Our first Dr. visit!

Pregnancy has been going well for me so far. I have nausea on and off, but not too bad. I had one week where it was pretty bad and got sick a few times. Other than that though, it hasn't been horrible, and I've only gotten sick once since that week. My biggest thing is food aversions. My favorite meat before getting pregnant was Italian sausage (which we had all the time in breakfast burritos and pasta) but right now, the smell of it being cooked alone makes me really nauseous and causes me to lose my appetite. There are other foods that the smell of it being cooked or it just simply being put in front of me makes me not want it. Needless to say, my poor husband has to deal with me being a pretty picky eater. Hopefully only a couple more weeks of this, though! I'm doing good with taking my prenatal vitamins everyday (thankfully they don't make me nauseous).

Finally this morning, we got to go to the doctor for the first time. I was getting so anxious/nervous. It started out with meeting my doctor and talking with her. She's very sweet, and we like her a lot. My allergies have been starting to act up lately, so she informed what she recommended I take. Good news since I have horrible allergies, especially in the spring time. She gave me an exam and said everything looks good, healthy, and normal. Then, a nurse gave me a flu shot since she highly recommended it. I've never had a flu shot, so I hope I don't have any weird reaction to it. I'm so glad needles and shots don't bother me. After that, I had to go get a bunch of blood work done. YUCK! This is definitely my least favorite thing ever. Never fails to leave me nauseous and light headed. Following a slight wait after that, I got an ultrasound which was definitely my favorite part. The baby measured right at 10 weeks and 4 days, which confirmed my due date to be October 9th. Baby looked good, though Daniel and I joke that lil Jelly Bean (what we call the baby inside me) was being lazy since he/she was just laying on the bottom not really moving. Jelly Bean's heartbeat was an amazing thing to hear and was about 170 beats (normal). Here are our 2 ultrasound pics: 

*NOTE: CLICK ON PICTURE TO MAKE BIGGER!*

Flight Log 03-09

Today was my third solo- I flew southwest to Lake Somerville and practiced s-turns, rectangular patterns, and turns about a point. All very basic manuvers by now; the flight was pretty much uneventful. My landings were smooth and I did a better job getting the nose higher, I have a tendency to land almost flat on all three tires instead of the main gear. Nothing exciting to report other than a NASA T-38 that I had to spot - our paths crossed as I was departing for the practice area and he was landing.

Flight #12: 1.4 hrs
Total Log Time: 15.2 hrs

*PS*

Go here to see the post-flight picture from my first solo.

These are pictures of the planes I have flown and and number of times I have flown them:

N8926V (5) *first flight & solo
N9925Q (8)
N9945Q (1)

All three are Cessna 172M's, manufactured between 1973 - 1976.

Flight Log 03-06

Today was progress check #2; I would be flying with Bill Brady as it is recommended that progress checks be performed with the chief or assistant chief flight instructor. I went in an hour early for an oral exam and breezed through the knowledge with flying colors; once the plane started it went downhill from there. For some reason I was being lazy and my mind had made an early departure for the clouds. First, I wasn't taxiing down the centerline - this is unprofessional. After the engine run-up I skipped over the checklist bullet that states "Takeoff Briefing and Emergency Procedures" and went straight to getting takeoff clearance. Skipping any sort of safety precaution (no matter how repetitive) as a student, on a progress check no less, is highly frowned upon. Once in the air I had trouble keeping the aircraft at a constant altitude, my manuevers were sloppy, and I didn't use the fundamentals of "pitch controls airspeed and thrust controls altitude", which made for poor landing approaches. Its not that I forgot, I was just being stubborn. In the end I passed. Bill said he enjoyed flying with me, made a 'good job' remark in my logbook, and let me get in some solo time. I didn't feel like it was good, but whatever.

For the second solo, I was permitted to leave the traffic pattern and fly out to the practice area. I found a nice irrigation circle and practiced making right turns about the center. Right turns are more difficult because the pilot sits on the left, so the cabin and right wing block your view significantly. After a few laps I returned to the airport and made a touch-and-go. While on downwind some guy with an ATC callsign of "Roman ###" had contacted the tower for landing. I was trying to figure out which airline uses Roman - only Continental Connection (Colgan) and American Eagle (Eagle Flight) fly to CLL, so maybe it was one of the FedEx feeders. I watched the runway to see who it was, then my heart rate picked up when I spotted a dark gray figure swooping in low and smooth over the threshold- it was an F/A-18 of VFA-106 "Gladiators" stationed at NAS Oceana, VA. VFA-106 prepares newly-winged Naval Aviators (this includes Marines) for active duty with East Coast F-18 squadrons. Maybe in the next few years I'll spend some time with VFA-106... although Amanda will probably order the Commandant to assign me to VMFAT-101 so she can live in San Diego. Needless to say the tower instructed the guy in 45Q (another BVFS plane) and I to extend our downwind legs to let the wake turbulence dissipate.

