Looking To The Sky

First Hour Done…with Cupcakes

Yesterday I had one of the most exciting times of my life.  I got to take the flight controls of a Cessna 172 in the palm of my hands!

I began my training with James by meeting with him late in the day (6:30pm) borrowing my first headset, getting the materials for the plane we were taking off in, a Cessna 172 (N734KU), and going through the pre-flight checklist.

The pre-flight checklist isn’t anything more than verifying that the materials and components of the plane are there and in working order.  Even though this doesn’t sound like too big of a deal, keep in mind that it is very important as it is the one big check to visually check that the plane is in working order.

Following the checklist we went over the outside of the plane to visually check that the plane was in good condition to fly and so that James could point out quickly what a lot of the main components of a plane are and what they do (ex. rudder, ailerons, leading edge, propeller, elevator, vertical fin, horizontal stabilizer, etc.)  Though this tour of the outside of the plane went quickly, I am thinking that I’m picking it all up at a nice pace.

We ended the outside check by getting inside and going over some of the instruments and switches.  This is a section that will take some time to get use to due to all the different components.  I did find though that once we’re in the air, we really only pay attention to four or five main components while the others are rarely glanced over.

Speaking of being in the air, that is where we went next.  James started up the plane, got it into the runway and he took off.  Taking off and landing I hear are some of the hardest parts to learning to fly, and watching everything that he had to do-I can see why.

When we got into the air and after going over a number of points, James handed over the reins and I was in control. (This is where things became awesome and I knew that I had to complete this adventure)

At first, I found flying to be semi-difficult.  Trying to keep so many concepts in my mind while flying was quite difficult, but as time went on and I began to practice turns, keeping my altitude, and following my heading; I found it all to become very relaxing.  The flight training involved the following maneuvers:

• Turns
• Climbs
• Decents
• Traffic avoidance

This first 1.2 hours of flight time was so amazing and definitely reconfirmed my desire to becoming a pilot.

After James landed, we got off, put the plane in the hangar, and went over the flight and where we’re going next.  We discussed what to think about today and what to read over for the next flight.  We also discussed the schedule for the next flights.

The schedule I am laying out for myself will be to fly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays beginning next week.

I left Stark’s Twin Oak Airpark and James with a realization that the next few months are going to take a lot of studying, practicing, and money!

When I got home, my girlfriend Christina had surprised me with the cupcakes in the above picture.  What a sweetheart!!!

Things to Ponder:

• How the control column/yoke changed the flight
• How the throttle adjusts our speed
• How the trim helps to alleviate pressure on the yoke

Things to Study:

• Basics of an Airplane
• System Section (Engine and Instruments)

Categories: Private Pilot Completion

Tags: Cessna 172, Christina, cupcakes, James, K7S3, Maneuvers, N734KU, schedule

Changed Domain September Begins…I think I’ll go fly