As anybody who reads this should know or will know shortly, I’ve been finishing up my private pilot flying lessons in the great state of Michigan for the last three weeks. That means that when I get my license I can fly small planes, not commercial jets. This update will also be longer than most I expect since I have to catch you up to my current status. I’ll highlight the subject of each section, you’re welcome to just read down to the part you actually are curious about.
I guess a bit of background is in order for this first post just in case you took my advice from earlier and actually told somebody behind you in a line at the grocery store about this blog and now they’re reading it.
History: As a birthday present for my 16th birthday I received flying lessons from my grandparents and after several years of dabbling in between studying abroad and going to college, I finally gave it up to pick up at a further date. Well, thank god for all of you- the further date is here, and hence a blog is born. I now have graduated from college and with no concept of saving money for the future life I will soon have to begin I have started flying again. I’m an all or nothing sort of girl, so I fly almost every day and since I recently realized that listening to other people’s lives is more interesting than thinking about your own, I decided that living vicariously through me will be easier on all of us if I write about my flying experiences in a very public fashion. This will satisfy the secret yen you have for flying in small planes without having to actually conquer your fear of… whatever you have a fear of that stops you from flying in small planes.
Solo: I’m sort of fast-tracking through the flying process since I did all this back in high school. So even though I had only been flying about two weeks, last Sunday my instructor soloed all three of his girls the same day (which means you can fly by yourself but not with passengers). Your first solo just requires you to make 3 take offs and landings, full stop, at the airport you’re studying at. Some instructors give you the choice of how many you want to do (more than one is usually key) but three is the general number that gets done. This may not seem like a big deal, since all you do is fly around the airport, but as everybody knows, landing is by far the hardest part of flying for most people, so don’t knock it.
Three solos on the same day was a record for the airport, let alone three girls. Courtney, my instructor has proceeded to tell every single person he runs into that he managed to accomplish this feat. Since this is Small Town, America we’re talking about- he’s pretty much covered the entire town. I’m not exaggerating, and if you met him, you’d realize how serious I am.
In any case, the solo went well. It’s always strange taking off without anybody else in the cockpit with you after you’ve been flying with an instructor. The plane is lighter, so it takes off sooner, climbs better, and turns faster. If you’re not paying attention during your pattern you can end up 300 feet above where you’re suppose to be. You also hear your instructor talking to you, or in Courtney’s case- yelling at you. So when your airspeed gets too fast, or you don’t taxi slow enough, you hear an angry voice in your head telling you to taxi slow or he’ll kill you. Keeps you company.
I ended up going first because as usual in my life, I was the first to arrive. The plus side of that was when I took off there were all of two or three people at the airport- by the time I landed for my third time and taxied back to the parking area- there were maybe 15 people there. But I didn’t know they were there until then, so I think the stress level was reduced. By the time Katie, the third girl, went– there were not only 15 people still there (and by “there” I mean standing around the taxi area staring at us as we landed and departed) but also heavy traffic for such a small airport. However, all three of us landed spectacularly, if I do say so myself, and were in high spirits by the end. In celebration we had a waffle breakfast at the airport. Afterward, all of Courtney’s students and their friends/spouses, went out to the VFW and hung out for a while. It was a good day, but soloing three students takes several hours, so most of my day was spent standing around chatting with other pilots.
Crosswind Landings: So yesterday we practiced crosswind landings, which is code for “if you don’t break the plane when landing, you’re doing a good job” — they have two runways (technically four if you count the ability to land on either end of the runway) but one lines up with a N/S heading more or less and one does an E/W heading. So whenever there’s a wind, my instructor has me out there using the runway that makes the wind come at your side, to practice landing in what’s called a “crosswind.” That means that coming in for your landing you have to align the plane all crooked (called crabbing) so you don’t get blown off course and then straighten it out right before you hit the runway and then in the meantime make sure you’re keeping the wings from flopping to the right or left as the wind kicks you. I mean, seriously, landing already takes a lot of thought, so making it more difficult is like a cherry on a melted sunday. Mind you, I’m glad I’m learning it and all, you should know how to land in case while you’re out and about the winds pick up and you HAVE to land in a crosswind, but seriously, learning it is what my instructor affectionately calls “a bite in the underwear.”
In my next post (aka… notes to myself)
Pictures
Who are the other people that are studying with Courtney?
What exactly is Courtney like?
And possibly cross-country planning. Oh is it fun.
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