I sure do hate
Tillamook. The weather has been awful
this week, the town reeks, and I will be very happy if I never have to do this
run again. Seeing as how no passenger
airlines fly into Tillamook, it is a good bet I should never have to fly into
this airport again once I leave Ameriflight.
Nothing much interesting to report except that I hate trying to fly into
VFR-only airports in marginal VFR weather.
Part 135 minimums for VFR in class G airspace are one mile visibility
and clear of clouds, or two miles visibility if the ceiling is below 1000
feet. I flew very close to those
minimums twice this week. Blech.
Next week is the last week
of our current bid period. On Monday
I’ll fly AMF 4000 to Grants Pass and Tuesday and Wednesday I’ll fly AMF 440 to
Gold Beach. Then I will have seven days
off in order to finish off my round of interviews, take my medical exam at
American Eagle, and meet my family for a long weekend in Las Vegas in the
middle of it all. This Friday I
interview at Continental Express in Houston, and next Friday at Mesa Airlines
in Phoenix. If those both result in job
offers, Stephanie and I will have a very difficult decision to make, but it
would feel great to be in a position to have to decide between three
airlines. I should know about
Continental Express on the day of the interview, and Mesa just a few days after
that interview.
The cool news is that with
Ameriflight, I finally have my very own, permanent assigned run!!! It only took four months! That’s right, I’ll be flying AMF 452 to
Lakeview for the next five weeks, which was my first choice. This run yields about 4.5 hours per day, and
I have always enjoyed the town of Lakeview itself since I first visited it for
a CAP mountain flying clinic four years ago.
I stop at Klamath Falls on the way there, then on the way home I stop at
Klamath Falls again and then on to Roseburg.
It is a bank run, so I don’t have to get up until about 0545, but I also
don’t get home until 2100.
It should be a great run
especially for this time of year when it is frequently gray and rainy on the
west side of the Cascades but dry on the east side. Plus, the FBO owner at Lakeview sells the best beef jerky I have
ever had, which I plan to enjoy at least weekly (it’s not cheap!)
More details on Lakeview
(which I’m sure everyone is dying to hear, after all, it’s the most populous
town in Lake County) after I start flying the run.
I’ll try to post an update
this weekend, but maybe not until early next week, with details about the
Continental Express interview. I’m
really hoping for this one – it is my second or sometimes first choice among
airlines depending on what mood I’m in for the day.