I started my CFI training. Right now it involves lots and lots of studying. I took the fondamentals of instructing written exam 3 weeks ago and I am preparing for the second written test. After that I need to get my single engine commercial add-on which means learning new maneuvers and preparing for another oral.

Once these two things are out of the way I will be able to concentrate on the CFI training itself, preparing lesson plans and learning to fly from the right seat.

My plan is to be done by the end of the year...

We just spent a long weekend in Whistler. This place is the best ski resort I have ever been to. There are two mountains to chose from and the slopes are great. I recommend going there to anyone who likes skiing.

That's it I finally got back inside an airplane and started flying in Washington State.

 

We started from Renton airport where the Boeing 737 is built. My instructor was really nice and is a retired Boeing employee named Bob Guthrie. After take off we took a left turn to a downwind east of 405 and then a 45 degrees right turn toward the North East. We first went to Smoqualmie Falls it was a beautiful sight. Further to the East the mountains loomed in the haze they looked really impressive, I can't wait to start mountain flying training! After the falls we started taking the rust off my flying skills with slow flight, power off stalls, power on stalls, steep turns, and unusual attitudes. It was far from perfect but I think good enough for not having flown for nearly 8 months.

We then headed back to Renton to pratcice landings, and I got my first (and probably not last) brain freeze repeating to the tower the assigned approach following the eastern shore of Mercer Island. For the first landing I came too high and way too fast. I spent so much time in ground effect that I had to abort the touch and go and taxi back to the end of the runway. The next landings got better tough still a bit rough on touch down, I got to practice slipping on one of them. For my fifth and last landing the tower told us that the wind was 320 at 8 knots, since we were landing on 15 that meant I had been practicing with an 8 knots tailwind. This last landing was much better, still not a greaser but after touch down I maintained the front wheel up as long as I could before taxiing off of the runway and to parking.

 

Next flight is scheduled for June 9th with a VFR transition over SEATAC, then Bremerton airport, Tacoma Narrows, Boeing Field, and back to Renton. Promises to be entertaining...

One of my favorite bands is Texas (they actually are from Glasgow Scotland). Their Guitarist Ally McErlaines just started a new band called "Treasure Tones". I really like the songs they put online. Check it out!

 

This is a video of the last flight I did in College Station. It was filmed and edited by Gary. We took the Duchess to Lake Sommerville to meet up with Tim in his 210 and then flew together to Brenham to have dinner. We were also joined by John Romero who flew my favorite 152 (93124) there.

 

It was a great flight, thanks Gary for putting this together! 

 

  

 

Through the 14 years I have been flying I never got a chance to take my dad flying by myself. He did not like flying after an experience he had during his military service in the air force. He always encouraged me though and made it possible for me to fly without ever questioning it.

 

My dad Michel Godard passed away last month unexpectedly at age 54.

 

Along with lots of memories, a few pictures I remember him by...

Since our move to Seattle I have not had the opportunity to fly yet. I miss it a lot but it is in the works for this spring hopefully as Boeing has a flying club. In the meantime I get my fix using flight simulator...  Sounds corny but I actually discovered a whole community online that flies just like the real thing. I joined a virtual airline called United Virtual Airlines (http://www.united-virtual.com/). My call sign is UAL4804 and I am based out of Seattle.

Right now I am only allowed to fly turboprops so I do a lot of flights in the Northwest (Seattle, Portland, Spokane...). You have to reserve your flight and then fly it online with the real weather, and report the times of gate departure, take off, landing, and arrival at the gates as well as fuel consumption. So far I have about 9hrs done and got promoted to 1st officer. I hope to transition to jets at 15hrs with a checkride so that I can get to more destinations and go a bit further.

 

What really amazed me is the degree of professionalism shown by the people online, especially ATC. Just like the real thing you file your IFR flight plan, contact ATC to activate it, receive and read back your clearance, fly the published DPs and Stars, navigate airways, and shoot the assigned approach after being vectored. It usually takes me a good 30 minutes to really prepare my nav for a flight and gives me very good practice for both the procedures and communications.

I also took out my old Jep charts for Texas and flew from DFW to IAH in a learjet with approach to close to minimums in Houston. Worked like a charm and the ATC guys really know their stuff.

 

A picture of the beautiful beast I am working on these days with the colors of my virtual airline.

 

 UALwinter4_1.jpg

 

In the end I actually feel more confident about Stars and DPs, as well as reading back clearances.

 

 02%20Gold%20Finch%

 

It may not be as great as the real thing but it is a pretty good fix in the meantime.

 

 

- He was a great pilot and aviation enthusiast. He lived to fly and be around airplanes.

- He was the most fun and dedicated fellow "airport rat". Give him one reason to hang out at the airport and he would be there.

- That is of course if you could reach him... as he also was the hardest man to get a hold of, and after a few years of friendship I can still count the number of time I caught him on his cell on the first attempt on the fingers of my hands. You usually had to call to three numbers to increase your odds of catching him (first office, then his cell, and in last resort his home where you could leave a message and may get the honor of being called back a few days later when he emerged from below the radar...). Here is how I remember his message "Hello you have reached Tim, I am not here right now so you now the drill... leave a message after the beep. Hope you are doing well. Bye Bye". Somehow from the sound of his voice you truly felt he meant it when he said "hope you are doing well", it always struck me, and I loved hearing it everytime. That was one of his main traits, he truly cared about others.

