I have to apologize for the radio silence...life has been, well, let's just say interesting and it's not going to get less interesting for a while yet! This has all served to make me focus priorities a bit (not all bad), so I've had to dial back the flying significantly in the past few months and for a while longer yet. In fact, I've only been up 3-4 times so far this year but trying to get some balance back. (Remember how the bug I described back on August 3, 2006 itches like crazy when you don't scratch it?! Read the beginning of my story to reminisce http://www.fordstreet.net/nyapproach/2006/08/index.html)
So, as I did last year, let me recap the 2007 flying year (with cumulative totals for 2006 and 2007 in parentheses), which wasn't a bad one at all:
- Total time: 108.2 hours (210.6 hours)
- Pilot in command: 108.2 hours (165.1 hours)
- Dual: 90.5 (140.1 hours)
- Solo: 6.5 hours (18.3 hours)
- Cross-country: 72.0 hours (125.4 hours)
- Night: 19.6 hours (32.6 hours)
- Actual instrument: 9.0 hours (9.0 hours)
- Simulated instrument: 44.4 hours (62.6 hours)
- Simulator: 7.7 hours (7.7 hours)
- Approaches flown: 105
- 108 landings--81 day/27 night (315--271 day/44 night)
So a pretty respectable year, adding another 100 hours+ flight experience. At the end of the year, I was getting very close to finishing up my instrument rating before life overtook me a bit. But the flying highlight for the year was probably our flight in August/September out to Yellowstone and back--take a look at the photos and the entries in the archives.
For now, focused time on flying is in a holding pattern. I've had a couple of good sorties with Dan just to scratch the itch and make sure I'm not getting too rusty and I've been putting some unrecorded time (almost weekly) on the PCATD simulator in the basement--this weekend I flew approaches to Bridgeport (VOR and ILS), Groton (ILS) and Great Barrington, MA (an NDB approach no less).
I'm blessed with my wife and great friends who make life so much fun. And having had one "adventure of a lifetime" each of the past two years of flying has been truly amazing...I have to say I've gotten spoiled a bit.