Sportsman? Um, I'm working on my private plane pilot license. Sorry, I should have been more specific as I was responding to a sailing comment. For flying, there's private pilot, instrument rated, commercial, and multi-engine licenses, in ascending order of time and effort required. I don't know where I'll stop. It'll probably come down to the time and money I have on hand to pursue it. Or who knows. Once I'm finally flying on my own I might not be that into it. (But I doubt it.)

In case you miss my edit: The Sportsman license is new. You need less training to get it, but you're limited to simpler, slower planes and you can't fly into busy airspace or something....

Ah. It's called the Sport Pilot License: [link]

The Sportsman license is new. You need less training to get it, but you're limited to simpler, slower planes and you can't fly into busy airspace or something

Oh, ok. That's not one my flying club training group offers, but they're pretty conservative and safety mad. I'll be in ground school through April, in a class that some places offer over a weekend. On the other hand, the club's safety record is about three times better than the average for similar organizations, so I'm willing to spend an hour of class-time on making sure the pitot-static tube isn't plugged and suchlike.

Do you fly, tommyrot?

Calli! That's so awesome!! You should go up to AK and fly with my mom! (She's a CFII - started out just getting her license, and decided to teach. She loves it.)

Do you fly, tommyrot?

Nope. I've often thought about it though.

You should go up to AK and fly with my mom!

That sounds great! One of the things I'm enjoying is how much closer a bunch of places look when you can just rent a plane, check the weather, and go. Visiting my sister in Michigan would be as easy as (if rather more expensive than) visiting my Dad use to be when he lived 90 miles away. (I'm in NC.) While the planes I'd have access to probably wouldn't make it to the west coast in one hop, it would be a lot easier than a road trip.

Have y'all seen this? An Alaskan bush pilot had his Piper Cub trashed by a grizzly bear while out in the field. He then patched his plane with duct tape, and flew it home!

[link]

Carrot cake:

Nope. I've often thought about it though.

Right now we're learning a lot about the math and physics involved in aeronautics. It's very enjoyable.

Lift = angle of attack times velocity-squared (times a bunch of constants that vary from plane to plane--but it's the angles and speeds that really matter). I think the instructor may be a former Navy pilot. He hasn't said, but he's used a few Navy vs. Air Force jokes to illustrate some aerodynamic principles, and Navy always comes out ahead.

I'm five points short for NZ, but one of the jobs it desperately needs people for is cardiology tech. Which I've thought about -- there are 2-year programs at the local community college that would get me an echo tech certificate and qualify me for a pretty comfortable 6-figure job anywhere in the Bay Area I wanted; if I ever got off my ass (and, er, managed to scrape together the money for classes since I don't think I could get any financial aid or loans) and did it, that would push me well over the top, with Hec along for the ride.

EM might qualify too; I think she's got both past and current experience in a couple of places where they need people.

Not that any of us are planning on doing anything of the sort anytime soon. But it's nice to know that we're not completely out of options. The last time I checked Canada we fell laughably short, and I might possibly qualify to immigrate to Greece but that's a big no, and it's been a source of added despair over the last few years to watch the entire nation slowly sliding into a pit and feel, Oh, shit, if things really tank we have absolutely nowhere to go.