The end of May

I can't believe that this month has gone so fast. A lot has happened but I am still not yet flying.
The allotment is full of young plants and I am looking forward to seeing them grow and eating their results. Everybody should try to grow a little something, even if it is only one tomato plant in a pot.

Some of you will see that I have added a few more links. One is for a new young rock band I know called "Seconds Away". Their website is pretty cool!! The second link is a video by Muse. I love this group and particularly this song "Stockholm Syndrome" so please take a look.

I have received information from the British Women Pilots Association detailing how to become a pilot, along with their magazine. This year sees them celebrating their 50th Anniversary. They also have an article about the competition that was launched last August to encourage more women to take up flying. It was that day that started me on this journey of flight.

Hey ladies, why don't you join me and look to see if you too can become a pilot. You can do ballooning, microlighting, gliding, fixed wing plane and rotary wing helicopter flying. There is bound to be a centre near you that covers one of these options and it really isn't as expensive as some might think.

Health

Following on from my previous entry about my allotment, I have found one Health site that I love. Mercola.com is a great site for those people who want to read more information about health, drugs, vaccinations etc., and encourages people to make informed choices about their own health.
Go on, take a look. A link to the daily blog, which covers issues in addition to health, can be found in my sidebar.

My other hobby

OK. So far I have written about my desire to fly but I do have other hobbies and one of them is tending to my allotment.
I share this with a friend, and we have only had the plot for about a year. Strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants are establishing themselves. Last autumn we planted onions and shallots, and these are looking great. Spinach, spring onions, lambs lettuce kept us going over the winter.
This year, we have planted carrots, beetroot, coriander, runner and french beans, potatoes, salads. In the next couple of weeks, we will be planting sweetcorn, courgettes, cucumbers, pumpkins/squashes, leeks, brassicas... I think we will run out of space.
This has really be a great opportunity to change the family's eating habits. My son now devours salads and roasted vegetables. Winter saw me making pints of vegetable soup which didn't last a day. The kids loved it. Our health and weight have changed for the better. With so much emphasis on the dangers of obesity and high fat and salt intake, I know that I am doing the right thing for my family.

Looking forward

The weather has taken a turn for the worse here in the UK, and there would be no way that I could have flown in the last couple of weeks. Still, I am looking ahead.

I would like to attend an airshow or two this year. There is RIAT and Farnborough to look forward to, but they are quite close together this year, so I would only be able to manage one of them. RIAT would probably be my favourite but then Farnborough may have the new Airbus 380 doing a flypast.

Have you seen that giant? The 380 landed at Heathrow last week and it was huge. Is this the way forward for airtravel in the 21st Century? I know that Boeing would have you think otherwise. I am just amazed at the incredible advances that have been made in aviation in the last century. It is incredible to think that flying has only been around for 100 years. We can fly supersonic, although the loss of Concorde was a backward step, in my opinion. We can go to the moon, and we can make helicopter gunships that look as ugly as they are beautiful. It is incredible to look at the multifaceted levels of aviation.

Blogging - I'm learning

Starting this blog has made me delve deeper into the skill of writing, reading code, and self promotion. I have added my blog to Technorati to push readership to my blog in line with suggestions made in the Blogger Help - Promoting Your Blog. Unfortunately, Daypop, Blogdex, Popdex were not available so I could not add to their listings yesterday. The next thing I need to do is set up a signature on my email account and add people to my "mailing list". Hey, this looks like this is going to be fun, but I will not run before I can walk.

Flying - I haven't had any further progress but have been spending the time learning about the principles of helicopter flying. Well, it isn't all just up in the air, there has to be some text book learning at some point.

Another date booked

I have rebooked my fixed wing introductory flight for 18th June. It seems such a long way off and only adds to my frustration.
In the meantime, I have written to the British Women Pilots' Association to find out about their scholarship scheme. Unless I win the Lottery, or unless I discover an elderly rich relative, I don't quite know how I am going to fund this dream. I feel I need to be a bit more upfront with people about financing this. I don't like begging and that is what if feels like to me. It is not that we don't have savings to use, we do but, these will not be enough on their own. Steve is now doing 4 jobs a week just to keep us in the place where we are. I will probably have to be serious about taking on a second job. I knew it would take sacrifice but at this moment in time, I don't know which way to turn.

Challenged

Went to church yesterday and was challenged by the talk. We have been doing a series recently. For the last 3 weeks we have covered "Uniqueness", "Purpose" and this week "Passion".
What I received from the series was a confirmation that this flying thing is not a passing phase. I have unique things about me that make this flying thing possible. My unique skills give my life purpose and when both my uniqueness and my purpose join together I get passionate about things. That is what I feel about flying. I am passionate about aviation. I love aircraft and I don't want to be a spectator anymore. The whole idea about taking my hobby on further is scary, especially as I am not a "spring chicken" anymore, but I don't think that matters. If it means a change of career, then so be it. I was speaking to another lady this weekend who is completely changing her career and she is older than me, and has to get 3 kids through university. In both our cases, it will mean sacrifice.
I am so grateful that my husband is really encouraging about this. My son has also told me to "go for it" and I feel that this is my time, my opportunity for me. So, I am going to grab this even though it feels like I am on a roller coaster at times.

All is not lost

OK. So I didn't get to fly today due to the weather. It didn't promise to be in my favour but I rang a few hours before my flight and was told that they were not flying. I am disappointed, but all is not lost. I just have to rebook.

As I mentioned before, it makes the idea of training in America more appealing. There are plenty of flight schools that do residential intensive courses and I am investigating those. I have so many options e.g. Florida,Atlanta. The research into each company is difficult because although they sound like they offer the same things, there are some differences. I need to be able to obtain a licence that allows me to fly in both UK and USA without having to go through a conversion. For the Private Pilots' Licence, this is easier to do, but if I want a Commercial Licence then I will probably have to sit a conversion test. Still, that is way ahead of me. I am trying to take one step at a time.

So, today, I will take some time endulging in another of my hobbies - allotmenting. The vegetables and salads will not grow without water, so that's where I am off to now.

The adventure begins

I want to learn to fly a helicopter and this is my journey. I am glad you can share it with me.
Tomorrow, I am taking my first lesson, albeit in a fixed wing plane but you have to start somewhere. I was fortunate enough to win this through a competition run by the British Women Pilots' Association last year. That's when I finally made my decision that if I didn't go with my dream now then I would regret it for the rest of my life.

I have always loved aviation. My father was enthusiastic and it rubbed off. We often went to airshows together, watched aircraft whenever possible but the opportunity to actually get up in one and fly never presented itself. Money - that has always been the problem!!

On that day in August last year I had a flight in a Robinson22 with the Female World Champion Pilot, Caroline Gough-Cooper. I was in safe hands. It was then I knew that I wanted to fly helicpoters rather than planes. They appear to be more of a challenge; they are more expensive to run; they are inherently unstable; they are want I want to fly.

So, what happens now?
Well, if anyone out there can help me - if they have any valuable advise, then I would like to hear from you. I need sponsorship and am currently writing to various organisations to see if I qualify. If you are one such organisation, then please get in contact.

But, it all starts tomorrow, weather pending. It doesn't promise to be a good day so I may have to postpone. It makes the idea of training in America all the more appealing. They have the weather there.