She's probably bled to death by now.

Woke up at 7:45 A.M. Went over to meet Van at the FBO at 8:30. He had brought some approach plates for the airport in Lawrence, Kansas. We did a little ground schoolin' so that I actually understood what the plates meant, and then we headed off.

And I still didn't believe it. When I woke up earlier, I looked out the window...and the winds were calm. The windsock was limp! Could it be?!!! In Kansas?! Well, we hopped in the Piper Cherokee, and the weather report confirmed it! I could choose any runway! The winds were calm! I took off Runway 18.

I was under the hood the entire time to Lawrence, just southwest of Kansas City. 81 nautical miles from Chanute. The flight itself wasn't too difficult. The winds were (relatively) calm compared to what I had had the previous couple of days. I tracked the VOR all the way up with no reference to outside.

And once we reached Lawrence, I had my first taste of approaches!!! We did the ILS approach to Runway 33, and I quickly learned just how sensitive that localizer is as you get closer to the runway! The closer you get, the more you have to keep that needle centered!!! You don't have a lot of room to play with, but that's the exciting part. (For those non-flyers out there, picture a funnel leading up the runway with the bigger part of the funnel being the furthest away...you are following this funnel to the runway without being able to see the runway...and your area of approach gets narrower, and narrower, and narrower...leaving less room for error!).

We also did a GPS approach to Runway 33. That wasn't too bad. Just had to follow the course headings.

There sure is a lot to do, though, at the approach part of flying! Without the runway in sight, you have to constantly monitor airspeed, pitch, bank, RPM's, the glideslope, the CDI for the localizer, and on and on...with no reference to outside...all while communicating with other aircraft (or the tower!)! It's a good lesson in thinking ahead of the aircraft...you have to know what you're doin' next! It's a bit difficult on the first lesson, but it'll come around.

Flew back to Chanute under the hood, and then came to land on Runway 36. Winds were up to 5 knots...that's like butter! But I did manage to touch (i.e. bounce!) down around 90 mph. I somehow forgot that whole float above the runway idea. But I counted it as two landings...haha.

2.4 hours of flying today.

Had a quick lunch (a can of pasta!), then headed up in the skies again...this time with Jarryd. He was flying the twin up to Lincoln, Nebraska, today, and I tagged along! The flight was pretty simple...we cruised at 6000 feet...right below the cloud base. And if I do say so myself, Kansas and Nebraska are pretty bland states in the winter...miles and miles and miles of brown flatness. Not much to look at.

We landed at Lincoln, walked into a really nice FBO, then took the rental car out. We hit up downtown and went inside the State Capitol...one of the most beautiful I've seen! It feels like a castle from the inside! Drove by the nice University of Nebraska football stadium but didn't have time to go pay a visit.

Had a smooth flight back, too...just conversation with Jarryd and Van. I've realized that flying is much like roadtrips...outside of the busy take-off and landing phases, you're just up there talkin' with each other...just with a better view than a car. It's pretty nice.

We talked about Van's experience with the aviation industry, Jarryd's future plans, women, and whatever else crossed our minds. You know, guy stuff.

Landed back at Chanute, watched some basketball, ate a bowl of cereal, then realized that I was cravin' somethin' else. So I called up Pizza Hut, but they didn't answer...so I opted to just get out and go to McDonald's. You know, livin' the high life.

Well, as the story goes, I still haven't figured out this town yet...I have a general idea of the streets, but I still haven't figured out the best way to get from the airport to the main streets quite yet. Which landed me in some neighborhood. No worries. I wasn't in any hurry.

So I'm there cruisin' about 30-35 mph, and I'm comin' upon an intersection. No stop sign. It's dark out, so I can't see too far ahead. And just as I get to the intersection, I realize that the intersecting street is rather humped. No, majorly humped. And that's not all. I am goin' slightly downhill into this hump, and I soon realize that the other side of my road is goin' uphill. Terrible street lay-out.

I tried to brake, but I just didn't have enough time to slow down. I braced for what was goin' to happen...and sure enough, it did happen. I nailed the road, and I ramped up a bit. That now brought me to the top of the intersecting road which is now sloping down. My car follows, and the front part of my car hits the road ahead of me which is now sloping up. I hit so hard my hat flies up, and whatever I had in my trunk flew up and hit the roof of the trunk. It was not pretty.

Not pretty at all.

I turn down another road, but I'm thinkin' I'm probably missin' some plastic pieces from the front of my car, so I do a U-ey and drive back. No pieces in the road. So I head off to McDonald's.

I get out to inspect the car for any visual damage. Nothin' on the front part...the plastics look fine. Then I get below my car, and I see a steady stream comin' down from the engine. I thought it was radiator fluid. Not good. Not good at all. I put my finger in it, and I quickly realize I have a BIG problem. I am losing oil...and fast! It is streamin' down to the pavement.

It's after 7 o'clock, so everything in town has already shut down. I head over to Wal-Mart to see if we can figure out how bad the damage is. The shop is closed, but a mechanic comes out to look at it...he says I appeared to have sliced open the oil pan pretty good. And he recommended that I call a tow truck. Well, I wasn't up for that, and I didn't figure I had lost too many quarts yet, so I drove to a car dealership for their repair facility. But after thinkin' about that (and how much they usually charge), I opted to just go to a car repair shop, so I stopped by O'Reilly's to find out where to go. I'm in a hurry, and I'm watchin' my oil light the entire time to see if it ever lights up. If that would happen, I'd have to call the tow truck. No fun. Every time I park, I leave a fairly good-sized puddle of oil.

I finally find a repair shop, and I park the car. She's still bleeding pretty heavily. And the doctor won't be in for another 13 or 14 hours. That's a problem. I lock the doors, then start walkin' back towards the airport...which is conveniently located on the other side of town. It's freezing outside, so I just start lookin' for anyone outside. But like I said, it's freezing outside, so everyone is inside.

After a couple of blocks, I come to the fire department. They are in a meeting, so they send me over to the police department. I pick up a phone, call dispatch, and she sends a police officer over to pick me up. Nothin' like good ol' police cab service! This time from the front of the car!!!

We talk about Mazda Proteges, how his daughter has owned one (seems like everyone has!), and how his daughter can shift with the best of 'em. "Shoot, I'd put her in a d*** semi, and she'd be fine." Yes, I'm sure she would. That's my type of girl.

He drops me off at the airport, and I go after a bite to eat...and wouldn't ya know it?

It was rice from a bag. 60 seconds! My night on the town ended up a lot worse than expected. My splurge on a meal (at McDonald's, nonetheless!) is goin' to end up costin' me more money than I even want to know.

And my escape from rice out of a bag left me with...well, rice out of a bag.

To top off this great day, I watched an hour of ASA videos tonight...all about Navigation.

Went to bed at 11:30 P.M. I fly at 9:00 A.M.