Cat E

The weather didn't look good. Overcast, rainy. It wasn't raining in Chambersburg, and the overcast clouds were at 16,000 feet. Almost no wind again today.

Worked with Grant again. He thought we were going to be on the next load after the one that was getting ready. I sat back and relaxed. When they were on a 10 minute call, he told me to gear up - I was on the load. Didn't panic, or at least I stopped panicking after I went to the bathroom (which I was planning on doing while the plane was climbing and I was waiting). Geared up, made the Go call.

Spotted after a 3-way exited. Watched them fall away, and looked for the airport. Superman exit - kneeling, 1-2-3 rocking, dive out with arms extended and chest into the wind. Well, I was a little flat, and my arms weren't extended enough, so I pretty much went head first down into a front flip. Which I recovered from very nicely. Got stable, checked altitude, and did a barrel roll to the right. Got stable, checked altitude as Grant came around to the front of me. He demonstrated a back flip, and ended up about 20 feet lower than me. I did the same move, but came out of the flip a little early and ended up on my back. No big deal, kept the arch, pulled an arm in, and rolled back over. Now I was back at the same level as Grant. He backed off about 8 feet so I could close with him and grab his hands. We stayed in that position until 6,000 feet, then separated.

Under canopy, my job was to practice flares. Slow, medium speed, and fast flares to shoulder, chest, and waist level. 9 in all. The fast flare to waist level was a little bit dramatic!

After that, I flew around. Big turns, fast turns, etc. Got in my landing pattern, and stood up the landing about 25 feet from Grant.

He signed off on all the Cat E requirements! Cleared me for self-supervision!

I also asked Bill H to do my Cat D and E quizzes, so I'm signed off on those, too.