The Re-rampening of Excitement
Posted Thursday, June 23, 2022
Things, still with cautious optimism, look good. The forecast for my new arrival time in Florida continues to be pretty nice. I expect to do my flying in the mornings, as afternoons are basically ruled by thunderstorms.
The whiplash of this trip is not something I would have volunteered for. Two months of build-up followed by a blindingly fast rescheduling, followed two days later by a nearly-as-fast cancellation was pretty crushing. I spent the following time, up until earlier this week, sort of listlessly moping around: all the times I would normally have been doing something else, I had this sense I was missing something (ie, flying a biplane back from Florida), and it was hard to concentrate on anything else.
Then on Tuesday, I got the word that my new instructor, Scott, was confirmed, and that the insurance requirements were suddenly not as onerous as I'd thought they were. Within an hour, I had a new ticket to Florida bought, and an Airbnb reserved, and it was game on.
One of the complications of this is that I told the seller (who has been very graciously giving me hangar space) that I'd have the plane out by June 15th, back when I oh so naively assumed that the summer weather in Florida would be good. He rented out that hangar starting on July 1st, very reasonably. But it means that I have to get the plane out by then, and that really lit a fire under all my planning. As it is, my plan's timing is perilously tight, and I may end up having to find alternate housing for the plane for a day or two if the weather changes on me.
But as it is, I'm in full-speed-ahead mode, as I wrap up all the scheduling things I'd set up in the absence of the first trip. I largely left my bags packed and assembled (well, at least piled in the same general area), so packing a second time should be easier. I have some thinking to do, to see if I can reduce the amount of stuff I was planning to bring, which filled two largeish duffel bags. Counterproductively, I've added more things to bring, as I have acquired a nomex flight suit and a pocket vest for when the temperature is too high for the flight suit (biplanes basically don't have anywhere to stash snacks, phones, maps, etc., so something with pockets is very handy).
It's remarkable how much my mood improved this week, once the trip seemed to be on again. Here's hoping the weather doesn't throw me for a loop again this time, but this time I have the advantage of an instructor who's got more than a tiny opening in his schedule, so weather won't be as big a problem, as long as it doesn't last too long.
Copyright © 2022 by Ian Johnston.