orange, yellow, red, and all the other fall colours was perfect...made it a little harder to find small towns but it was a nice view.

But in other news, I have two more midterms, an essay and a lab to do for the rest of the week...good fun!

Pre-flight test

Hey so today I got to finish my last solo flight before the pre-flight test.
I was really hoping to get at least to the flight test before study week which is going to be the week after next week. But I don't think that's gonna happen.
But I have the pre-flight test to do next and hopefully I can pass that before study week and I can just study and prepare for the actual flight test during the study week.

It's time to really get serious, because if all goes well, I'm 3 flights (including the flight test) away from freedom from the stress this is giving me. PLUS ofcourse the freedom to take passengers finally!

Anyways, whoever is reading this who has flight test experience. (PPL standards i guess), any tips/advice or anything that can help me for the flight test?

Thanks...and happy thanksgiving!!

9 flights.

Hey so yesterday I finally got to do that solo cross country which was the same route as the dual cross country on my previous post. It was awesome, weather was perfect: blue skies and calm winds all around.
I actually wasn't booked to fly it yesterday but I thought my instructor would still be sick so I woke up early to plan it anyways. When I got there, he came in and was hoping to fly but decided to let me have his airplane anyways. So the waking up was worth it.

The only thing that went wrong was that I forgot my logbook at Buttonville so I wasn't able to get stamps at Muskoka and Collingwood.

Anyways today I did review of airwork and some instrument flying under the hood. I have 9 flights left including the flight test before I can get my licence...if all goes well. I'm hoping to have it by 3rd or 4th week of October. It is getting pretty stressful along with academics and the quizzes and projects due coming soon. But I'm determined to get this done, it's kinda like the final stretch of that final lap.

Anyways I'm booked for a solo airwork flight tomorrow at 8am. Hope it goes well, and I get better.