I have been trapped in Airbus School since the fifth of December.  So far I have completed the ground school portion which I think took about two and one half weeks.  Now I'm in what they call manuevers validation which means I get used to how the airplane handles in the simulator.  That goes on for 5 days, then I have a two days off and come back for LOFT training.  That means line oriented flight training.  During that portion I have 5  sessions where we simulate actual flights with systems failures enroute.  If I am lucky and don't screw up too bad I should receive my eighth and hopefully final jet type rating by January 6th.   After that it's a couple of trips with a check airman and then I'm on my own.  Boy will I be glad to get it over with!  Unfortunatly it has been keeping me from what I would really rather be doing, working on the Flaire building freedom.  I was lucky enough to be home with my family for a few days over Christmas but, I'm afraid they will be keeping me busy here for a while longer.  I trust everyone else on the team is pressing forward in my absense.  I heard they are just about ready to start building the wing.

Bill David