The flight yesterday was great although the weather did not fully cooperate; after a couple of days of sun, the clouds moved in and there was a light rain falling by the time we got aloft. However, the winds were quite light and there wasn't much turbulence. After a bit, though, I discovered that my weak stomach from childhood was making a comeback and on our way back to the airport I suddenly got very nauseous and lost my lunch... Sorry about that, Rob! Good thing it was a rental airplane! Rob was very gracious about it and didn't immediately throw me out, which I was quite happy about.

Anyway, as a long-time flight simulator afficionado it was wonderful to try my hand at the real thing: I got to use the controls a few times to do some gentle turns, climbs and dips. I have a whole new appreciation for the extent to which a pilot gets "seat of the pants" feedback: the feeling of weight changes a lot, even for very simple maneuvers. I'm not sure I'm ready to go back up in a single engine plane today, but I'll probably try it again soon.

Last day in Seattle! I'm very excited to move home. I thought I had already shlepped most of my things home, but when I went to pack up last night I found I had no trouble filling up my backpack, two duffle bags, and rolling carry-on. I also have my laptop bag and skis... The airline is not going to be happy with me...
posted by Tom at 1:01 PM | link |