Formation, recorder, brakes

Keith and I had the distinct privilege of having the earliest report times today to fly formation together. It went pretty well and my IP said I'm doing really well as far as formation is concerned. But, my pattern work was just down right ugly. My first break to Low Key was just awful, even downright pathetic. I was so far off on my estimates I ended up just making it look like a standard pattern. Then my next ELP from low key was almost as bad and I was told by the RSU to go around. At this point I was just upset with myself because I knew what I was messing up and I'm to the point where I know myself when it's really not the way it should be. So any second I kept expecting him to take the jet and be like: "Ok, Idiot, you've only done about a million of these in your training so far, but I'm going to show you another one since you still can't get it right." But he didn't, and I tried a third one, and it was better, but still not right. Again, I expected the IP to take the jet at any time for my complete incompetence, but he didn't. This time I was forced to go all the way around the pattern and stew in the front seat feeling like I was back in basic contact again. So this time I got a high key ELP, but then I had to orbit just as I was about 500 feet into it! Thankfully, that next one was decent and landable and felt so much better than the others. Of course, then I got slow on my next pattern because I started focusing on a guy taking forever on the runway and dropped my airspeed out of my cross check. On top of all of that I was making all kinds of stupid mistakes on the radio and sounded like a total moron, I'm sure. Ugh, anyways, the pattern needs a smoother ride tomorrow.

And speaking of tomorrow, I'm up for my formation solo in the morning! I'm pretty excited, it's supposed to be about the funnest ride in all of UPT according to most IPs! So, goal 1 tomorrow is to not hit the other guy, and then goal 2 is to have fun! I can't believe some of the stuff we get to do here sometimes, just thinking about take a multi-million dollar jet and flying it within 10 feet of another jet...by myself. :) Good times!

This afternoon I then sat RSU for 4 hours. I was upgrading a guy and told to just let him do it all since he'll be going solo Recorder next time, but he really wasn't able to keep up and is really early in the program so he was having a real hard time. So it made it more stressful for me because he kept messing some stuff up and I felt I could just do it easier myself without trying to correct him all the time while still somehow letting him do it 'by himself'. Not his fault at all, I remember my first recorder upgrade I was really lost; but it just made it a little more stressful for me today.

Then this evening before it got totally dark I replaced the front brakes on my motorcycle. The design of this bike actually made it pretty easy (comparatively) to do. It was still a learning process, but after a lot of sweat and grease I got it done. Still planning on biking to Montgomery if the weather is looking good...

It was great. When I'd got back earlier I found that Ryan had moved my table and computer and everything from the dining room into our 3rd 'office' room so that it could be hooked up to the internet easily without a cord running through the house. Then he also had it download and install all the windows updates and all so that saved me a couple of hours of work right there! We're both also reinstalling our WOW games and are planning on starting a couple of characters to play together for the next couple of weeks. It's a game that I've picked up and played off and on several times over the past couple of years, and it's always a fun time.

We've got an earliter report tomorrow and I've got to do the formal brief, so I'm off to bed.