Flew an airplane today. Woo!
I haven't managed to fly since February. UGH. I joined a flying club which means I can fly near NYC, but before I can take a check ride to get solo qualified in our planes (it's a co-op, basically, 50 pilots own 4 planes) I have to have flown 12 hours in the previous 90 days. As of this morning, I'd flown...uh...1.8 hours. Derp.
Woke up this morning in Newport, RI and it was a clear blue sky with 5-kt winds, so I jumped in the car and drove to 7B2 - but by the time I got there, there was almost full cloud cover (albeit high) and the winds were up to around 12-15kts, 45 degrees across One Four. Also: gusty and bumpy. I decided I wasn't going to solo today until I got back in the saddle - but my CFI was there, and totally cool with coming up, so we did an hour or so of traffic pattern work.
It was super bumpy. Like, full deflection control inputs to correct for wind gusts in the traffic pattern bumpy. But I made four good landings, and the last one I bounced a bit hard - but I caught it, and didn't bend the airplane, and my CFI stated that we'd gotten hit by a tailwind gust about 50 feet up which had dropped us kind of hard, which wasn't my fault, and since I didn't bend the airplane I got full points. I decided that since none of the hour had raised perspiration, and that since I'd had actual fun wrestling '732 around in the pattern and on final and in fact all the way down to the tarmac ("...no, no, dear, I said left!" - booting it hard) that I was officially Still A Pilot.
So! Any day where you get to fly is, by definition, a good day. So today? Good day. Plans to fly with a friend on Saturday, although maybe only 50% chance there due to weather forecasts; plans to spend at least 4 hrs flying on Sunday with my CFI to work on my Complex airplane endorsement, and Sunday is supposed to be beautiful.
Also: I have lost 25 lbs since mid-December. On track to lose 60 lbs this year. Awesome. I had known my weight was dropping, but when I got in the plane today, I discovered that the seatbelt - previously super tight - had a full extra inch in the strap. Winning.