Picture-laden Post!

Hi.
How's life today? Doin' okay, here.

I thought I'd toss up some photos today just for fun. They'll all relate to aviation somehow... but first... check <THIS> out.

::inhale:: D'awwwww!!! Cute dog pictures are always good once in awhile.

Anyway, back to life. <HERE> is a neat picture I took of a crop duster! This is an aspect of aviation I've never explored and probably won't for awhile. There are several interesting factors as a pilot about doing something like crop dusting:

1- you fly low to the ground for the majority of the work. Even small gusts of wind could spell disaster...
2- the weight of the aircraft starts off at just about maximum capability. Heavy planes handle differently than lgihter planes. Even just a TINY bit of weight shift can be felt in the controls. You've either driven or ridden in a car that was packed to the brim, right? Maybe moving into college? Cars handle differently and so do planes. BUT in crop dusting- your weight is constantly changing as you spray the fields! Craziness.
3- two words: POWER LINES! What if there are power lines along your field?Buh... it makes me feel all... bleh... just thinking about flying that close to power lines... and with the wind/gust factor, too?! Man, that's some intense flying.

I tried searching for some blogs about crop dusting... but I couldn't find any. I don't really know how to search for blogs so that may be a factor. BUT I did find <THIS>! Hahaha, who knew!?

<HERE> is a picture I took while flying between Mexia and Waco, Texas. I don't know what road that is in the bottom-left corner... but its a neat picture. Ponds and lakes are really fun to see from the air, I think. And this one had some neat lines in the ground around it. It lookes like maybe someone did some four-wheeling around the area? Someone certainly drove around in some sort of vehicle. For scale, you can see some cars on the road in the corner. I really like looking down and seeing the landscape from about. Of course, as any safe pilot will tell you, ground-gazing is just fleeting moments here and there... flying the plane is always the number one priority.

OH! I just realized I should probably link a pic to the actual type of plane I'm flying! Well, its called a Cessna 172. <HERE> is a pic from my flightschool's website. Its good 'ole 26V (pronounced, 'two-six-victor'). Actually, that was the first plane I ever flew solo in! Remember what a big deal it was the first time your parents let you drive somewhere alone? Or maybe when you got your first car? Flying your first solo flight is a huge deal in aviation. I can just about guarantee you that every pilot can tell you in detail all about their first solo. I'll include mine in a later post, I think. It was sweet.

Well, I'll leave you all with a <FINAL PIC>. Its a sunset pic, so it makes sense that it should be the last one, right? Cool. I took it on my phone right after a flight. I'm standing behind two planes and overlooking the airfield.

That's all for today! I fly again tomorrow morning as well as Wednesday and Friday mornings. I have a million and one things to talk about... but I'm going to try to not ramble on in my entries... we'll see! Until then...