Progress Check #2: 1.5 hrs (0.5 solo)
Total Log Time: 13.8 hrs (1.0 solo)

Flight Log 03-03

Clear skies and literally no wind today! Nathan Tichenor picked me up after class and got me to the airport in time for my flight at 3:00pm. I was ready to just up and go, but they insisted that I make a check flight... again. First approach - simulate a go-around. Next approach - touch and go. Finally we landed and exited onto the taxiway, then pulled off to the side of the parking apron. Chris contacted the tower: "I'm gonna hop out and this guy is going to make his first solo." The tower acknowledges, Chris shakes my hand, and shuts the door. And off I went down the taxiway.

I wasn't as jittery as I thought I would be; I guess it's because I had to repeat the check flights a few times due to weather. I was pretty confident and maybe annoyed that I kept having to wait... just let me go already! It's quite simple: control the airplane, don't hit anything, and just repeat back everything you're told. I was number three in the takeoff lineup behind a Colgan Air Saab 340 to Houston, and a Piper Cherokee heading to the northwest. I pulled out onto the runway, went full throttle, and off into the sky. My traffic pattern took me over West Campus, so I enjoyed the view on the downwind leg. The first landing was a little hard, the second smooth but off to the left, then on my third trip through the pattern the entire world decides College Station is the place to be: an American Eagle ERJ-145 calls in saying he's 6 miles out on a straight in approach, another Cessna has joined me in the pattern, plus a Navy TC-12 is about to check in. I report I'm at mid-field (half way down the runway) and the tower gives me a request I've never had to do before: "26V, I need you to make a right-360." Remember what I said earlier? Just repeat it back and do it: "right 360, 26V." I held a standard rate turn to the right, coming all the way back around to where I started at. This put a gap between me and the other Cessna that was ahead. The ERJ still wasn't down yet, and a jet airplane creates a wake through the air that can flip our little Cessna's - the tower needed more room for us. "26V, make a right-45, report the Cessna in sight." Another new one, but pretty self-explanatory. Right 45 degrees. I started getting uneasy because I knew there was another guy in the pattern with me real close, flying real slow, and I couldn't see him in the glare of the sunset. Finally he turned in for his base leg and the wingspan caught the sunlight. "26V has traffic in sight..." "26V, you're number three, follow that traffic to the runway." In came the parade of planes, one after the other. I set it down, hit the brakes, and exited onto taxiway bravo. Bill and Chris met me on the flight line for the celebratory photo and presented me with my solo certificate.

Flight #11b: 1.0 hrs (0.5 solo)
Total Log Time: 12.3 hrs

Flight Log 03-02

The winds were gusting to 19 kts today, so my endorsement limitations kept me from making that first solo once again. Just so my time wasn't a complete waste, I asked if we could go through my records to make sure everything has been properly logged and signed off so there aren't any hold-ups when it comes time for me to take the private pilot checkride. Sure enough, flight #10 had some loose ends. The curriculum for each flight has two categories of tasks: new tasks that are to be performed, and skills that should be checked on for profeciency. Some of the "improving skills" boxes were not checked off. The instructor who was with me on the flight said they were not checked off because we didn't do them, because I had demonstrated proficiency on the previous flights and he felt it would be a waste of time (and money) to re-check. The instructor reviewing my files made the point that FAA regulations state everything must at least be signed off on in the paperwork. Eventually it was decided that we should just fire up the plane and go do them for integrity's sake. S-turns, turns about a point, and some quizzing over emergency descents, fire, and engine-out situations. On one landing, about 50 feet off the ground, I was told "there's a moose on the runway!" He was testing my reflexive responses for aborting a landing, but I thought he could have come up with a more practical scenario than the elusive Brazos Valley moose.

Flight #10...b? 1.0 hrs
Total Log Time: 11.3 hrs

Flight Log 02-28

Today was supposed to be the day I solo... I took my written exam and passed just fine, then started up the plane for a checkout flight with my instructor before he would sign off on my solo endorsement. The winds were very strong, gusts up to 29 kts. Dave wanted me to solo real bad today and I did well on my checkride, but in the end we both decided it would be better to wait for another day. He went ahead and signed off in my logbook for my solo endorsement - limitations: cloud ceiling greater than 3000' AGL, maximum winds 15 kts with 6 kt crosswind. At first I was a little offended about the wind limitations considering my performance today, but this is a standard first-solo endorsement.

Flight #11a: 0.6 hrs
Total Log Time: 10.3 hrs