Great Day for Pilot/Builder
Following up on the prior post made a month ago, I did it! I am now a Commercial Pilot. The Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) did note that he’s never seen a limitation like that, but hey…it happens. For those wondering why the limitation, I don’t have my Instrument Rating yet. I did complete these a little out of the “normal” routine, but I had my reasons.
Civil Air Patrol allows for pilots who wish to get advanced ratings, the opportunity to do so. This ends up being a significant cost savings over public offerings as the aircraft are cheaper to use, and the instructors are very happy to help. Since the Commercial Certificate requires the use of a Complex airplane to get the rating, sometimes you have to go with the flow. CAP has very few complex airplanes in the fleet. I was able to snag and transfer in one from Colorado on a loaner basis. The fear was that it is old, and CAP looks to be wanting to consolidate and reduce the expensive aircraft in the fleet. So…this one could go to the bone yard quick as it is on the “expensive to operate” list. Therefore, time was of the essence.
I passed my written a month ago. Once I was able to clear my schedule and work with my instructor’s schedule, we knocked it out. We flew 4 times in 1 week and I soloed the rest. I had 10.1 Dual Complex and another 5 solo all said and done. In there were all the maneuvers, landings, ground, complex, etc. to meet the regs. It was a MARATHON!
Needless to say, I am pretty pleased with myself and feel that the process made me a better pilot. Now on to the instrument rating, so I can remove that limitation.
Eventually, I may actually get to building again. I do believe I am building in some fashion…at least it’s aviation related.
