Training must slow for lack of funding

I was worried that this would happen. My training has been progressing pretty well but now that I have made it to the cross country stage I have burned through a little over 3/4 of my funding.

At the current burn rate I only have about 4 more dual flights ahead of me before I am out of money.

I have been on 1 cross country and have a second that I've been fighting the weather on for the last couple of weeks but that still leaves the night training and then the solo cross countries to go before I am through.

Grrrrr.......

I have been working on my solo skills so I hope that I won't need much polish on my landings, ground reference, and basic air work when its time for the check ride prep.

I will say this though, there is nothing like the feeling of taking off with the right seat empty. It doesn't matter if you stay in the pattern or travel to the local training area, the feeling of freedom is like nothing you've ever felt before.

I've felt the scary excitement of direct fire combat and this feels much the same. The rush of leaving the ground, the gentle twisting and turning through the air and the sometimes not so gentle return to earth.

Its not a hobby, its a passion and it is good......

Nose wheel shimmy keeps me on the ground

The weather today wasn't good enough for the x-country I hoped to make, I figured I would take the time for some pattern work though since the weather was just good enough at KOLM for some landings.

Everything was fine on the first take off run, the trip around the patch was easy enough and the touch down was one of my best.

After setting the nose wheel down the problems began. The plane started to shake like my old truck going too fast on a logging road and nothing I did made it any better.

I went to full throttle to for the next take off but it got worse so I pulled the power and asked for a full stop. The shaking only stopped after I was below about 20 Knots and never came back during taxi.

The front strut was serviced in the last 72 hours and had 3 or 4 hours on it since then. I told the FBO and the CFI that had it next and they were looking at it when I left.

I wonder if I was just being too nervous about it but I felt that it was in the "something isn't right" part of my take off plan that requires pulling the power back and returning to the hanger.

I think I did the right thing by not flying anymore....