Woke up at 7:30 A.M.

Made it over to the FBO about 8:15.  Van (my flight instructor) was already there.  I filled out a couple more forms for the school, and then sat down to have Van check out my logbook.  Just before goin' to bed last night, I made sure to add up and update all of the columns.  I stood right at 93.0 total hours and 17.8 cross-country hours.  Well, after a thorough inspecition by Van, I learned that I only had 12.7 qualifying cross-country hours as Pilot-in-Command (PIC).  He said no worries, though, and that our single-engine instrument training would just have to be done on longer trips over 50 nautical miles.  This school really works with me!  I love it!

I grabbed my gear, and we headed out to the Piper PA-28 Piper Cherokee.  And wouldn't ya know it, it had just been brought out from the hangar by one of the guys workin' at the field!  This sure beats tryin' to drag out the plane by hand like I have been used to back home!  It's pretty sweet to be catered to!  I have memories of slippin' on the ice back home!  Not pleasant!

But we were ready to fly!  What a great first day!  Ok, I'm not sure how to put this without bein' misunderstood, but I'll try.  I was a bit nervous.  But it wasn't the scared nervous.  It was the new-instructor-new-airplane-new-location nervous.  I had flown in a low-wing Cherokee before, but it had been a few years.  And Van and I had just met two days ago...I was jumpin' off the deep end, and it was exciting!  But there was some (healthy) nervousness, too!  And it was there!

We did a visual walk-around of the outside of the plane, then hopped inside.  In terms of beauty, she's not much.  Her exterior is the most bland of colors:  white.  Every time I see her, I want to just paint a bright red streak across her!  And the inside isn't flashy, either.  I had to remember that the plane is over 40 years old!  Even Van made a comment about her bein' older than he was!

After a quick walk through the checklist (and me learnin' where every new item was located), we were ready to go.    Turns out the 1960's Piper is just a bit different than the 1978 Cessna I have been so used to.  And, actually, she didn't want to start.  To the point of I was thinkin' we were goin' to have to wheel her back in the hangar!  We had to crank her quite a bit before she would actually fire, but once she started, she purred quite nicely.  Silly plane.

Well, I picked up the local weather, and the winds were 180 at 21 knots, gusting to 28.  Ok, let me just state for the record that back at home, I would have never considered goin' up.  I just wouldn't.  Could I do it?  Sure.  Was I comfortable doin' it?  Probably not!  Had I done it?  With my old instructor!  But since I earned my Private pilot's license, I often stayed with 12 knots or under...but not here!  As a pilot, you don't get to pick what the winds are doin', and here in Kansas, that becomes real obvious real quick.

I lined up down Runway 18, then gave it full throttle.  And I was back!  I was comfortable!  The winds were more or less up and down the runway, so that wasn't too much of a factor.  But more than that, I just felt at ease.  The airplane was different than what I was used to, but I quickly picked it up.  And I was flying!!!

We climbed out to 3500 feet, and then Van had me do some simple maneuvers so that he could gauge my skills.  After the climb and a couple of turns, we punched in Emporia's VOR, then started tracking for my first official Instrument lesson!  There is a digital GPS in the airplane, but I found myself not wantin' to use that...it gives a clear picture of where to go (just follow the line!), but using the instruments is just a whole lot more chllenging and fun!

We hit Emporia about 35 minutes later, then lined up for the approach.  The winds were still strong, but I was able to use Runway 19, and the Piper settled down nice and easy on the runway.  I was feelin' great!  We taxied back to the end of the runway, then took off for Chanute.  This time, Van had me wear the Foggles.  I was "under the hood" for the rest of the trip.  I didn't use the GPS and only watched the instruments.  I was able to keep most of the flight pretty stable, though I realized how easy it is to get off track!  It doesn't take long at all!  My airspeed was virtually stable, but I found myself bouncin' up and down 50-100 feet both ways of straight-and-level flight.  As Van wisely said, when in IFR conditions, you are either on the money or correctin'...and what that really means is that you are always correctin'!  So true, so true.

