The One Where I Say Goodbye to Dallas and Fly to Indy

After wrapping up the second sim session at FlightSafety and getting our precious completion certificates (the golden tickets to actually sit for the ATP written!), I spent all of Sunday in hardcore study mode. Truth be told, I was already running on fumes—being under the weather most of the week plus those late-night sim sessions really knocked me out. Still, I powered through a marathon review of practice questions, and while I wasn’t as prepared as I wanted to be, I made it work. The exam went fine, and as soon as I got back to the hotel, it was time to pack up and head out.

Four of us flew together to Indianapolis. Three of us spent some time in the airport lounge, which turned out to be a nice little break before boarding. The flight itself felt surprisingly short, probably thanks to the time difference between Dallas and Indy. I spent most of it watching some old TV shows that hit me right in the nostalgia.

Landing in Indy was smooth. We gathered our bags and crammed ourselves—and a mountain of luggage—into a sedan that definitely wasn’t designed for four people with oversized check-in bags. Somehow, the driver made it work. It was about a 35-minute drive to our new hotel, which flew by because we were busy chatting the whole way.

First impression of the new digs? Pretty great. I did a quick tour of the gym—finally, a real setup, complete with two Peloton bikes (I’m definitely hopping on those soon). I bumped into someone who’s a couple of weeks ahead of us in training and got some helpful tips. The biggest takeaway: trust the training department’s process and do what they recommend. Easy enough.

The hotel room is clean and relatively new, and you can tell most of the guests are here for the same reason—company training. That means everyone’s trying to look and act professional. Feels like the vibe is going to be a good one for the next phase of training. For now, it’s time to settle in, get some rest, and gear up for the days ahead.