Last training flight!

Today was my last training flight. I've got four-tenths of an hour over 20 hours. Sherman and I had a great time doing airplane stuff. We did shallow and steep turns, Sherman pulled the power off several times to simulate engine trouble. My mistake was in landing straight ahead instead of looking straight down. Once you've got the glide going look down! Check out the fields below you and turn to spiral down to one of them rather than trying to estimate the condition of a field 2 miles away. Sure you can glide to it, but why pass up a good thing! I picked a field one time that looked like a pasture, but at 300 feet it was some kind of canes standing in water.
Turns around a point are always a problem. It sound so simple to do a circle around something on the ground. The problem is the wind will try to blow you away or over your target, so the bank angle never stops changing. But it is a great way to test your ability to divide attention.

Steep turns are just a hoot, Jet fighter turns! Load on the power, hold the nose up, kick the rudder to coordinate and the G's come in. Yeehahh!

In downtown St. Petersburg on the bayside is the Vinnoy Hotel next to the marina where the "Strictly Sail" show is in February. Just south is a pier with a Mall and restaurants on the end. Next is runway 18/36 of Albert Whitted Airport sticking out in Tampa Bay on a man-made peninsula. It was my first carrier landing in a civil aircraft! The approach is beautiful, over the bay with boats and schools of fish, then turn over a sandbar dotted with rays and aim at the penthouse of the pink condo tower! Turn in and the runway has a seawall, a little grass and the strip, off on the other side water. The saying is "One a day, in Tampa Bay!" I don't know how bad it'd have to get, but stupid would have to happen somewhere.
Back to Sarasota and land while three commercial guys are trying to leave. One is already at the end behind a Baron when I mosey down and stop at A4 to clear the runway. Coming from my left is an AirTran MD-80 who stops to let ME pass to Dolphin, the tower comes up "Citrus 280, Beware Prop Blast, Clear to taxi to one-four" so I keyed the mike "Yeah,brief the passengers!"
A perfect ending to a good training day. My logbook is fully endorsed and the appointment is made for the Pilot Examiner to come Monday for my checkride. The ticket is issued electronically and my printed Temporary will be in hand that afternoon. Then I'm going to borrow the plane as soon as I can and taqke my lovely wife on a tour of Tampa Bay and the coast!