Checkride Update 22 October

Nothing wrong with a little IFR practice out on the course. We did the annual WallyFest this weekend up near Traverse City , including a round Sunday at Pinecroft. My safety pilot here is fabled chef and best friend Jim Kreucher.

He's not worried about my flying (although there are precious few instruments on a golf cart). He wanted the David Clark headset. But he understands that my hood is attached to my headset and allowed as how simply driving with my eyes closed would be disadvantageous.

A shot from the fairway at Pinecroft. Beautiful view of the water. Skies pretty clean and winds that must have been gusting to 30 knots or so at times. Actually had to take the wind into account when putting. Saw only one GA aircraft the whole day.

Another shot of Kreuch on the fairway. I think that the colors were just a little past peak, but there were some gorgeous scenes when the sun hit some of the oranges and yellows.

The namesake of WallyFest, Wally Tupper - My dad. 70-plus and still a danger on the course. I'm happy to say that I took home (or rather kept possession of) Der Tupper Hackenfest traveling trophy (even though I've been a pig for the last year and have failed to turn it over to the winner because I've forgotten to bring it along). We usually play on Jekyll Island, Georgia as close to the Ides of March as possible and then up north around Traverse City, Michigan around September 15, although we've pushed it into October this year and last and lucked out with the weather. The fall iteration is WallyFest proper and the spring is whatever we happen to call it at the time.

Checkride prep? Studying the cards and flying a little sim and that's it. It has been about a month since I've flown an actual aircraft and I'm a little bothered by that. A fair amount of sim, but I really need to get into the aircraft before the checkride. I'm scheduled to take up N20TA with Steve Roemer from 10:00 to 12:00 tomorrow and the checkride is scheduled for 1:30.

Temperature/dewpoint is supposed to be 10/7 and the sky is supposed to be partly cloudy, but that gives us 4,000 feet until freezing and we should be able to go up IFR if needed. The afternoon is supposed to dry up (14/3) and it's looking pretty decent for the ride. Winds WNW to W at 10-14, which should be good.

Van Halen tonight at the Palace, which bodes ill for rest, but I'm getting home just as quickly as I can after the show and will probably sleep at least until 8:00, which ought to give me a good seven hours. No real way to avoid the show and I don't really want to miss it. Going with a good friend from my prior banking days and taking along the co-leader of the firm's IT practice. Should be a good time as long as I can avoid the snarl of traffic getting out of the Palace.