Yesterday I spent the bulk of my morning at the Medical Supply place at St Clare hospital getting my new Cpap machine and getting fitted for a couple of masks. This was an entirely different experience from my last machine, my Bipap machine. The last time the medical equipment company basically just gave me the machine, a couple of instructions and sent me on my way. There wasn’t a ton of time fitting masks or really going over the machine or anything. It was horrible in comparison to what I did yesterday. The person took her time to really explain the machine, how it works, how to clean it, how to change settings and more importantly making sure I had a mask that fit well. I actually paid for a second mask just so I didn’t have to go back if I didn’t like the first mask. She also took … Read More
A Little Simulator Time Today…
One of the plusses of flying at Safety In Motion Flight Center is that they have a Redbird FMX full motion Flight Simulator. Occasionally I think of it as a drawback when in reality it’s a pretty amazing training tool. Today Meg and I were supposed to fly to KTIW (Tacoma Narrows) where, winds permitting, I was actually going to get to land today. Unfortunately it wasn’t the winds that stopped us. We occasionally have a marine layer that settles in the Puget Sound region and doesn’t burn off until noon or so. That was the case this morning. When I woke up it was pretty overcast and I called Lockheed Martin Flight Services for a Standard Weather briefing already knowing that the cloud layer was too low. The cloud layer was reported at 1,900 feet for McChord and 1,800 feet at KTIW. As the plan was to fly from … Read More
Tacoma Tower, There’s a Coyote On The Alpha
So yesterday I climbed into my trusty training airplane, N1151M, for the first time in nearly a month. The last letter from the FAA put me into a tailspin, pun intended, about my future of flying. It took me a week or so to calm down and revise my game plan, but I got it together. See my previous posts to know what I’ve been battling against. The finish line is in sight however, so I’m super excited again about obtaining my Private Pilot’s License. Yesterday was the day I finally got back in the air! The last time we flew, my flight instructor Meg said that the next time we flew we’d expand my “sandbox” a bit and head over to Tacoma Narrows Airport (KTIW) from our home field, Pierce County Airport, Thun Field (KPLU) . As I hadn’t flown in a month I was unsure if that would still … Read More
Flying Today! And Excited About CPap?
I have a flight lesson today at 1:30PDT and I’m super stoked to get back in the air!! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve flown, so I’m sure I’ll have to relearn some stuff, but I’m excited none the less. Last time we flew my flight instructor said we’d head over to KTIW (Tacoma Narrows Airport) and do some pattern work there. I hope that’s still the case because it would be REALLY cool to actually land at another airport! (Baby steps!) But of course I’m still waiting for my 3rd class medical to come in as well. After my Sleep Study last week, I’ve been bugging the ladies at the sleep clinic to push my results through to the Pulmonary Specialists that have to review them and dictate them. After that happens, it goes back to my doctor and she can write a prescription for a new CPap … Read More