My Flight Journal

In the beginning...

I've been an aviation enthusiast for as long as I can remember. I was one of those kids who ran outside and looked up every time I heard an airplane flying over. Sometimes I still do. I've known since I was a youngster that airplanes were going to be a part of my life. My only problem was that I never had the money or the connections to do much more than stand outside the airport fence and watch.

As soon as I was out of college and making some money, I decided it was time to get involved. There were two things that I promised myself I'd learn to do: fly airplanes, and jump out of airplanes. I knew I could only afford to do one or the other at the time. I figured that skydiving was the most appealing; not only would I get to ride in airplanes, I'd also get to jump out of them. I talked a friend into attending a jump class with me. He made two jumps before quitting. I was up to a thousand less than three years later.

After more than a decade of skydiving, I'd slowed down a bit. Well, a lot. Facing the peer pressure from so many of my friends who were learning to fly, I decided that it was time to fulfill the second part of that promise to myself. I also decided to keep a journal of my progress. My hope is that this will give you, the reader, some insight into what's involved in getting your private pilot's license, and perhaps even motivate you to do the same.

What follows are my somewhat edited journal entries as they were written at the time. I hope you enjoy.