Dan's T-6 Solo Flight at ENJJPT

Just a couple weeks ago, I shared about Dan's T-6 Dollar Ride, where he flew with an IP (instructor pilot) for the first time at ENJJPT (Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training). Well, he's been flying nearly daily since then, and last week, they trusted him to take this $4+ million dollar plane up in the air all by himself!

Annabelle and I were so fortunate to be able to head to the airfield to watch the big event - major thanks to a friend who is a few classes ahead of Dan who escorted us out there and explained everything to me all morning.

I hope we are also able to watch his first solo flight in the T-38 when he transitions to that jet in January or February.

We arrived and headed inside to his flight room, and we had to wait to make sure winds were low enough for them to let Dan solo. He was already out with his IP flying, so I couldn't talk to him and was so nervous we wouldn't get to see him solo. (We had a really rough night the night before Annabelle couldn't sleep from her teething pain and late nap, so I was up with her for quite a bit of the night and ended up with significantly less sleep than normal... I would normally cancel all plans for the day and just chill around the house with her after a night like that, but we just couldn't miss this!)

When Dan's friend was sure he would be able to solo, he took us outside, and we took  the shuttle out to the flight line and found the plane Dan was flying in the hangar. He looked thrilled to get to go out on his own, and it was amazing seeing him in his element. It was neat seeing him taxi out all on his own, and Annabelle was the most adorable waving at his plane as he left the hangar. Heart. Melted.

Annabelle's shirt says, "Dad is my wingman" - she knows she's the real boss around here. And that's sweat on her, not pee. She was in the Ergo for a long time in the Texas heat and humidity, so homegirl was pretty hot. She did great overall, though, and she looked adorable as always in her Baby Banz ear protection. (Not an affiliate link - I just really love these, and they're perfect for stadiums, air shows, Space A flights, etc.) 

After he landed, we were able to take some pictures with him, and the one with us up on the wing and Dan still in the cockpit is probably my new favorite family photo. 

I was able to get a few more pictures of him with the plane and then with his IP (who recently finished IP training, so Dan was his very first solo student - how cool is that?!) 

And after all of that, Dan was tossed into the dunk tank by some of his classmates. The tradition is that you get chased down and tossed into the water after your initial solo in an aircraft, but if you're able to make it all the way back to the flight room undetected, everyone owes you beer. This moment was kind of anti-climactic because Dan WAS able to make it back to his flight room because SO MANY STUDENTS were soloing that morning, so no one was able to catch him... but I was disappointed, so I told everyone in the flight room that they needed to toss him in anyway because that's what kind of mean wife I am... and because I carried an extra pair of his heavy boots to him to change into when he forgot his that morning, and I'll be darned if that was for nothing while also juggling an almost one-year-old and all of her stuff as well. 

I'm SO glad he was thrown in the dunk tank because I got some pretty great action shots that he will love looking back on.

His class is called Shark-NATO... they all have different names, and they will have a patch for their flight suits that match the theme. It's cheesy, but it's sort of clever, and it's fun. That's why there are sharks in the dunk tank. There are students from Italy and Germany (as well as several others from the USA) in Dan's class, and it is SO cool to me.

Have you ever watched your spouse do something super cool?

Dan's T-6 Dollar Ride at ENJJPT

After yesterday's more serious post, I wanted to share something fun today!

Dan officially started his ENJJPT pilot training in June, and a couple weeks ago, he had his Dollar Ride - aka his first flight in the T-6 with an IP (instructor pilot). (He will also have a Dollar Ride in the T-38 in January or February, so stay tuned for that post in the future!)

He has flown many times since then, and it's amazing what that change means. He comes home in a much better mood and has SO much to talk about - compared to when he was in graduate school and doing the initial academic phase of pilot training.

Soon, Dan will solo in this aircraft, and he can't wait! This is a dream that's been a long time in the making, and I am so proud of him for sticking through it all. I am hoping to have the opportunity to go watch him when he does his first solo flight, so expect some fun photos sometime soon!

Taking Off on a New Journey: Pilot Training Has Begun!

Is my post title cheesy enough?! I sure hope so! Anyway, yesterday was my handsome husband's very first day of pilot training.

This is a huge accomplishment in and of itself because only so many people are picked for Air Force pilot training, let alone his program (ENJJPT), where they track to T-38s no matter what after T-6s, but he has worked SO hard for this.

You see, he enlisted in the Army ten years ago (more on that in the next post!), eventually switched the Air Force Guard, and was accepted to the Air Force Academy Prep School in 2009... where he earned his appointment to the Air Force Academy... and graduated from there and commissioned in 2014.

