Meet Your Newest Commercially Licensed Pilot!
Hey y'all!
I'm back with another exciting and highly anticipated flying update! This one seemed like it would take forever and I had to navigate a few hiccups along the way. But at the end of the day on May 18th, I took off for the first time as a commercially-licensed pilot. Wow. It still feels unreal.
After returning from Kansas, it was full steam ahead toward my commercial license. With this rating, I would become an eligible candidate for airplane-flying jobs. But, alas, securing a flying gig is not that simple. All of the flying jobs out there also base their hiring minimums on hourly requirements. There is also a minimum number of 250 hours you must accumulate in order to become eligible for the commercial license. As one could imagine, there is a plethora of 250-hour commercial pilots fighting tooth and nail for a job, which makes finding one pretty difficult. Plus, many companies (because of insurance requirements) simply cannot hire such low-time pilots even though they are commercially licensed. For this reason, many freshly-minted commercial pilots choose to pursue more training in order to become a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). While I am not writing off this path for myself, I am currently exploring different routes to getting my first flying job. But more on this later...
My days were filled with flying, flying and more flying. I was becoming much more comfortable in the RV-10 and settling into the lifestyle of training every day the weather would cooperate. Unlike previous ratings, the commercial license tests many skills involving aircraft maneuvering and advanced aerodynamics. There are special maneuvers one must complete within a set of tight restrictions of airspeed, heading and altitude. They take much practice to complete within standards. The only way I was going to be able to complete the maneuvers successfully was to dedicate myself to learning the RV's own flying personality. Most of the training is done solo, so there is no instructor there to correct you if you do it wrong. This proved both freeing and frustrating to me. I was in charge of teaching myself the maneuver correctly and then assessing my weak points, but there is only so much I could teach myself...
So about halfway through my training, I came home to NC seeking the solace and expertise of my dad (and to enjoy home cooking). We went flying several times and this helped instill some confidence in me that my maneuvers were within standards, or not. I flew back up to MI (dodging a nasty weather system along the way) and was feeling better about my skills as a pilot. I felt so good that I was eager to schedule my checkride in order to get my license. That was when things got a little tricky though. My instructor in Michigan was going out of town for a while and could not train/assess me for the ride. I also picked up a cold that snagged my voice for a few days. This obviously hindered my ability to fly (can't talk to ATC without a voice!) and greatly frustrated me at such a crucial time in my training.
To make a long story short (and to save me from reliving extremely frustrating moments...) I got connected with a different instructor who helped me fine-tune my skills enough for him to feel confident in me to schedule a checkride. It is an extremely large responsibility to be 'signed-off' for a checkride, and I was still nervous. But first, enjoy some fun photos from my training!
The test lasted from 11:15 am to about 6:30 pm. This was my longest checkride yet, and exhausted does not even come close to describing how I was feeling mentally and physically once it was over. The first portion was the 'oral' or the 'assessment of your knowledge before flying' test. Normally those are hard to study for, but with the commercial, there are several areas that can almost be guaranteed to be asked. Obviously, I studied those portions the most. I was disappointed when hardly any related questions came up on those topics, and instead, I was quizzed on topics that I had not spent as much time on. There is no one to blame but myself, and I will take it all. So, this portion of the test did not go as well as I had hoped, but I passed. And in aviation, a pass is a pass, no questions asked.
After a short break, it was time to fly. Already feeling drained and unmotivated, I got in the plane and gave myself a silent pep-talk. The examiner and I took off and went through all of the maneuvers pretty rapid fire. Each one seemed to get better and kept my confidence and spirits high. The very last maneuver to be done was the dreaded power-off 180. This simulates an emergency engine failure and tests one's ability to control the descent rate, speed, heading and control of the aircraft with no power. Not only do you have to control the aircraft but you have about a 200' section on the runway that you must land in. Yay, I'm a glider! I hated this maneuver so much because of its inconsistency due to winds, traffic patterns, and other outside factors. As well as the fact that this is generally the most failed maneuver on the commercial checkride. But now was the time to shine.
