More photos of where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers meet and of Seneca.

Here are some photos from flying a Cessna 140. Josh is the student and he has been doing a good job. The 140 is an old airplane from the 1940's and is a tailwheel aircraft which makes it noticeably harder to fly. Takeoffs and landings in the aircraft require special attention so as to not veer off the runway. Josh has been doing a good job of handling this some times difficult aircraft. The wings are made of fabric and it has only one 85 horsepower engine. This is very basic and pure flying.

I was flying a twin engine Seneca not long ago and had the chance to fly over Cairo, Illinois where the Ohio and Mississippi river meet. This photo from 11,000 feet shows the two massive rivers meeting. If you look close you will see that the Ohio is actually the larger river here and should take the name of the river all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

JMG

Last Sunday my father and I went for a flight in the little yellow Cessna 150 that I helped bring back from Kansas. It was a very nice day and we flew into my favorite grass strip, Lee Bottom.

After his first solo, Kevin liked flying so much he decided to buy his own airplane! He found this yellow Cessna 150 in Hill City, Kansas. In July we drove out there, checked the plane over and flew it 9 hours and a 1,000 miles back across the country to Indiana. It was quite the adventure as we dodged thunderstorms and covered lots of unfamiliar territory.

JMG

Recent Solos at KBAK! Steve, Kevin and Aziz, 3 in one day!

Flying a Cessna 172 in Madison, KIMS. Flying a Cessna 152 on a perfect day at Lee Bottom with a Student.

JMG

Lots of flying at KBAK in the last few weeks. Here are some photos of recent solos by some of my students. Adam soloed in the Cessna 152 last month. Haley took her very first flight alone last week in a Cessna 172. Josiah was as excited as anyone I've ever seen after he got back on the ground after flying a Piper Warrior solo for the first time.

JMG

Here are some photos from space of a trip a Student and I took to Rough River, KY from Columbus, Indiana last week.

JMG

Three busy weeks of Convair training is completed. Here are some interesting videos about the type of aircraft. Many of them were built in the late 1940's and 1950's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPqOfC28LDs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP_Z-JfLkJI

One week down and one week to go of Convair 240 ground school. The Convair is a 1950-1960's twin engine cargo plane. Not many are still flying today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_CV-240_family

Interesting article about aid efforts in Haiti through Aviation. Check out the Slide Show of photos.

http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/2010/march/feature_haiti.html?WT.adv=adv1

David's First Solo Flight

A little over a month of instruction here at KBAK and things have been going well. It has been a little slower than I like but I am new here and February is not known as a great month to fly. However, several students have been flying and making great progress. First, great job to John who has been working for a long time on his license. He passed his flight test just last week and is now a Private Pilot! It took almost all day down at the Seymour Airport but the hard work paid off for him. David came out the airport almost everyday for two weeks and did his first SOLO! He said he knew he could do it but it was a big psychological barrier. Well barrier no more! On a cool clear February evening David landed his plane nicely several times. See video and photo.

I've been doing some biannual flight reviews for people as well. Winter is a good time to do that so a pilot does not have to slow down flying in the summer for a flight review with an instructor. Hopefully more solos and flight tests to come soon.

The two hour daily commute to and from work is wearing on me a little as I find my patience decline and road rage increase. However, it makes for a good alone time when no one bothers me.

I hope you are keeping up to date on the continuing relief efforts in Haiti. Below is a link to a group that has been doing lots Missions work in Haiti for years. I would love to volunteer with them later this year for a week or more and they are at the top of my list of places that I would like to serve long-term with.
http://www.missionaryflights.org/

A couple feet of snow here last month. Got stuck several times and could not get up my driveway. What a mess. Hopefully no more big snows here as it is now March. Spring can never come fast enough.

JMG

OK wow. A lot has happened in the past month. Christmas in Indiana was good. While I was home I was offered a job as a flight instructor at the Columbus, Indiana airport. Ken is a friend of mine from Purdue who had been flying since graduation in Columbus. He has now moved to flying Cargo in the Caribbean and I have his position as a flight instructor. This has required me to move out of Michigan just after Christmas and start a new job. Talk about a lot going on. Stress in involved with any out of state move and job change, but his has all happened very fast. I have completed a weeks work at Rhoades Aviation and find the environment to be relaxed and enjoyable. Due to a foggy week I have not been in the air yet teaching, but I hope to soon.

I'm back living at home which is not what most people would want to do at 24 but it is good to be back and I don't think I'll be there permanently. I'm hoping my dad and I can get some flying done together. Maybe this will be the summer he can get his pilots license.

Speaking of my dad, he was just days away from a missions trip to Haiti when the earthquake struck there. I'm very glad that the church team was not there when disaster struck. However, everyone is in a scramble to get as much help as they can to the Capital now. As I said before, my company flys cargo in the Caribbean and they are going to try to lend a hand. Also, several Churches in the area are getting together supplies to be sent down. Missionary Flights International specializes in flying from Florida to Haiti. I've tried to put some people in contact with them and Missionary Aviation Fellowship to see what help can be offered.

Just after I left Michigan a very sad story unfolded involving a former SMAT pilot and missionary.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/01/allegan_county_plane_crash_und.html

The aviation community is small and any loss is a tragedy, but this crash involved an alumni of SMAT which makes it all the worse. He was receiving training so that he could return to Kenya and fly missionaries there in support of Africa Inland Mission. The weather looks to have played a roll in the crash.

More to come soon about relief efforts and the new job.

Now from Indiana!
JMG