He has gone from a high school boy enlisted in the Army to a leader in the Air Force as an officer. He promoted just over a week ago, and now all of his hoping, wishing, praying, and flat out HARD FREAKING WORK is coming to fruition.

He is FINALLY where he wanted to be all along.

He is FINALLY in pilot training.

Sure, the days (and weeks and months) are going to be long and like nothing we've experienced before... but this is the realization of a dream, and I couldn't be prouder of my husband. He has earned this, and he is going to do so well. He always does. He sets his mind on something, and he accomplishes it.

I am so excited to be his figurative co-pilot on this new and exciting journey!

PS - I had to share this picture of Annabelle since this onesie FINALLY fits... and it matches our whole pilot theme here. This is the onesie I gave Dan when I told him he was going to be a dad... way back on January 1st, 2015. She is nine months old and finally fits into it! And she's on her daddy's airplane blanket playing with her stuffed Air Force One and Spruce Goose planes.

Pre Pilot Training Travels

We recently were able to take a couple weeks of Dans leave and travel the country a bit! Annabelle still hadn't flown on an airplane, nor had Dan's aunt and uncle met her, so we first headed to Portland, OR to see them for a few days. While there, we went to the Evergreen Aviation Museum an hour away and wine tasting, of course!

After that, we rented a car and headed up to Seattle, WA for a couple days and then caught a Space A flight out of Joint Base Lewis McChord, which was really neat. Annabelle did SO well on the  c-17 we flew on, and it was our third Space A trip! I definitely prefer it to commercial flying, but it's not always a smart option... just depends on your timeframe! Dan had 10 unused days of paternity leave that the Air Force so graciously lets new dads use any time within the first year... and since Annabelle was born on the first day of his three week break between grad school classes, he never needed to use it... I'd say we put great use to it!

From Seattle, we went to Colorado Springs, CO! Yes, I know, I know... we've been there a million times and even lived there for several years... but I have zero regrets because I got to eat at my favorite restaurants, see friends, and even visit my former coworkers and some students I taught a couple years ago, and let me just say that it was a real treasure seeing these teenagers interact with Annabelle. That alone made my heart so happy! We also were able to take Annabelle to the Air Force Academy and Garden of the Gods for some photos, which I will share another day because I love how they turned out.

From Colorado Springs, we took a Greyhound bus (don't do it... just my advice) to Albuquerque, NM to visit one of our good friends, Aaron, who has now been deemed Uncle Aaron. It was so great catching up with him for a few days; we had so much fun! From there, we flew home to Texas and slept SO well in our own bed. Traveling is a lot of fun, but it sure is exhausting... especially when you're moving cities and hotels every few days!

Enough of my rambling... I'll just let the pictures do the rest of the speaking for this post.

We had an amazing trip overall and are so fortunate that we had all that time together before pilot training starts! Lieutenant Lovemuffin will be so busy that I like to call this the calm before the storm. 

Have you visited any of these cities? 

A Pilot's Daughter {sort of} Reviews 'Daddy Flies' Book

Okay, so I only said SORT OF in the title of this post because Annabelle is only (almost) three months old, so she can't even express her own opinions yet, let alone review a book.

However, I can, and 'Daddy Flies' by Brye Stevens is excellent! The author is a military spouse whose husband is a pilot, and the book tells the story of young Katie, who learns that her daddy flies and is trying to figure out how.

I received a complimentary copy of the book 'Daddy Flies' by Brye Steeves in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own. The adorable airplane bib is from SEWandCompany on Etsy.

*My husband (and Annabelle's daddy), Lieutenant Lovemuffin, has been flying for 11 years now - and he FINALLY heads to Air Force pilot training this coming spring after putting it on hold to pursue his Master's degree in Physics.*

'Daddy Flies' rhymes, which makes it fun for me to read to Annabelle, and she will surely get a kick out of that as she gets a bit older.

The book shows lots of adorable pictures of the dad in the book in his flight suit, and I am so glad that as Annabelle gets older, she will have a special book to read when trying to figure out what her dad is doing all the time in that silly green onesie!

We give this book 5 stars - it's cute, fun, and will be totally applicable to our life in a couple years, and I just know it will come in handy in explaining Daddy's job to Annabelle.

Annabelle was SUPER excited to add 'Daddy Flies' to her growing collection of books about airplanes / flying - just look at that sweet smile! Little does she know that she gets to go on her FIRST FLIGHT this month! I think her daddy is most excited... I just hope for his sake that Annabelle enjoys flying more than I do!

Be sure to follow 'Daddy Flies' on Facebook - and get your copy of the adorable book on Amazon!