I never learned to swim. I took lessons at the Missouri Valley, IA pool when I was 6 or 7, and grew just proficient enough (on a boogie board) to earn a Snap-Tite model kit of a 1979 Mazda RX-7 from my semi-proud mother, courtesy of the local pharmac

So, what's happened in your life in the past six months? A lot has happened in mine, some things better than others but overall most all of it a positive move. Most recently, I've left the world of aviation reporting at Aero-News to return to the

This video was made by Chris Dillis of Skyraider Aviation in Erie, CO. I met Chris this summer just before Oshkosh, and had the pleasure of flying with him from Erie to Centennial Airport south of Denver. Chris is flying N1277K... the Gobosh I fle

I'm flying an airplane... not sure what type, it doesn't really matter. All I know is that I must land soon, and there's an airport straight ahead... though it's far from my position, just barely visible. Complicating matters is a fierce wind blowing

I awake with a start. 5:45 am. I look bleary-eyed at my clock radio, which turned on at 5:30 am. The low tones of a morning news program on KKOB are coming from the speakers.

New Mexico is home to a bevy of odd traditions, most the result of the cultural melting pot borne of the state's Hispanic, Native American and Anglo populations.

I finally had the chance to format some of my pictures from Oshkosh, and thought adding them warranted bringing this post up higher. And, since I started the month with this post... it seems fitting I end August with it, as well. Enjoy!

Courtesy Of Aero-TV... Aero-TV: ANN's Rob Finfrock Becomes a Sport Pilot Recorded on the last day of the 2008 Sun 'N Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, FL this past April... less than 24 hours after my successful sport pilot checkride! (You may be a

A good morning. I crashed out on my couch last night watching the Olympics, after having cheered on Phelps and the rest of the men's swim team on the 4x100m relay. And I awoke this morning to the unmistakable sound of burners whooshing overhead, as a

There's a big "update" post on the horizon... but this video I received today literally stopped me in my tracks. I've watched it at least a half-dozen times this afternoon. Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo. I'm n

It's "officially-official," just got this in the mail today! <img src='http://files.blog-city.com/files/O04/76081/p/f/pilotlicense0608a.jpg' title='Rob's Pilot License' border='0'/>

One year... officially. As of July 1, I'll have been in New Mexico one year. A lot has happened over that time, but not much has changed in the grand scheme of things. Case in point, here's a photo from last summer: And now a more recent on

If you haven't read the book "Big Russ And Me," please put it on your library list. Its author, NBC commentator and "Meet The Press" host Tim Russert -- one of the most hard-hitting, yet completely fair, journalists of the modern era -- passed away F

Earlier this month, it was announced that after years of abandoned neglect, the Bella Vista restaurant in Cedar Crest, NM would soon be torn down. As you can see in the pics, the work has already begun. Bella Vista was my first-ever paying job

"You are never given a wish without being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however." -- Richard Bach, "The Messiah's Handbook" The Wish began far earlier than I realized at the time: age 8, or thereabouts. The sc

Hi all... Sorry for the lack of recent updates, but I've been busy re-adjusting to life in New Mexico (where's the ocean????) and facing down the New Reality, going through the latest round of scans, blood work and doctor visits. Everything is fi

The title says it all. A LOT more coming, when I have a moment to post an update. Amen.

Hello from rainy northern Florida... where we've been socked in for most of the weekend under a low cloud layer with ever present rain and intermittent thunderstorms. Fortunately, it hasn't been as bad as it could have been. I actually was abl

One more hurdle cleared -- today I passed the oral exam, arguably the hardest part towards receiving my sport pilot ticket. Weather precluded me from wrapping up my 2.3 hours remaining required solo work today, so hopefully the weather will clear

I'd meant to go into more detail about all this, and still plan to (either here and/or on the ANN series) but as time is fleeting, here are the basics: 1) Training is going VERY well... as you may be able to tell below: 2) I scored a 90 per

Wow... a lot of time has passed since I last updated the site with the status of my flight training. As you might imagine, this is due largely to the fact that, well, I've been busy flying! The past few days have yielded a number of lessons fo

"You land on grass REALLY well!" That statement by Jim sums up the first half of my training session Wednesday morning... since that's about all I did spot-on, perfect, pop the champagne. I'm beating myself up a little here, I know. I didn't do

(This update isn't very detailed, since it's 12:10 am EDT as I'm writing this after a VERY long day... but I wanted to get at least the first day's activity up. And no pics from the cockpit yet, since all my time in the air is about TRAINING so far.)

Howdy... Happy Easter, everyone. I'm writing this from a Starbucks (natch) in the Nashville Airport, awaiting my flight to Jacksonville, for the start of my sport pilot training. No joke. I'm really, REALLY starting to believe this is gonna happen