I am in the last 3 weeks before I head overseas. The technical training is done. The packing is done. The first wave of goodbyes are done. My plan for these last weeks was to spend lots of time with friends and family here in Ontario.
I arrived a week ago, tired from packing and moving and emotionally drained from the goodbyes. I thought if I could just get through this weekend, visiting some far away friends, then I could return home and rest. Well I did get through this weekend - barely - and a few hours after my arrival home, my body let me know that it was done.
Fever. Chills. Sore Throat.
It's now Day 3 and it's clear that I'm not visiting anyone anytime soon. I can only type. I cannot speak. I'm being treated for strep throat.
This was not the plan.
I am tired of being sick. I'm sure people are tired of praying for me in this way.
I honestly haven't been like this ever in my life, but realize that this body of mine is a bit worn down from the whirlwind of the last 6 months.
Thankful to anyone who is not sick of praying for healing on my behalf.
Very grateful,
April
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Pictures from Flight Standardization
 |
| Approach to Moriah. Slope in the touchdown area: 10% |
 |
| Turning toward Smith Prairie Airstrip. Elevation of Airport: 5000' ASL Practicing High Density Take off and Landings at gross weight and aft center of gravity |
 |
| Short Final at Wilson Bar |
 |
| Taking Off at Deadwood. Downslope: 10% |
 |
| Approach to Deadwood |
 |
| Setting Abort Points. Yes, that stack of sage brush is my abort point. |
 |
| Inside the cockpit |
 |
| ZY Ranch Airstrip |
 |
| Gross Weight with aft Center of Gravity |
 |
| This runway was as wide as the span of my wheels. Wilson Bar. |
 |
| Helmet Hair at Allison Ranch |
 |
| Gorgeous place to spend the day |
 |
| My trusty horse! |
 |
| Looking down the runway at Allison Ranch |
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Recap
Gosh it's been too long! Sorry that I was MIA for a while here. Instead of catching you up since the last post, I'll just share with what I'm up to at the moment.
I am back in Idaho for the last part of flight training with MAF. I have been here for almost a month and just about to start the final week. It's been great to be reunited with friends who are on the same path as I am, preparing to head overseas. We are all living on "campus" and get to hang out every day. This community of friends has been so wonderful to be a part of as we all process through life and leaving.
My first week here had me in ground school from 8am-5pm. This course taught us about the airplane we were flying and the way that MAF wants us to fly and operate. There were basic things like checklist usage and then more specific things about dropping packages onto a target from 50 feet. There was a big review on aerodynamics and how to assess a new airstrip (Wind, Length, Altitude, Surface, Slope, Obstacles), and how to determine the last point in which you can safely stop the airplane or reject the take off or landing....and so much more.
There are 5 other guys going through the course with me. Once we started week 2, four of the guys went on to their maintenance training, while myself and another guy started the flight portion of the training. My instructor pilot and I started going to long, flat, dirt air strips. Each time practicing the techniques taught in ground school. As the days went on, he would bring me to more challenging airstrips. Some would have a bit of a slope, sometimes trees or towers on the ends, or they were located in valleys with rising terrain all around them. These ones can be tricky if you're not familiar with the illusions that rising and falling terrain can give you as you no longer have a true horizon to base your attitudes on for flying. The more practice, the more familiar it would get. Week 3 of flying took us into more airstrips...each day a new one to discover. I think the hardest part of this training is that we never go to the same place twice, so although the skills aren't necessarily "new"...you are always in a new environment. I would prefer to feel confident that I'm nailing the exercise before moving on, but the instructor is just looking to see that you're moving towards that direction.
It has been close to a year and a half since I last flew an airplane and I can tell you that it has been a steep learning curve. It's really my expectations that are getting in the way, I think. I know how I felt in the airplane when I stopped flying at the end of 2011. I felt "one" with the airplane - an extension of me....and as I get back into it, I'm not quite there yet. So not only am I getting used to a new airplane, new procedures and a new environment, I am trying to get this brain of mine to be thinking like a pilot would - something that came really natural before, but is out of practice. Slowly as the days go on, it is coming back - but I just wish it was faster....
I am about to start the last week here. Thankfully it is the long weekend here and I have 2 more days to relax and rest. Starting Tuesday, I will be flying into the real mountain airstrips that are short, dog-legged, trees tight on the sides, "blind" approaches, 10-15% slope grass airstrips. I am praying that the information that I have learned will settle and click into my brain and I can perform in the way I know I can. The wind has been very gusty here last week which has prevented us in going to the airstrips that we needed to use. Would you pray for calm conditions this week?
Pictures to come soon....
Thanks for being a part of this journey,
April :)
I am back in Idaho for the last part of flight training with MAF. I have been here for almost a month and just about to start the final week. It's been great to be reunited with friends who are on the same path as I am, preparing to head overseas. We are all living on "campus" and get to hang out every day. This community of friends has been so wonderful to be a part of as we all process through life and leaving.
My first week here had me in ground school from 8am-5pm. This course taught us about the airplane we were flying and the way that MAF wants us to fly and operate. There were basic things like checklist usage and then more specific things about dropping packages onto a target from 50 feet. There was a big review on aerodynamics and how to assess a new airstrip (Wind, Length, Altitude, Surface, Slope, Obstacles), and how to determine the last point in which you can safely stop the airplane or reject the take off or landing....and so much more.
