Radiation fog + schedule = Arrgh!

No flight lesson today due to radiation/ground/tule fog, whatever you want to call it. This was supposed to have been lesson #5.  The weather forecast for Palo Alto (KPAO) was for fair weather today, but unfortunately, when I got to the airport just before 10am visibility was poor.  The thing that drives you crazy about this kind of fog is that usually if you look straight up, you see blue sky.  The fog is only a couple hundred feet thick but the straight ahead visibility is really low. 

My instructor and I settled for 1.5 hours of ground instruction instead, mostly on pitot-static and gyro instruments and engine systems.  By about 11:45, the weather had improved to where it was looking good for flying, but I only had 669TW reserved until 1pm and it was booked afterward. No other 172SP's were available, so we scrubbed today's flight.

 

We wandered over to the neighboring pilot shop and loooked around. After a few minutes, he left me to browse. A couple minutes later he came back and suggested we go try to get a tour of the tower. The tower guys turned out to be very accommodating and let us in for a tour. I got to see the mix of high and low tech that keeps everyone apart. The radar display looked surprisingly like your average computer screen – a beige background with grey outlines for local airspace limits and ground reference points. Planes showed up as green rectangles. The ground controller used the low-tech grease pencil on a plastic puck to write tail numbers of aircraft requesting taxi and takeoff clearances. The ground controller moves the puck to the local controller's station and he takes it from there. We probably spent about 15 minutes in the tower, not wanting to overstay our welcome. Besides, it's not that big of a place.

After the tour, we spent a few minutes out at the edge of the taxiway watching a few takeoffs and landings. There was a little crosswind, so we got to see some good and not so good landing examples.

Overall, it was still a pretty good day at the airport, even if I didn't get to fly. Here's hoping there's no fog tomorrow, since I have the same plane and time-slot booked again.

Officially a student pilot

I got my 3rd class medical and student certificate today. I think one of the reasons I've put off flying lessons for so long was FUD about getting the medical. It turned out to be relatively quick and painless. I got a recommendation for an AME from my flight instructor, so I finally decided I'd get off the fence and go for it.

I really wasn't quite sure what to expect from the medical exam, but it mostly seemed to be pretty standard stuff: height, weight, pee in a cup, blood pressure, check eyes/ears/mouth/throat, read from eye charts including near/far vision and color blindness exam. Then the doc had me take off my shirt and lie on the table while he felt around my abdomen. Finally, the most unpleasant, the old "drop your pants, cover your mouth and cough" routine guys hate.

With all that over, I had one little hoop to jump through. The AME couldn't issue my medical certificate immediately because I disclosed that I had taken a certain medication several years ago. I would need a letter from my doctor confirming I was no longer taking the medication for at least the past year. As long as I got a letter to the AME within two weeks they could submit everything together to the FAA and issue my certificate. If I took longer, they'd have to submit the application in deferred status, and I'd have to send my doctor's letter separately and wait for the FAA to review and issue the certificate, which was likely to take months. 

Luckily for me, my doctor from back then is a friend and fellow computer nerd. When I got back to work I found him on IM, so I chatted him and asked for the letter. An hour or two later his office faxed it to me and I made arrangements to drop it off at the AME's office that same afternoon and pick up my certificate.

The moral of the story is to make sure you've got everything lined up before you go get your medical exam. I had the feeling I was going to have a little trouble due to that old prescription. I should have called the medical advisory folks at AOPA in advance so I could go to the AME prepared with the necessary documentation. 

In the big scheme of things though, it all worked out pretty smoothly. I managed to get my medical/student pilot certificate in hand the same day with only minor hassle. I think I surprised the AME and his staff at how quickly I got the letter to them. I wanted it pretty bad by that point. Now I'm officially a student pilot, so it was all worth it.