Pilot News

Pilots, planes and aviation have been in the news a lot this year. Let's go over the highlights:

Planes that crash just short of the runway in wintry conditions

Distracted pilots who overshoot their destination by 150 miles

A drunk pilot failing a breathalyzer test prior to a trans-oceanic flight from London

A flight landing on the taxiway instead of the runway at ATL

Air France flight 447 crashing into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all on board

It would be nice if there were more stories of successful "near misses" or "Miracles on the Hudson?" (well, obviously NO crash would be better, but if problems arise, I want my crew competent like Sully, Skiles, and their experienced flight crew) Crew payscales are ridiculously low compared to the last few years, and some crew members have resorted to living in an LAX airport parking lot.

But not all pilot news is bad. My favorite news is when I know that my husband is successfully assigned a non-rev or jumpseat and he's on his way home (even if it means picking him up at 5 am). It's been tough having him commute from Memphis, but I'm excited for the time DO get to spend with him. Even better is when he brings along my other favorite pilot for the ride. It can get a little zany with two pilots in the house, but it never feels more like home.

The Biking Pilot

Tonight I helped my friend Clint set up a blog. He's one of my pilot friends who is training for a triathalon. He has no faithful readers yet, so if you want to go over and give him a shout out...his blog is thebikingpilot.blogspot.com

family Date Update

With all the times I've been to SLC this year, I can't believe it's been so long since I've seen Mary. Going off to college does that, I suppose.

In my dad's words, Clint looks a little "horny"

Clint was so enamored, he just couldn't hold back!

Rosie wanted to get in on the action all night

We all went out as a family to Red Robin for Dinner, with Clint and Melina as stowaways. My mom called them her "adopted kids," and dad made plenty of comments to Mary and Clint to make them blush on their "family date." So far so good!

Matchmaking

Clint
SWM. Age 23. Occupation: pilot

Mary
SWF. Age 18. Occupation: Student

Since Taylor met Clint at Jet U in March 2007, he's been talking about how he's wanted to set him up with my sister Mary. She was 16 at the time, and he was 21. Taylor was insistent. For months, we've been trying to arrange a time when all of us would be in town at once. He met her today for the first time in SLC; she's 18 now and he's 23. She picked him up from the airport and they hung out with the family. So far they've watched a movie together and he's played the guitar and serenaded her, then all of the family went out to dinner when Rosie and I arrived. They plan to go snowboarding tomorrow, which both of them love to do. Will Taylor's long-awaited jaunt into matchmaking be successful?

Oh, Atlanta

A few people have asked how our Atlanta trip went. It was really fun to travel and enjoy a child-less trip. It was the first time we'd been on a passenger flight together, without Rosie, since our honeymoon. We touched down in Atlanta around 9 am, deplaned at 9:45, and got to our rental car at 10:30. My $13/day compact car rental turned out to be really nice Mustang. We drove into Stone Mountain at Clint's house around 11:15, and stayed up wayyy past our bedtimes.

In the morning, I insisted on finally having breakfast at the Waffle House. The cheesy eggs were very tasty. Then we went to Stone Mountain to look around. We then spent the next 5 hours driving and driving. We went through Decatur, Druid Hills, downtown, Smyrna, Marietta, Vinings, and more. We checked out a few apartments, and have one in mind that's our top choice in Smyrna. We then met up with Taylor's BYU roommate Hank, and his wife Marissa for a BBQ. Their apartment was right on the Chattahoochee river, and it was a perfect afternoon for a BBQ. Afterwards, we went to the Ansley Park Playhouse to see Clint's sister, Tina McKissick, star in the play "Veranda." Post-performance, we went to a fabulous Mexican restaurant and hung out at Tina's. We stumbled back into bed around 2 am.

The next morning, Taylor and I headed off after breakfast. We checked out the Camp Creek area, and started driving to Peachtree City (but ran out of time and turned around). We got some lunch in a pretty sketchy part of town near the airport, turned the Mustang back into the rental agency, and found our gates in the terminal. I got the last seat available back to DTW. Taylor got bumped from a flight (full of 15 pilots vying for the jumpseats on a full flight) before scoring a seat to Memphis for training.

Clint

In a moment of boredom, I decided to make a photo collage for my buddy Clint. He met Taylor last year at Jet U, and we've basically adopted him into the family. He and I briefly met in Florida, but the first time we partied was for my birthday in February. He's come out a few more times to stay with us in Detroit, vacationed with both Taylor and I in California, came to Salt Lake City for Rosie's birthday and baptism, and kept us company when we got stuck at MSP on a 12 hour layover. He flies for the same company as my husband, and is flying out of Atlanta now. He's one of the deciding factors for moving down there, actually. Nobody can start a party out of nothing like Clint can!