Happy Memorial Day 2014. As a pilot in the Army, I have mad respect for the pioneers in combat rotary-wing aviation going back to Vietnam. The Huey pilots of the 60s & 70s paved the way in making military aviation what it is today.

My office in the sky.

I love my job.

Winning at being a badass.

Nickel ride today... and I refound my hover button in 0.0000001 seconds after being out of the cockpit for 2 years. :))

I Won Mega Millions

I feel so blessed to be in Army flight school. They're spending a minimum of $1,900,000 on my training and upwards of $3,500,000 if I get selected to train in the AH-64D Apache as my advanced airframe. I seriously feel like I won the lottery. I keep reminding myself that I'm getting paid to learn how to fly helicopters... it blows my mind each and every day. I have the one of the best jobs in America, hands down. Today I met my flight instructor -- again, I feel so blessed... I got one of the best instructors in my class. The guy is really down to earth, a great communicator, very experienced (8,000+ hours flown), and is really funny. :) Tomorrow is my first flight, weather pending. :D 

Helicopters... ... everywhere. 

Aeromedical = WIN

Army helicopter flight school, "Training Day 5." I passed my aeromedical examination with the 6th highest score in the class, putting me in the top 10%. As long as I keep doing 90%+ in the class and ace my physical fitness test, there's no reason I couldn't be #1, #2, or #3 in my flight class. Let's hear it for motivation. This time next week, I'll be at the flight line and in the cockpit of the TH-67. Time to study some serious 5 & 9's. 

My airframe of choice. :)

In approximately one year from now, I'll be graduating Army flight school. Approximately one year from now, I'll be making my advanced airframe selection. As of right now, my goal is to fly this bad boy: the AH-64D Apache. I really would love flying Black Hawks, Kiowas, or Chinooks, but I can always transfer to one of those in the future if I go National Guard. Might as well go with the most technologically advanced airframe -- it'll future proof my job when the military starts downsizing over the next few years. 

National Guard Aviation Commander Writes Back...

"Take advantage of the training and experience in the RA, we'll gladly take you in a few years when you're released from Active Duty." Flying UH-60s or CH-47s out of Chicago's Midway Airport in a few years just became a real possibility. :)

The airfield here is busy as always. Just a few more months and that'll be me! :)