I pulled the power back abeam the 1000' markers (big white lines on the runway) and took a deep breath; bye-bye engine. I continued to fly parallel to the runway waiting for the right moment to turn in to land; checking wind direction and hearing my instructor's voice ring in my ears 'turn earlier than you think.' This picture was so familiar to me at this point, I almost didn't realize that my hand had guided the stick to the left as I began my turn in; things were looking good. I quickly noted the change in wind direction and turned sharper into the headwind so that I would not get pushed away from my present trajectory; we were low. I gritted my teeth because there was nothing I could do if I was low (no engine, remember?) but suddenly the wind caught me and we stopped sinking; now I'm high. I put in a little bit of cross-control to create drag so that I could continue a stable descent toward the looming runway but this increased my airspeed; "pull back, nose up, steep descent" I reminded myself. The RV kept coming down fast and I was ready to land long past my 1000' markers when the ground came up and kissed the wheels; spot made!!
Please resume normal breathing. I passed with a beauty of a landing. The examiner even said, "Olivia, I don't know what you did in those last 50' but you got us down." The sigh of relief was audible. We taxied back to the terminal building and with a firm handshake, I was deemed a competent commercial pilot.
Even as I write this today, I still don't think I have realized the meaning of what I have accomplished. This is the biggest step toward becoming a FedEx pilot. A few days later, I got to take some friends flying for the first time. I had been so consumed and mentally bogged down with training that I had only been able to take a few people up (and somehow they agreed to sit and watch me perform training maneuvers...). But now, before the RV left to go back home, I was able to enjoy fun, sightseeing flying with friends. They had an absolute blast! Thank you for your trust and for helping me appreciate how much fun flying truly is :)
What's next? Well, as the RV enjoys some time to recuperate from the 100+ hours I put on it in the last 2 months, I will be transitioning to a new aircraft... a twin-engine! The next rating for me is my multi-engine (MEL) rating, which will qualify me for more jobs and increase my chances of getting hired at a company this summer, without becoming a CFI. There are many schools of thought about CFI training that I won't get into, but if I am unable to find something, I will end up going that route. I am looking at doing my MEL training in the beautiful state of... North Carolina! But I am still in the process of ironing out the details...
Speedy Shenanigans
It's warm outside, tracks are hot and cars are racing! The gang and I have already attended two track days this month and are gearing up for Gridlife Midwest Festival at Gingerman next weekend. That's the big one. Last weekend Gridlife hosted a 'Rev-up' weekend before the big festival as a way for drivers to get out on the track and make some last-minute adjustments in a more low-key atmosphere. It was still extremely well attended and made for an exciting weekend. The weather was very odd but eventually, it got to be pleasant!
Garrett and I ended up driving the RX-8 out to Gingerman for Rev-up. Besides the hornet-esque drone at 4000 rpm for 2 hours and no heat or a/c, the ride wasn't bad, save all the stupid construction.
I am not racing the WRX currently so all of my energy is going into supporting Garrett and the crew. It's honestly almost as fun as getting on the track myself. They have gotten me in cars so that I can ride along at least and I'm grateful for them.
Next weekend is Midwest fest and it will be my second year! I was so new to everything last year and I already feel like I know the ropes coming into this year. There is so much excitement, fast racing and good times to look forward to and I cannot wait. The RX-8 has been through a lot of revisions this winter and (I think) is in a great spot to put down some good times this year once the wheel setup gets finalized. Garrett has put in so much work and I really hope that he'll be happy with the performance too.
Here are some fun photos from last weekend! And if you are curious, the car line up from left to right is:
Garrett's RX-8, George's Miata, Sam's Miata, Alex's Outback and John's AMG A35.
Recipe Roulette:
I promised I'd be back with a good one this time... So may I present to you:
Salmon Egg Scramble! This is one of my own creations and I have been eating a lot of it. Maybe it's less of a 'recipe' and more of an inspiring combo. Either way, it's packed with great protein and rich flavor. A great hack for easy salmon is the Costco Atlantic Frozen Salmon which comes in individual packets. Such a stellar time-saver.
Salmon Egg Scramble
2-3 eggs
1 Salmon fillet (I use the Costco Atlantic Frozen Salmon)
Choice of red/yellow/orange pepper
Choice of cheese (I like pepper jack)
Spinach
White onion (diced)
Hot sauce (optional) or Everything Bagel seasoning (optional)
Directions:
Prepare salmon plain or slightly seasoned using an air fryer or oven. Scramble eggs (or prepare them how you wish) and incorporate the pepper, onion, spinach and cheese early. Season when eggs are almost done. Combine together and top off with hot sauce or other sauce. Enjoy!
As always, thank you for reading and I will be back very soon!
Cheers,
Olivia Carter
