Flight Log: Flight 1: 9 May 06
The day finally came. Tuesday, May 9th. School was normal, besides me wondering about wether the weather would hold me back yet another time, or let me fly. It let me fly.
4:45 was all of the sudden on the clock, the lesson was scheduled for 5:00....time to grab my flight bag and go. I hopped in my truck, cranked the iPod for some pump-up music, and headed north-west for PWA. I pulled in to the old Commander Aircraft Company parking lot, checked the sky one more time, and hopped out.
My instructor, Rob, led me into a classroom where we took care of minor paperwork and such, and then breifed ourselves for the flight. We would pre-flight together, and then follow a rather normal procedure to the west. I would then do some turns and climbs, basically to familiarize myself with aircraft.
We did our thing and took a pretty long pre-flight inspection, Covering all the bases before hopping into the aircraft and starting her up. Man! What an amazing feeling to be in the left seat of an aircraft! We did our pre-taxi checklist, called for taxi, and proceeded to runway 35R (long taxi from the Oklahoma Aviation ramp!)
After our run-up, Rob called for take-off. I taxiied us out and lined us up. Rob reminded me of what a normal takeoff consisted of and followed with a "just tell me whenever you're ready". I was more than ready by that point, Rob told me to throttle up and go for it, and I did!
Once airborn I had a very wierd feeling. It was almost like it wasn't really happening. I would look at my instrument panel and things would be just like The Sim, but when I looked to the side and down it was a very eerie feeling, that's when it hit me. I'm actually in control of an airplane!
There was almost no horizon, which was a little different considering I knew I would have to break myself from fixating on the instruments. Instead, on this flight I needed a little bit more reference from the instruments, though it was obviously not IMC. I found this not as a nuesance but almost as a nice little comfort blanket, saying that I don't have to really break myself up to accomplish anything in this aircraft, but rather just feel what you want to do and be in control of it. I could sit here all night trying to explain what I'm trying to say, but I wont!
Overall it was a great flight! One rather large cut on my hand from the baggage door was the only injury, and I'm starting to really get the feel of the aircraft. My next flight is Saturday, and we'll be covering just about the same stuff, Which is really great. I really need to get the feel of flying an airplane. I can't do that by reading a book, I have to actually fly the airplane....It will come with time and practice.
4:45 was all of the sudden on the clock, the lesson was scheduled for 5:00....time to grab my flight bag and go. I hopped in my truck, cranked the iPod for some pump-up music, and headed north-west for PWA. I pulled in to the old Commander Aircraft Company parking lot, checked the sky one more time, and hopped out.
My instructor, Rob, led me into a classroom where we took care of minor paperwork and such, and then breifed ourselves for the flight. We would pre-flight together, and then follow a rather normal procedure to the west. I would then do some turns and climbs, basically to familiarize myself with aircraft.
We did our thing and took a pretty long pre-flight inspection, Covering all the bases before hopping into the aircraft and starting her up. Man! What an amazing feeling to be in the left seat of an aircraft! We did our pre-taxi checklist, called for taxi, and proceeded to runway 35R (long taxi from the Oklahoma Aviation ramp!)
After our run-up, Rob called for take-off. I taxiied us out and lined us up. Rob reminded me of what a normal takeoff consisted of and followed with a "just tell me whenever you're ready". I was more than ready by that point, Rob told me to throttle up and go for it, and I did!
Once airborn I had a very wierd feeling. It was almost like it wasn't really happening. I would look at my instrument panel and things would be just like The Sim, but when I looked to the side and down it was a very eerie feeling, that's when it hit me. I'm actually in control of an airplane!
There was almost no horizon, which was a little different considering I knew I would have to break myself from fixating on the instruments. Instead, on this flight I needed a little bit more reference from the instruments, though it was obviously not IMC. I found this not as a nuesance but almost as a nice little comfort blanket, saying that I don't have to really break myself up to accomplish anything in this aircraft, but rather just feel what you want to do and be in control of it. I could sit here all night trying to explain what I'm trying to say, but I wont!
Overall it was a great flight! One rather large cut on my hand from the baggage door was the only injury, and I'm starting to really get the feel of the aircraft. My next flight is Saturday, and we'll be covering just about the same stuff, Which is really great. I really need to get the feel of flying an airplane. I can't do that by reading a book, I have to actually fly the airplane....It will come with time and practice.
posted by RF at 9:59 PM
2 Comments:
Ross,
I envy you, my friend. I hope the cut on your hand heals and doesn't interfer with your next flight. Good Luck!
Bill Dyer
Thanks Bill! I'm A VERY lucky guy, I must admit. The cut isn't that bad, the only time I notice it is when I reach for my keys or cell phone in my left pocket and forget about the cut, making it rub against my jeans! OUCH! It's not bad though...about a inch or two long, healing up pretty fast, I'll live. :-)
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