The Egg Beater

Well, Nathaniel has exactly ten flying days (and 11 flights) left of his helicopter training. Barring any unforeseen weather events –hurricanes, major fires, hail – that kind of stuff (knock on wood!). And yes, the above picture is him - flying his helicopter a few days ago. No word on when (or where) we’re going to move. Sometime after the 24th of October, though. You can bet your bottom dollar on that one, folks.

I’ll give you a hint: it’s still a toss-up between San Diego or Jacksonville, NC. I’m assuming you know where San Diego is. You may need a map for our possible NC location. Don’t worry. The first time we moved to NC, I had to look it up too. And then it was Havelock. Good luck finding that one.

After my Dad found the location, he cheerfully commented, “That looks rural!”

And I promptly burst into tears.

My, how the years have flown by!

The other day, Nathaniel put the “Naval” back in “Naval Aviation” by landing on a boat. Before you get all excited, The Baylander is a retired tug boat, with a landing pad on the back. So really, a souped up barge that all helicopter pilots have to land on if they need aircraft qualifications.

On the deck X marks the spot – or in this case, a really fancy snowflake-like design - and Nathaniel is great at hitting the landing zone in exactly the right spot. He did it no less than 5 times. What a stud!

Now only if is parallel parking was as good. Sheesh!

But really, I am super proud of him. Five years ago, he dreamt of becoming a helicopter pilot. And through a lot of hard work (admittedly the most he’s ever worked in his life), dedication, studying, sacrifice, and determination, he’s about to realize his dream. And I couldn’t be happier! The kitties too!

Now for a few stats: remember he’s still in a training helicopter. The TH-57 C. “T” for Training and “H” for Helicopter. Just in case you were wondering…. The engine is approximately 157 pounds, and more importantly, has 420 hp.

I’ve been giving him a hard time for flying something that resembled a lawn mower on steroids. Big surprise, though, when I went to John Deer’s website and the largest hp lawn mower I could find was only 46.

Huh. There goes that!

Oh well – when Nathaniel saw my disappointment, he consoled me with the fact that his helicopter is probably the world’s larges Egg Beater. If you think about it…. He’s not that far off.

No doubt, it would destroy a souffle. But for bread dough and cake mix... there's food for thought.

And what is the man who has 11 flights and 10 flying days left in flight school doing as of this moment? Nope – not studying.

Not even close.

He’s playing Tetris. On our 1987 Game Boy. And he plugged the darned thing into our stereo, so I can hear the really annoying music. Just think, tomorrow when I do my sets of IMs in the pool, I’ll have the frantic Tetris theme music playing in my head.

And knowing me, I’ll be rushing to catch up with myself after I flail down the pool during my attempt at butterfly.

Oh well, I can still beat him. At Tetris, that is.

What can I say? Boys will be boys, and Nathaniel is no exception!

Nathaniel – you’re doing great! Keep up the great work… I’m cheering for you!