The FAA has a bunch of currency requirements for all US pilots.
The basics are as follows:
- For VFR Private Pilots: 3 takeoffs/landings every 90 days
- For Instrument rating: 6 instrument approaches (+ intercepting/tracking/holding) every 6 months
Notice that both my landing light and my flashlight are on!
While I was waiting for the “right” time to take off, I went to check out the Met Life Blimp, which is probably in town for the Outback Bowl on Saturday.
With so many blimps coming to Tampa lately, I feel like a connoisseur. This one was MUCH smaller than last week’s DirecTV blimp and (even seemed to have half the support staff). One of these days, I am going to find a way to get a ride on one!
Finally, it was time for departure (6:43PM that is). The plan was simple… First fly to Lakeland, which is the home of Sun N Fun, and a perfect place for routine training/practice. They have a control tower, a giant 9000 FT runway and a variety of instrument approaches that would keep any instructor entertained. Best of all, other than the 2 weeks around Sun N Fun, this a sleepy, little airport the rest of the year. The tower controllers are usually bored and seem downright excited when there is traffic in the area. While I didn’t need to do any approaches tonight, I decided to shoot the GPS 27 anyway on the first landing. You can never fly enough approaches. I find that it hones your piloting skills to have the little triangles on the screen act as almost a scorecard. First landing was decent …
After a full stop and taxi back, I planned to head VFR northbound ; Do the second landing @ Zephyr Hills, then the final landing back home @ Tampa Exec.)
Unfortunately, the camera was running low on battery after the first landing… So I decided to conserve battery to capture the final landing @ Tampa Exec, which you can see here:
Overall, with my new Mac, I am learning how to edit video better… But obviously I have not learned how to keep the camera charged! 😉
Cheers,
== T.J.==