'Kay, so I had scheduled an early lesson today (8:30 on a Saturday morning sure seems early to ME, anyway...). The weather looked good -- if a little chilly -- and I was all set to go. I got there at about 8:10 or so to preflight and get everything set for the lesson so that when my instructor got there, he could just pretty much climb in and we'd go. First step of a preflight: papers (Airworthiness Certificate, Registration, etc.). Check. Second step: flip on the master electrical switch, lower the flaps (makes 'em easier to inspect), check fuel guages, check the landing lights to make sure they're working, then flip the master switch off to conserve battery power. When I flipped the master switch, nothing happened. No whine of the avionics cooling fan, no lights, no power, no flaps, no nothing.
The battery was dead. No flying for me.
Bit of a bummer, because it would have been my second chance to try my new headset -- and no, I didn't go with LightSPEED's. On the advice of my instructor, who wasn't quite so convinced about their lightweight offering, I tried out Clarity Aloft. I did get a chance to try it out in the plane once (my second solo!), and it was great. Very light, very quiet, and very clear in communications. My only gripe is that they pinched a little bit at the top of my left ear, but I think that's something I can adjust. Otherwise, I'm very happy with them. If you want some more info, send me an email and I'll be glad to discuss.
I offer this because my search for a headset has been frustrating. I had a hard time finding reviews on any headset. There's about a million different offerings out there, and the best advice I could find in any resource I found was either the typical glowing endorsements on the company's website, or the standard "everybody's different." Gee, thanks! Anyway, I've got one of these Clarity Aloft headsets, and if you managed to stumble in here by chance while looking for more info on it, drop me a line and I'd be glad to chat.
In other "bummer" news -- I seem to have scared off yet another flight instructor. The first couple lessons I took at East Hill I took with an instructor named Bill, and after a month or so of my being a member, he got a job with a regional airline and left. So, I floated around between different instructors until I finally started taking lessons with Justin pretty regularly. Now, Justin has landed (no pun intended) a job with US Airways Express. Why do my instructors have to be so darn lucky? Now I'll just have to start flying with some of the other guys there and pick someone new.
The reason for picking someone in particular comes from some advice another club member gave me. He was saying that sticking with one instructor (for the most part, anyway) will make sure you're getting consistent messages about what you're doing well or not-so-well, and it makes for faster progress. So, that's the approach I'm taking. So, instructors at East Hill -- watch out, 'cuz here I come!
Okay, that's about it. Back to laundry. Later today, I'm planning on a trip to Syracuse with a couple of the trombonists from IC -- Syracuse Symphony is playing Dvorak 7, as well as the John Adams violin concerto with some violinist who's apparently pretty good. Should be a good concert. Plus, we're doing dinner at Dinosaur BBQ, so what's not to love?