Preperation
There is a lot to do before embarking on such a trip. During 2010 Intend to complete my commercial and IFR ratings, take lessons in mountain flying and bush flying, as well as simply buidling more hours. Additionally, a substantial amount of planning will be involved. Luckily there is a good bit of info out there on this via the earth rounders site. Previous people have posted invaluable information. This still does not change the fact that planning for such a trip will not be trivial.
Latest News
This upcomming weekend On May 22nd 2010 Margot flew from the island of Kauai to Molokai! Flying across the ocean and not seeing any land feels wonderus and you hope your navigational aids (VOR, compass and sectional) are leading you where you belive you are headed. Stay tunes for pictures!
Scroll down to see more Upcomming Milestones!
Progress accomplished
May 22nd 2010: Margot flys cross country to Molokai with her flight instructor!
Spring 2010: Margot's friend Fred, has a daughter, Juliette, that has dreamed of flying. Her instructor takes Juliette for her very first lesson and Margot and Fred get to sit in back while Juliette takes us around the island! It was so rewarding to see such a happy young lady be so in love in flight!
Spring 2010: Margot does her first solo flight in her very own airplane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Spring 2010: Yey, Margot can access her own airplane again.
Early 2010: TSA decides to lock aircraft owners out of the airport until they get a background check and do a lot of paper work and finger printing. This took months and she could not fly at all for that time. :-(
Winter 2009: Margot in a situation were she will be able to solo her airplane once the winds are good but every weekend the cross wind and gusts are way up! She got a lot of good cross wind landings in with her instructor!
Summer 2009: Flying aerobatics is great but Margot wants a single engine license. It is a little odd to have flown 2 dozen types of aircraft (powered + gliders) at a dozen airports, have 60 hours of aerobatics and test pilot experience and not have a license (aside from the glider license). Margot's friend Mavourneen has told her about an airplane for sale! A Cessna 170a tail dragger. Not Aerobatic but it is a beautiful airplane. She had already been saving all her money for flying so at 25 Margot buys her own airplane! Yey! Her name is Athena.
March 29 2008: Margot Loves spins, but only if she gets to do a lot of them. On this day she did a 12 turn spin but her record in a 44 turn spin! Now an experienced 'spinner', Margot has decided that upon flying the world she will perform 195 spins!
Summer 2007: Margot Does her first Loop! From here she learns, rolls, reverse and forward Cuban-8s and clover leafs and precision spins. She begins sequencing things together. In addition to being fun, the skills obtained are invaluable for being a good pilot. It also builds the techniques and coordinates needed to handle situations when the aircraft is in an unusual attitude.
Early 2007: Kauai is a small island. There are flight instructors with airplanes but no airplane that she can solo in due to insurance issues. She found one instructor who is an Aerobatic Pilot with an aerobatic plane. Aerobatics is something Margot has dreamed about forever and she starts taking lessons in a Citabria.
Winter 2006: Margot starts working as a Scientist at Think Tank company, Oceanit on Kauai and starts saving for an airplane and flight lessons.
Fall 2005 - Winter 2006: After working a summer job at an aerospace engineering company (Aerovironment) Margot has saved some money to start taking lessons in single engine aircraft and she quickly spends on her money on this. Around this time her and a business partner are also trying to turn the concept vehicle built in 2004 until a recreational water craft and successful business. Unfortunately it did not work but it was fun to try!
January 4th 2005: Margot receives her glider pilots license at Seminole Lake, Florida! Yey! To date, Margot has flown well over a dozen types of gliders at half a dozen glider ports!
Summer 2004: Margot takes 2 lessons in single engine aircraft. A bit expensive for a college student, particularly when she already spends her food allowance on gliding. At this point it is very clear to her that she will need to get a good job out of college to continue this dream!
Summer 2004: Margot teams up with two friends to design build and fly their own concept for a wing and ground effect glider. They each experienced several successful maned flight tests. It flew like a dream!
Spring 2004: Margot wins a Scholarship to attend and fly at the Woman Soaring Pilots Association Seminar. A week long of flying gliders in Elmira, NY. She got to do cross country glider flying with famous glider pilot, Roy McMaster and got to fly 4 new kinds of gliders!
January 8th 2004: Margot Solos in a glider at Bermuda high soaring in south Carolina! Learning to fly in gliders is an invaluable and greatly improves flying skills.
August 2003: At, 19 Margot has her first flying experience via the Penn State Soaring Club. A lesson in a Blanik L-13 glider at Ridge Soaring glider port in Pennsylvania! She even got to go ridge soaring on her very first flight! Now she is completely hooked on flying. The Penn State Soaring club owns two gliders and has volunteer instructors! To pay for the gliders to club is very active in fund raising!
August 24th 1983: Margot is born. At this time she instantly knows she one day wants to fly solo around the world!
Upcomming milestones
Come back to check the status!
Spring 2010: Fly cross country to various Hawaiian islands.
Summer 2010: Obtain single engine private pilots license
Fall/Winter 2010: Obtain IFR rating
Fall/Winter 2010: Obtain commercial license