Mission Pilot Flight Test - The Howling

Outside this morning the clouds are low, and the wind is howling.

Must be the day scheduled for my flight test. Seems to happen every time. But I figure if I can pass during the worst of conditions then I'm good for the rest.some reason every time. Today was the last test I needed to be certified as a "Mission Pilot" with the US Air Force Auxiliary (aka Civil Air Patrol) where I am a volunteer. It's taken a year and a half.

So we flew a 'search-and-rescue' check out flight. Luckily, by the time we took off the sun had broken out, but the winds were strong, gusty and COLD. A small search plane in such winds is sometimes like being strapped in a roller coaster. Take off is a snap but landings are serious business in strong cross winds. Running the controls can be like pumping iron, hands and feet doing different balancing acts at the same time.

Back in the real world, Ricin toxins have turned up for the very first time in the U.S. -first the White House (kept secret until the 2nd incident) then at Sen. Majority leader Frist's office. But Janet Jackson's bosom exposure at the Super Bowl is getting more media attention then a terrorist attempted assassination of our leadership. America is going to sleep again, and that's dangerous.

More later...