Snow?

Apparently it's been a while since they've seen white stuff down here. And I'm not kidding.

Before the snow even hit the ground, most of the schools were closed. Shortly thereafter, local businesses and the entire post practically shut down. You can't even buy groceries in southeastern Alabama when there's less than two inches of snow on the ground!

Being from the north, I had to laugh. We'd never have school in Ohio if people reacted this way to snow. Oh well, I guess I have to give em a break - they don't really have any sort of snow removal equipment down here at all.

Despite the snow (or lack thereof), this is the best winter I've ever had. Compare my house in Alabama to home back in Ohio. Which one do you prefer?

Going Nocturnal

So I'm finished flying during the day. The remainder of my flights here at Fort Rucker will be at night. Instead of getting up really early, I'm back on my regular college schedule: get to bed around 1 or 2 and go to work around 1 in the afternoon - nice!

I thought I'd pass along a little info to you about how exactly we're able to fly at night. We use these magic things called "Night Vision Goggles" (NVGs). It's pretty amazing how they actually work, but suffice it to say that they amplify and intensify forms of energy that you would not normally see during the night.

If you're not convinced, watch this video of a helicopter on a night search. Imagine doing this without NVGs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-6Vd1gc8AA&feature=related

You wear NVGs on top of your helmet and flip them down in front of your eyes to see at night. (See image above - stylish, huh?) You also pray that you don't break them because they're not cheap by any means. Flying with NVGs is a real challenge. Your field of view is greatly reduced, so you have to move your head all over the place to see what you'd normally see during the day - if you see it at all!

Well, hopefully that gives you all something to think about. In the meantime, I'll be re-learning how to fly under NVGs and paying a lot closer attention to things like moonrise, moonset, moon azimuth, and % illumination.