Blogs I read

November is my least favourite month. It's grey, cool and rainy. The glorious fall colours are done, the crisp clean snow has not yet fallen, and sunset is way too early.

So there is no flying after work. Because of the weather there may be no flying on the weekend.

But ground school has started (more on that later). And I read the blogs of others who are flying.

The first blog I found was Cockpit Conversation. I was googling for some information, found her blog, started reading, and went to bed at 4am. Not only is she is an excellent writer, she writes about diverse experiences, cultural encounters, and the technical aspects of flying. Very discreet of her Real Person, she writes of her experiences, not of herself. Like Pavlov's dog, I check her blog every day, and she rewards her readers pretty much each day. It was because of her blog that I decided to write of my experience in getting my own ticket. So blame it all on her, or give her the credit.

Blogs are inter-linked, so once I was hooked on this form of typographical voyeurism, I chased the links until I settled into a routine.

Sulako is a FO flying charter jets, based on Toronto. His experiences are about flying, technology, some cultural experiences, and a smattering of stories of his early days as a commercial pilot. Since he flies jets he can cover a great deal of geography in a short period of time, which gives rise to diverse and interesting stories. He also has one babe of a girlfriend, Lisa, who he wants to marry while dressed as a furry mammal (any woman who is willing to tolerate that idea is a keeper).

Sam, who blogs at Flight Level 250 (25,000 feet ASL) is a commercial pilot hailing from Washington State. More stories from a different geography. That he is a US-based pilot adds another dimension to my reading. He's at a smaller airline, so the flying involves much more up&down, which adds to the variety of the stories.

Land and Hold Short is a blog by another Ottawa-area pilot. Not a daily poster, he does share a number of stories about flying in the Ottawa area, and Ontario in general. Good fix for me, since he does discuss topics which are applicable to me (weather, local airports, Canadian aviation, and so forth).

Krista, another Pilot-in-Training, tells of her stories as she is working her way through the initial stages of getting her ticket. A very well-organized writer, and frequent poster. What she writes about is what I am going through.

Finally, I do read a good number of other blogs from time to time -- too many to mention here. Often, I'll go through the reader's comments on another's blog, see that a commentor's name is a hyperlink, and click on it to start an expedition down link-chasing alley (a sure way to consume a few hours).