About MeI would like to take this opportunity to relate alittle about me and why I began this Web site and the journey along the way. Little did I know that I would begin this journey many years ago. As a child growing up, we made several trips to England to visit family and I never had any issues with flying, in fact I thought it was a grand adventure. As a young adult I joined the Canadian Forces, as an Infantryman, and did numerous flights in helicopters, sitting on the floor with your feet on the skids and the only thing holding you in is the G Forces as the pilot banked to set the helo down in the LZ. I also travelled extensively with the Canadian Forces and had no issues with flying. In fact I knew that when I left the Forces I wanted to become a pilot. One day while travelling home for vacation the flight I was on entered some Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) and the plane was tossed about quite violently. We descended but the rest of the trip was still in some chop. It was by far the worst flying experience I had had to that date. On that day, for whatever reason, I became nervous to fly. Everytime we hit turbulence I would tense up. After I left the Canadian Forces I enrolled at Nova Scotia Community College Aviation Institute and received my Commercial Pilots License with a Multi Engine Rating and a Multi IFR Rating, along with a two year Diploma in Aviation Technology. My first few trips were nerve racking to say the least. I still didn't like being in turbulence and everytime we hit some I would tense up. It's pretty hard to avoid turbulence, in a little Cessna, during the summer months when there is daytime heating of the earth :)
I started this site to pass on the knowledge that I have gained over the years. I hope to, also, be able to pass on the required information in order for you to become a pilot. I thouroughly enjoy flying and feel at peace in the air. I would like for others, who have been contemplating the idea, to follow through with their dreams and become a pilot. You don't have to fly for a living to enjoy it. I know a number of people in the General Aviation community who strictly fly for their own enjoyment. If you have any questions or comments feel free to get in touch with me. I hope you enjoy the site and good luck with your own flying journey. It will be a journey that you will never forget. God speed to all!!
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Then one day, after I had my Private License, I was out on a solo flight. As I was on final approach to the airport a heavy helicopter was leaving (helicopters produce a lot of wake turbulence from the rotors). The tower controller gave me my landing clearance and a caution of "possible wake turbulence from departing helicopter". As a pilot we have the option of waiving the wake turbulence call. Usually it is a two minute delay to allow for the wake turbulence to subside. Being a brand new pilot, with a shiney new license and a "God Complex", I waived my 2 minutes. BAD mistake. I got caught in the wake turbulence 50 feet above the runway and lost all lift on the wings. I recovered just as I was flairing to land. I cut my trip short after that and learned a valuable lesson. Since then I have never waived my two minutes :) The other thing it did was strip me of my "God Complex" but also instilled some self confidence in my abilities to recover from a potentially hazardous situation. From that day forth I have never had any issues with turbulence or flying in general.
I was scheduled to do my final flight test on September 11th, 2001. We all know the tragedy that befell on that date. I finally got my flight test done three weeks later but the damage was already done. The aviation industry, around the world, went into upheavel and it took close to four years to recover. The job prospects dried up so I decided to re-enroll in the Canadian Forces as a pilot. That took three years as I needed to go back to university to finish my degree. I have since changed from pilot to air traffic control and don't regret the decision at all. I still fly for my own enjoyment. In fact, I'm looking into building my own kit plane so that I can fly whenever I want.