There are 5 other guys going through the course with me. Once we started week 2, four of the guys went on to their maintenance training, while myself and another guy started the flight portion of the training. My instructor pilot and I started going to long, flat, dirt air strips. Each time practicing the techniques taught in ground school. As the days went on, he would bring me to more challenging airstrips. Some would have a bit of a slope, sometimes trees or towers on the ends, or they were located in valleys with rising terrain all around them. These ones can be tricky if you're not familiar with the illusions that rising and falling terrain can give you as you no longer have a true horizon to base your attitudes on for flying. The more practice, the more familiar it would get. Week 3 of flying took us into more airstrips...each day a new one to discover. I think the hardest part of this training is that we never go to the same place twice, so although the skills aren't necessarily "new"...you are always in a new environment. I would prefer to feel confident that I'm nailing the exercise before moving on, but the instructor is just looking to see that you're moving towards that direction.
It has been close to a year and a half since I last flew an airplane and I can tell you that it has been a steep learning curve. It's really my expectations that are getting in the way, I think. I know how I felt in the airplane when I stopped flying at the end of 2011. I felt "one" with the airplane - an extension of me....and as I get back into it, I'm not quite there yet. So not only am I getting used to a new airplane, new procedures and a new environment, I am trying to get this brain of mine to be thinking like a pilot would - something that came really natural before, but is out of practice. Slowly as the days go on, it is coming back - but I just wish it was faster....
I am about to start the last week here. Thankfully it is the long weekend here and I have 2 more days to relax and rest. Starting Tuesday, I will be flying into the real mountain airstrips that are short, dog-legged, trees tight on the sides, "blind" approaches, 10-15% slope grass airstrips. I am praying that the information that I have learned will settle and click into my brain and I can perform in the way I know I can. The wind has been very gusty here last week which has prevented us in going to the airstrips that we needed to use. Would you pray for calm conditions this week?
Pictures to come soon....
Thanks for being a part of this journey,
April :)
Friday, January 4, 2013
A heart update
Preparation, I'm finding, is more than crossing off a to-do list. It is more than changing addresses and cancelling your cell phone contract; more than shopping for items and clothing you will need; more than keeping your aviation licenses current and building a support team. It has proved to be more than what I expected. I wish I could write a list composed of items like faith, courage, making wise choices, discipline, love, single-mindedness, contentment, etc. And then after some time, cross each one off the list in completion. Oh wouldn't that be wonderful?!
I think it's fair to say that I am generally a happy, optimistic person. In the last few months though, I have found myself all over the place. In August & September, I was feeling the changes in friendships as others pull away - preparing for my departure perhaps, and me trying to hold on with all that I had - not ready to say goodbye. It felt like bandaids were being pulled off left ,right and center. I found that others were more ready for me to leave than I was. It was hard.
In October, after moving to Ontario, I felt God had given me a space to breathe and regroup. There is something about my parent's house that always makes me feel relaxed and sleepy. Don't worry, the batteries in the carbon monoxide detectors have been checked:) I took time to rest and see my good friends & spend time with family. Contrary to popular belief, it really was a time of refreshment. With all the traveling and speaking at churches this fall, it was wonderful to just be home.
Just the other day I realized there has been a shift in my heart's posture- if that makes sense. Instead of leaning back, trying to slow things down so my heart & mind can catch up, I have found myself straining forward. I have become more and more ready to meet my new country & city. More ready to get settled in and start this new chapter of my life.
I am realizing though in all of this preparation that I will not be as fully prepared as I would like to be before heading overseas. God really does choose to use people who don't have it all together and I'm realizing that that will be me. That IS me. I want to do my very best and wish I could have my lists crossed off in completion, but these kinds of lists go on and on until I meet Him face to face.
So with that knowledge, I am looking forward to moving on to the next steps and joining my team overseas.
I think it's fair to say that I am generally a happy, optimistic person. In the last few months though, I have found myself all over the place. In August & September, I was feeling the changes in friendships as others pull away - preparing for my departure perhaps, and me trying to hold on with all that I had - not ready to say goodbye. It felt like bandaids were being pulled off left ,right and center. I found that others were more ready for me to leave than I was. It was hard.
In October, after moving to Ontario, I felt God had given me a space to breathe and regroup. There is something about my parent's house that always makes me feel relaxed and sleepy. Don't worry, the batteries in the carbon monoxide detectors have been checked:) I took time to rest and see my good friends & spend time with family. Contrary to popular belief, it really was a time of refreshment. With all the traveling and speaking at churches this fall, it was wonderful to just be home.
Just the other day I realized there has been a shift in my heart's posture- if that makes sense. Instead of leaning back, trying to slow things down so my heart & mind can catch up, I have found myself straining forward. I have become more and more ready to meet my new country & city. More ready to get settled in and start this new chapter of my life.
I am realizing though in all of this preparation that I will not be as fully prepared as I would like to be before heading overseas. God really does choose to use people who don't have it all together and I'm realizing that that will be me. That IS me. I want to do my very best and wish I could have my lists crossed off in completion, but these kinds of lists go on and on until I meet Him face to face.
So with that knowledge, I am looking forward to moving on to the next steps and joining my team overseas.