Ok, so I am sitting here in my cubicle, lamenting the fact that both weather and the holidays have put a crimp in my flight training. Pissing me off is more like it. So I decided today to go back to the academic side of things, and refresh my memory about all of the things I learned for the FAA written test and have probably forgotten.

But before I do that, I’m doing my own list of the ten things I like and ten things I hate about aviation training. I’m trying to immerse my alleged mind in aviation activities because I am getting far too used to NOT flying, and I want to progress. Besides, I gots me a delightful t-shirt for Christmas that defines “pilot” as the “highest form of life on Earth.”

Definitely a motivational gift! (And yes, that’s a scan of the actual shirt.)

As Casey Kasem would say, “Now, on with the countdown.”

Ten things I hate about aviation training:

10. Motion sickness

9. The lingering smell of 100LL aviation fuel on my hands.

8. Landings.

7. Interacting with air traffic control and trying to sound smooth. (Note to self: Stuttering does not come across as smooth.)

6. Weather and mechanical cancellations.

5. No flight suits for student pilots.

4. Flaps which won’t retract.

3. The 30-minute drive to and from the airport.

2. The McDonalds conveniently located on the route home from the airport. (Can’t resist rewarding myself for a good lesson.)

1. WINTER!

Ten things I like about aviation training:

10. The view from 5,000 ft.

9. Takeoffs.

8. Safe Landings.

7. Taking time off work to go fly.

6. Cool aviation weather sites.

5. The cabin heater in a Cessna 172 is awesome making winter flight tolerable.

4. Exhilarating when you get it right.

3. The McDonalds conveniently located on the route home from the airport.

2. When I get my license, I can fly all by myself from here to Kitty Hawk, NC and the Wright Brothers National Memorial. (The airfield is called “First Flight Airfield.” I get goose bumps just thinking about it.)

1. Chicks dig pilots.