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The Actual Licence

Got a priority-post envelope in the mail Friday last week; in it was a small piece of paper:

Long time coming...

Most expensive thing I’ve ever owned, and it’s a single sheet of paper about the size of your hand. Excellent.

Come April I’ll be starting my Flight Instructor’s Rating, so by the end of July or so I should actually be earning money with these expensive pieces of paper. After spending more on the Instructor training, of course… Looking forward to that, too – instructing promises to be a lot of fun and a fantastic challenge!

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No Flight Test Yet

CYYJ 281600Z 24003KT 12SM SCT008 BKN012 BKN027 OVC060 03/02 A3043 RMK SC3SC4SC1SC1 SLP306

Eight AM local. Not good weather at all. No wind, but low cloud all over the place.

CYYJ 281800Z 00000KT 10SM FEW006 BKN008 OVC012 03/03 A3038 RMK SF1SC6SC2 SLP287

Ten AM local. Even lower cloud, and the visibility is coming down.

METAR CYYJ 282100Z 00000KT 3SM -RA BR FEW006 BKN011 OVC015 04/04
A3027 RERA RMK SF1SC7SC1 SLP253=

Noon local. Even worse vis, rain, mist, even lower clouds. Fun. And to think that yesterday was bleedin’ gorgeous all day… Commercial Flight Test re-scheduled for Tuesday next week. Hopefully the weather co-operates by then!

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One Large Hurdle Passed!

This morning I wrote and passed my Commercial Pilot License Written Exam – 100 questions, 3.5hrs, and a huge, huge load off my mind!

It was a good solid pass mark, for the most part – 75% overall, with good marks in three of four sections but a slightly lower score in Navigation than I would have liked to get. It’ll do, though…

It’s all computer-invigilated and -marked, so I got the results a few minutes after finishing the exam… tensest few minutes of my life, I swear. The Transport Canada employee who fiddled the computer and made my marks come out had the greatest poker face I’ve ever seen – I literally had NO idea if I’d passed or not until she handed the paper to me… Note to self: do not play cards against TC office staff.

Then it was back to the Club for lunch and then a quick celebratory flight! Just a short flight, 20 minutes in the air and four touch-and-go landings. Fun winds – 140 @ 14 gusting 25, up to 29 at one point. Good pilot’s weather, wouldn’t have been much fun for non-pilot passengers! That helped burn off a whole lot of nervous energy!

Next step: the Commercial Flight Test – hopefully in a couple of weeks, or perhaps later in November! So awesome to finally have this all coming together, after flying for just over five years.

Immediate next step: Beer. I’m in desperate need of one. Or several…