I am a firm believer in setting goals and tracking progress towards them…. In fact, I think every pilot should have a bucket list…. Here is mine:
1. Personally land in all 50 states: Done!
When I started flying, I casually thought about flying to lots of different places. Then in 2010, I decided it was time to start getting serious about it. I set a goal of personally landing in all 50 states. While I thought it would take me over 5 years, in reality it ended up being less than 2 years!
On Feb 18th, 2012 I landed in Hawaii, which was my 50th state! So I can finally say “Mission Accomplished”. You can see the actual sequence in this short video:
2. Get a Commercial rating DONE!
You may be surprised to see this item on the list. I certainly don’t ever intend to fly as a career. However, like any other training, this will make me a better pilot and possibly enable me to do some unique commercial flying, such as ferrying aircraft or maybe even sightseeing flights.
3. Personally land in every country in the Caribbean!
Now this one requires some footnotes.
- Except Cuba because I have no interest in visiting a Cuban jail 😉
- Many of these countries have several islands, or hundreds like the Bahamas. I certainly won’t get to every island. But each country for sure.
This goal is still in progress. But, you can follow along on the map below:
While this one may sound a bit like a daredevil item, it is really not. The discipline required to fly aerobatics requires intensive stuck and rudder training, and a heightened appreciation for safety. There is no rating involved here because I am never planning to do this as a professional stunt pilot. However, there is a fairly standard curriculum that covers about 15-20 maneuvers. I have already started this one, which you can see in the short video clip below. But this one is definitely not done yet.
5. Do a Self Flying Safari – DONE!
This item has been in the back of my mind for years. Finally in June of 2013, I finally did it! I got my South African Pilots license, then rented a plane in Johannesburg and setoff to Botswana & Zimbabwe. You can see a recap of my safari in this short video:
6. Fly a North Atlantic crossing from US to Europe
This one is easily possible in the Cirrus. But will definitely need some serious preparations.
7. Fly from US to South America
This one is not very complicated form an aviation perspective. But the exotic travels along the way will eventually make this an epic trip.
8. Land in every Class B airport in the US
Still working on this one… But I have created a custom Google Map to track my progress, which you can see below:
9. Get a Flight Instructor’s Certificate?
Not entirely sure about this one. It would certainly be great to be able to share aviation knowledge to aspiring student pilots. But I am not really sure I would want the headaches that go along with this one, such as insurance, liability and of course rookie pilots scaring me to death 😉