I would get a bit off course and have to turn back to center the needle on the VOR indicator.  I never really got too far off either direction, but I was constantly having to make small corrections.  Van had me track all the way to the Chanute VOR, then we did the VOR approach to the runway.  I landed down Runway 18, and we called it a day.  1.8 hours, 0.9 of simulated instrument.

And it felt good!

We walked inside, filled out the logbook, and planned for tomorrow.  What a great day!  And all by noon!

But I soon had a rude awakening. The school needed a check.  And I had to write 'em a bigg'un.  To the tune of $4,000.00.  Granted, in terms of flight training, that is not much and won't get ya very far (after your Private anyway).  But it's still $4,000.00.  That's the thing about flight training.  It's expensive, and it's fast.  I'll be shellin' out nearly $35,000 in five months.  That's just not pretty.  But it's a cost I've weighed, thought about, and considered.  And I've decided that's it's worth the debt for the future possibilities.  But I'm not goin' to lie...I still think about that burden often.  I hate bein' in debt, and $35,000 just isn't a small one.  Especially when new pilots make $20,000/year...less than McDonald's workers.  But I thought these thoughts already, so it's no surprise.  I have spent the long months and hours weighin' the good and the bad, and now I'm all in...

But even with that said, it was $4,000.00 that I will have to pay off in the near future...yuck.

But the day wasn't over!

As if I hadn't had enough fun already, I found out my fellow student (and neighbor in the living quarters) was goin' up that afternoon.  So after a quick lunch, Jarryd, Van, and I were loaded into the Piper Twin Comanche and headin' for Arkansas!  We flew over Oklahoma and passed right by the corner of Missouri.  We were headin' for Fort Smith, Arkansas.  We flew at 7000 feet on the way down and managed to stay clear of clouds even though Jarryd filed an IFR flight plan.  But the best part is that we cruised at 185 knots ground speed at one point and 165 average!

We landed at the Class C airport, went inside to be greeted by a cute Southern-accented young lady, and then enjoyed several amazing butter cookies.  I did have one beef with them, though...you had to sweeten your own tea.  I was quite appalled as I thought we were in the best sweet tea area of the country, but I was proved wrong.  Well, we took out the courtesy van and hit up the strip of Fort Smith.  There wasn't a whole lot we were lookin' for, though we did enjoy the sign outside the restaurant Ben Dover's.  And just for kicks, we decided to drive into Oklahoma just because we had a courtesy van and we could.  Well, that and they charged us a $10 landing fee at the airport, so we had to get somethin' out of it.

We drove back to the FBO, grabbed some more cookies, then hopped back in the Comanche.  We were lined up behind an American Eagles regional jet and before a Falcon jet.  I can really get used to this!!!

On the way back, we had a considerable slower pace of about 130 knots.  We were vectored up to Chanute from Tulsa.  And about halfway back, we encountered clouds.  Minor precipitation.  But lots of clouds!  It was so beautiful!  I can't wait to get my Instrument rating!  The guys were funny, too.  Jarryd and Van are quite enjoyable to be around!  Never a dull moment!

We still had no idea where the Chanute airport was even after bein' six miles away from it, so we requested some ATC vectors all the way in until we had a visual of the runway.  We finally broke clear of the clouds, and then Jarryd entered the approach and executed a difficult cross-wind landing with a 30-knot gust comin' his way.  And in fun typical fashion, the winds were now out of 330 at 21 knots, gusting to 30.  Five hours difference, and the wind had changed almost 180 degrees!  Welcome to Kansas!  A cold front was blowin' through (57 today, 37 tomorrow).

All in all, I loved it!  In my first day of training, I had flown across (or ridden across!) Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas!  And it was fun!  New places, new people, fun and challenging times!

I am really loving this training so far!

I was exhausted after it all, and I found it hard to read and study tonight.  I mainly just browsed around the internet, dreamed with a friend of flyin' to all of the nation's baseball stadiums, and just called it a night.  I don't fly until noon tomorrow, so I'll have time in the morning to read some more.

But as for now, I am more than exhausted.  And my eyes burn.

I went to bed very tired at 11:30 P.M.