- Another very particular trait he had was to disappear as if out of thin air in the middle of a crowd during an airshow while you were having a conversation. One minute you would be speaking to him and the next while you think you are still speaking to someone, you turn around and he is gone. I will really miss that.

- He was really loved by his students. He was a great advisor and mentor who truly cared about the well being of his students both academically and personally. In the academic world this can be a rare thing.

- I will miss the conversations we had in his office. Everytime I had to go on campus for work I would always stop by and see if he was there. We would have a conversation about his O2, his 210, his research, or the books he liked for continuum mechanics and structures. I remember being embarassed one day as my boss at the time, Dr. Boyle (who is also one of his close friends) called him while I had been there for quite a while and probably wondered what I was doing in Tim's office in the middle of a work day...

- Tim enjoyed good food. Julie and I spent a lot of evenings with him a Cenares, or some other of the few great restaurants that you can find in College Station.

- Tim was my first passenger for the first cross country I did after I got my pilot's license. We went to visit his brother Kent in Nacogdoches. That was the first of many great trips there with him. Kent is a great individual. He always welcomed us to his hangar with or without Tim. My thoughts and prayer go to him and his family.

- Tim was a key member of the Texas A&M flying club. He would always go out of his way so that our planes would be well maintained and clean. I remember how he got really irritated when he found 52D's cockpit trashed by careless pilots. If the club and its planes are in the shape they are in today it is to no small part thanks to him.

- Tim loved Foie Gras. I remember enjoying sharing this rare treat for us in Texas with him and a great bottle of Sauternes. I also remember how happy he was when we gave him a can so he could have it for a dinner he cooked for a date.

- Tim had a cat named Baxter. Even though he has had it for quite a while, I have actually never seen the animal. You could tell that Tim cared a lot about Baxter even though he kept making fun it. One of the greatest stories with this cat is when it caught a lot of fleas, infested the house with it. It got so bad that they he passed them on to Kerry who brought them back to his home. Eric (who was staying with him at the time) and Tim had to stay out for a full day so that the bugs could be taken care of.

- I also remember his car. He drove a new Volkswagen Bug. To see this kind of serious looking guy, a full time engineering professor, with his trademark round glasses come in and out of that car always felt a bit out of place and yet they really complemented each other well . In a city like College Station he probably was one of the only males driving such a car, but that did not bother him, I think he actually kind of enjoyed being out of the establishment.

 

I am very sorry that I will not be able to make it to his memorial service on Thursday. That is something I will regret and feel guilty about for a long time. I would have liked to be able to honor him among his friends and share my grief with them. 

So long Tim, You will always be in my heart and with me everytime I fly. You will be missed.

We have now been living in Seattle for a little over two months and are loving it.

 

I have been assigned on the 747-8 program, the next generation of Boeing's famous Jumbo Jet. I am a stress analyst for the wing's leading edges. The team of engineers I work with is really great which makes that job even better. I made a few friends there already that we hang with a lot during the weekends (dog parks, go-kart, skiing...).

 

Julie found a job a couple of weeks ago and will be starting in Redmont on January 2nd. The company seems great and she is anxious to start.

 

This weekend we went skiing for the first time in Washington. It was awesome! we can't wait to go back. Last week was a good prelude as we had a lot of snow in the low lands (see album).

 

I miss flying but should get back in the cockpit at the begining of next year.

There have been a few new exciting developments in the recent weeks.

1. I accepted a position with Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Everett Washington as a structural analyst. Julie and I will be moving to Seattle at the beginning of September and I will be starting on the 20^th. Looks like I will remain an engineer after all :o)   This was my dream job as I was going through my undergrad and graduate studies, and you cannot pass such a great opportunity. I will keep flying as Boeing has a great flying club.

2. Yesterday I did my first flight as a commercial pilot. I flew as a copilot with Michael Cauthen in a King Air. We took passengers from Houston to Dallas Love, Austin, and back to Houston. It was a great experience and I am very thankful to Michael for giving me this opportunity.

I just discovered UTUBE and uploaded two videos where I am flying through some clouds over New Mexico. That is one of the great things of having an instrument rating, you can "play" with the clouds...

 

 

Leaving for Oshkosh in 1 hr! This is going to be great!

 

Later

 That's it! I got my Multi-engine Commercial rating last week.

This was a major milestone in the pursuit of my dream of becoming a pilot.

 

From there I am not sure where things will be taking us, the sky is the limit I guess

 

 

My name is Olivier Godard, I live with my wonderful wife Julie in College Station Texas, home of the Fighting Texas Aggies.

Most of my friends already have a web page so I thought it was time to join the geeks and have something of my own on the web.

I will use this page mainly to share images and experiences of our life in Texas with our families and friends.

Why "Texas Sky"?