Greetings,
Cooler weather is finally here and is making flying without air conditioning more bearable. The first snow has fallen in the mountains near Flagstaff and the morning temps in the valley are in the 60's. APA hosted the first Grapevine fly-in of the season and it was outstanding. Weekends are packed with backcountry fly-ins, breakfast fly-ins and safety seminars. This season, I challenge you to make changes in your flying habits.
Fly to an airport you've not been to before. It will revive your flight planning and trip preparation skills, as well as allowing you a new experience.
Take friends and neighbors somewhere. Especially those with kids. It doesn't need to be a Young Eagles event, but take kids flying and show them what an amazing opportunity it is. Explain how much potential there is in an aviation career. If you can show them how much fun it is to work on planes, so much the better! We need A&Ps.
Get an additional endorsement or rating whether you add on tailwheel, complex, high performance endorsements, or go for Instrument or Instructor ratings. Get out of your comfort zone.
Join a group. APA, a breakfast club, a type club, a Facebook group, anything. These groups are actively flying, actively participating in local events and are an amazing place to meet like-minded people.
As pilots, we have an amazing advantage over our land-bound brethren. Take advantage of that, grow your skills toolbox, become a better pilot and participate. I truly look forward to seeing you on the ramp soon!
Blue Skies,
Brian