Passing the Torch

I had a week off from activities, due to the latest bad news that you could read in my blog. It was a time of reflection, a time of re-thinking of values, and total dedication to our friends and loved ones. But as this short life is cruel and many questions will be left unanswered, we have to wind out, regain forces, and keep fighting the long battle of life.

So this Sunday I started over again, went back to fly.
After doing the everyday "IMSAFE" checklist, I decided I'm fit to fly again. For you that are asking what the heck is that checklist, is a very basic checklist we should do every day in the morning before you think about flying:
I - Illness. Am I sick? Have I any medical condition that could compromise flight?
M - Medication. Am I taking any medication that might affect my ability to fly?
S - Stress. Am I under stress? Is this going to impair my judgement?
A - Alcohol. Have I been drinking alcohol in the last 24 hours?
F - Fatigue. Did I have enough sleep?
E - Emotional. Am I emotionally affected by anything that might affect my ability to fly?

After I rechecked the last item 3 times, I went to the plane for another meticulous pre-flight.
I had 2 flights and 2 orals this day, happily it all went smooth.

So I'm working on my CFII, that's my initial flight instructor certificate. I managed to finish all the course activities, and now I 'm only waiting to the final school exams and the FAA check ride.
It was pretty fast actually, in our school our pace depends mostly on instructor availability. And since I got this new instructor that has a lot a free-time, i took a lot of advantage, why not?

I am realizing day-by-day that the best way of learning something in depth, is to teach someone else. It is so good, you review the subject to yourself, you have to do some extra research about it, and when you are able to explain to someone else, it means that you really have it. And the more you teach the same thing, the more you know it, and every time you discover something new you didn't know! A new detail, a new comment, a new perspective, a new view.
Definitely worth it!

The awkward thing of instructing in the beginning is to start flying from the right seat. Oh, my landings were so student-pilot landings in the first couple of flights!! It's unbelievable how bad is your coordination using opposite hands after flying more than 150 hours in the left seat. But as we should expect, a little practice and you get used to fly from both seats.....

No pics from this course.... hopefully ill have some when i indeed start instructing!
Fly safe.