MEII

Howdy all! This is Nathan.

I just got my Multi-Engine Instructor Instrument Airplane rating this morning. I'm excited and exhausted, but I only have one more (double) check ride to do. I have to earn my Commercial Single Engine Land Airplane certificate, and then I have to earn my Flight Instructor Airplane Single Engine Land certificate. That check ride is on September 7th.

Thank you for your prayers, and please lift me up to the Father early in morning on the 7th!

Certificated Flight Instructor

As a word of news, I just earned my initial CFI rating in a Multi-Engine aircraft up in Las Vegas. It was a crazy couple of weeks trying to cram in all of the knowledge necessary to be able to teach aviation, but I'm finally a CFI!

It's a quick program, and the plan is to be finished by the first week of September with the remaining CFI ratings (Single engine and Instrument). It'll be over soon!

Thanks for your prayers, and we just wanted to let you know that we're doing fine. It's really hot here in Phoenix, but we know that this is where we're supposed to be for now.

Thankfully, Erin got a day position at the hospital where she's working right now, and the travel company that she is with is helping us in a very generous way with our living expenses. We sold our condo in Colorado, and we are now in a position to be able to go wherever it is that God leads us.

Please keep in contact! We'd love to hear what's going on in your lives as well!

Also, sorry about the old picture of us! This is from when we moved down to Arizona from Colorado...just thought you'd like to see that we're all still truckin'!

Cross Country Flights

We saw some great weather when we were flying back from Florida in the Seminole. These two shots are from Meridian, Mississippi. We were treated to some great southern hospitality, as well as to two great and very powerful storms. One storm moved in, and then about an hour later a second storm moved in. We were supposed to make it to Dallas that day (we had started in Jacksonville), but the weather prevented us from making an early departure from Meridian. We were on our way to Dallas when another weather alert came up and it advised us that there was a wall of thunderstorms between us and Dallas. Clint and I ended up diverting to Shreveport, Louisiana and spending the night there.

Here's a great shot of our plane that Clint took as the second storm was moving in at Meridian, Mississippi.

The southwestern part of the Grand Canyon from 12,000 feet.

Flying over the desert of the Western part of the US.

Mountains near Palm Springs, California

The critical instruments of the Piper Seminole. (From the top left to the right: Clock, Airspeed Indicator, Attitude Indicator, Altimeter (reading 12000 feet), Manifold Pressure gauge)
(From the bottom left to the right: 2nd VOR, Turn Coordinator and slip/skid indicator, HSI, Vertical Speed Indicator, Tachometer).

Jet Flight (Las Vegas to Jacksonville, FL)

The Citation Jet at Williams Gateway Airport

Flying by a storm

Flying high at 39,000 feet

Above the clouds

More clouds

Jet Flight (Las Vegas to Jacksonville, FL)

Here are a few pictures from the jet flight from Las Vegas, Nevada to Jacksonville, Florida.

Itinerary: Henderson Airport (Las Vegas) to OUN in Norman, Oklahoma (We flew over Clinton on the descent into Norman. We were in Norman 15 minutes after overflying Clinton); OUN to Craig Airport in Jacksonville, Florida.

I flew the jet from the right seat from Las Vegas to Norman. Clint, my flight partner, flew the jet from Norman to Jacksonville. What a rush!Clint, my flight partner, in the right seat on the way to Jacksonville...the founder of the company is in the left seat. In this shot, we are about to fly near the anvil of a thunderstorm that is in the dissipating stage. The lightning strike finder indicated that this cloud was a minimal threat.

Here's a shot of my turn to rotate and fly the jet out of Las Vegas. I'm concentrating intently on keeping the attitude indicator coincided with the flight director (fancy talk for just putting the airplane where it's supposed to go)

Derrick and me doing the before-takeoff checklist in Las Vegas at Henderson Airport

The classic "I'm really here in a jet cockpit" pic.

The Citation Jet on the ramp at Henderson Airport before we left.

Flight School Photos

Cessna waiting on a Boeing

Stratosphere in Vegas from the air

Piper Seminole in a turn over SoCal

View toward rear of cabin of Piper Seminole on a cross country flight

Biplanes at Williams Gateway airport here in Phoenix on a clear, early Saturday morning

Military cargo planes taking off out of Williams Gateway airport

Harriers on the ramp at Williams Gateway Airport

Starfighter (one of three in the world...this is the one that is privately owned)

Vought F4U Corsair on the ramp at Williams Gateway Airport (with Superstition Mountain in the background)

Here is the airport where I'm based and from which I do most of my training flights.