Do more of what makes you come alive!

I love the quote, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Truman. Life is indeed a whole different experience when you discover and live your passions. Making the time to connect and fuel passions does wonders.

Amazing Valentine's Day 2016 for me. Despite a very early weekend morning rising and cold temperature, I woke up excited for my dates yesterday!  What dates? Yes, dates. I checked out 2 FBOs as I seek The One to finish my flight training. If you've followed my aviation adventures in blogs here, or on other channels (IG & Twitter @AeroEms), you know my flight school closed a few moths ago.  I was researching new ones. It's been on my mind to go meet these groups and thought to myself what better way to check things out than on Valentine's Day! I did and tell you this... Amazing day! Best Valentine's Day ever.  
I flew after 5+ months. You know how I felt? Like meeting up with the one or an old friend you haven't seen for decades, but just picking right up! New place, new flight instructor, new plane. Nonetheless, I did great. As importantly, I enjoyed who I was doing this with it. No hesitations, just felt good and natural. I simply cannot wait to pick up my flight training with the best place for me!
Regardless of your passions, here's something I want to share. Never give up on your dreams and aspirations! Things may take longer than you like, but if you really want it you'll take the steps to progress and achieve your goals. Key is to go after it. Another important point is to believe in your abilities and surround yourself with the greatest company. The world is full of naysayers and many just give up on achieving greater. Sometimes you are your worst opponent. Work it out and do what makes you happy. Follow your course! The journey is all the more exciting with others who strive to live life to the fullest and share the magic called genuine enthusiasm, too!:-)
For me aviation is a passion. If you know me or follow me on the various social media channels, you know this! Regardless what your passion, I'm here to say Life is short. When you're fortunate enough to find things and people who make you feel amazing, appreciate that and do more of it. Also, take a moment to tell those people how amazing they are and the positive impact they make. You owe yourself to pursue the exceptional things that light you up. My smile in this pic says it all... LIVE IT UP, my friends! 

I'm eager for my continued aviation adventures, to share them in my blog, meet more who share this passion and to hear about the experiences growing/inspiring you in this journey called life! I'm a smart cookie, I'm honing in on the best flight school to see me through my license. Stay tuned for more. I hope you enjoy as many amazingly awesome days, too!
A second imminent adventure that fuels my passion is more blogging and YouTube demos on product's I've been asked to review by Wazoo Survival Gear. I snagged their Social Media Award after doing a full review on their Adventure bracelet. They create convenient parachord bracelets, key chains, etc with survival tools integrated in them. 
I'll be demoing how to use these products and featuring them on my blog. Here I am with their bushcraft firestarter necklace and the beautiful James River behind me! Follow my Instagram for the latest product review adventures: @AeroEms
***I'd love to hear from my Special Forces connections what is a "must have" in your kit for firestarting out in no where. Do tell! :-) I always love learning or reinforcing what I know. Drop me a line or add a comment to share.***

The knowledge I've gained in survival skills and my joys in applying, plus learning more, makes me continue to feel connected to my Dad who has passed. He was a Green Beret and the best Adventurer I knew. So, in enjoying, applying and adding my skills in this area, all the while enjoying the great outdoors, his legacy lives on in my heart. Always!
The World is better with people on fire with their passions. I'm a better person when I align to my passions and align to those who share a similar one, too, or open my mind to new things that enhance my life.
What lights your inner fire and makes you love your life? Hoping you can easily rattle off a response without thinking and if not, that you find that true passion soon!
"Adventure is worthwhile in itself." ~ Earhart

A whole different Awesome pilot perspective

I went out of town for work a few weeks ago &, like most, hopped on a commercial airline. Have to say that since I've been training to fly myself, this flight was extremely boring being the passenger. :-) Sitting there in the cabin, eyes glued to the action outside and view at 33k feet, it was really boring to not be the one flying. It motivates me to learn & fly more. Flying yourself just Rules!

The flight back was in IFR rainy, cloudy and windy conditions back in Richmond, Virginia. The landing on approach before touching down was quite wobbly & we kind of skidded on the wet ground, but all was good. I checked my AeroWeather app after landing. Sure enough winds were flowing with gusts up to 17 knots. I'm glad I'm taking flying classes and growing my own skills so when experiencing a wobbly approach or turbulence, I have a greater perspective on things and don't have to freak out over nothing! Knowledge and experience are key. 

Here are a few pics from my flight.

I really enjoyed spotting out different airfields from high above. Good practice for me to visually identify them without a sectional map or my foreflight.

Another airfield 

Another airfield

Sunset and stars

Saw some showers off yonder from 33k feet :-)

Love!

 

I'd love to take a cross country flight across the U.S., savor the sights from high above and yes, plan a few fishing spot stops to enjoy a long the route. One day:-)

When and where are you flying? Wherever you are headed... Happy and safe flying, Always!

Good ATC Radio Communication Exposure

As shared in my last post, last weekend was my first flying experience piloting a plane into a towered airport! A huge difference is the two way communication. This takes listening, understanding, reading back key information to the tower/ground, and complying with instructions. 

Most of my training has been untowered. In those cases, you are listening to radio, but your communications are largely talking. By that, I mean I'm typically radioing who I am, where I'm at, and what I'm doing. It does not involve a lot of two way communication. 

I'm always looking for ways to learn more. One thing I wanted to share that I'm doing to train my ears and gain more exposure to two way communication is listening to live ATC. Love that you can download an app and listen in. These two way radio communications can be quite a verbal buffet. A useful tool I find helpful to gain exposure to real live two way communication examples to decipher what is being covered. 

Live ATC app is downloadable from iTunes. I think it was a few bucks. It's handy having it on my iphone.

Top 50 channels list. I did a search by state. There were only a few Virginia channels. Norfolk was not very clear. KJFK is nice and clear!