And There She Flew!!

I took my first flying lesson today. WOW! I am amazed with what it takes to get one of these things up and down. Once in the air, there wasn't nearly as much that I needed to do. I have so much to learn. I must say that I am completely lost right now. I have seen and done so much today that I don't think that I will remember a quarter of it for the next lesson. I had to do everything right off the bat, talking on the radio, controlling the taxi, takeoff and landing, with tons of coaching and hands-on-help when needed. It is hard to remember that you don't control the plane with anything else but your feet when you are on ground. I kept wanting to steer, like the car. I believe that I could have gotten a DUI going down the taxiway today. I would go too far to the left and then over correct and go back too far to the right (just like the drunks), only I was in a much larger and more expensive mode of transportation. I did manage to keep it on the pavement, which was a big plus in my eyes.

I had to close my eyes in flight so that I could feel how smoothly you can turn a plane. I had them closed and had to try to guess when we were turning. I couldn't feel it, so when I opened them, we were sideways. Then I had to do it again to see if I could feel which direction we were turning. I opened too soon, and then closed again. Something happened then and there, and I felt this tremendous heat come over me and felt like I may lose my lunch. I think that it was a good thing we were heading back to the airport. I was able to keep everything down, and felt better before touchdown, but I was pretty scared there for a minute. Hopefully with a few more lessons, that feeling will never show up again. It was like having morning sickness, but no where to go, and nothing to do about it. George, my instructor, said I was a natural. I think he must have lots more confidence in me than I do right now....or is that their way of having you return for more?

Grady and the kids came along to watch. We thought that it was going to be an hour long, and then we were going to do some running around. It was three and a half hours later before we left the building. Here is a picture right after we landed. This will be my training plane, "Cessna 96145". After we were finished with our lesson, George let the kids come out and sit in the plane. We turned on the radio and let them listen through the headsets. Grady took a few pictures from the front window. I had to share them both because they looked so adorable. The first thing out of Macy's mouth was, "I love it!".

I am happy that I've decided to do this. It will be so much fun and I really like my instructor. I was pretty nervous, but feel pretty comfortable now. It's something everyone should try at least once. Have a great night from the gal with her first flight.