For those of us who have flown

[Jinxter13]

With time on my hands, there are moments when I get to reminisce on things that have been highlights in my life. Today I was taken back to 1973 when on a mild spring afternoon I went out to the local airport got into a Piper 140 with my instructor J McCann (God rest his soul) took of went to the practice area did some stalls power on and off, a few S turns, and one stop and go, came back around and did a full stop. On the second landing he had me take the first turn out stop the aircraft on the taxiway, and he asked for my ticket ( a copy of the physical you took before you were allow to even start lessons) "Oh sh*t, I've screwed the pooch some how, what did I do wrong? "nothing" "huh?" as he signed the card; opened the door stepped out and before closing it he said "now go fly, and don't make me look bad by not coming back or bending the airframe". My heart was going about warp 25 as I turned onto the active after checking for other traffic about 10 times, when I got airborne I was thinking "hot damn I'm a pilot flying a plane on my own......then suddenly!!! it hit me....waitaminit!!!! I'm up here by myself...if I get into trouble I'm in deep stinky stuff I can't hand the controls to Jim or he take them and he get us flying right again.....Ok stupid you asked for this...either you fly and do it right or you and this Piper are gonna be three things a statistic, a memory, and a story told to those who come after you. Well it's obvious I didn't bend the airframe then or anytime after.

Thank you Jim, and thank you N1880J the sweet little lady who took me airborne that day and brought me back to the Alamogordo Municipal Airport. I've since flown and flown in other aircraft, but 80J will always have that special place in my heart and can't be replaced by any other.

Edited January 14, 2014 by #1 Greywolf

[HOLMES]

Thank you Clif for sharing your reminiscing days with us.

That's pretty impressive lovely thing to hear..not flown on MY own but have been up as a " navigator" for a police colleague of MINE

who takes ME up in the Cessna 125 regularly and it's exhilarating .

Thanks again

Edited May 29, 2013 by HOLMES

[peebeep]

My first solo was livened up by some numbskull taking off from a private strip a short distance from the airfield where I was flying and flying upwind in our downwind leg. I had to take an evasive turn and ended up high on the approach. I suppose I should have gone around, but we'd done steep approaches in training and everything went OK. It's a very exhilarating moment, knowing that you are in charge and not able to hand over to somebody qualified. I can still remember the slight shock of the aircraft performing better without the additional weight. Due to various circumstances I never actually got my ticket and haven't done any serious flying in years. One day, maybe.

peebeep

[Flyboyf18]

Wow, that's interesting I joined our military in '73 and solod in '77! Almost the same scenario except that I knew it was a solo check flite since the first one was a wash out for me. I was Tiger 07, the call sign for all solo students was Tiger and the last 2 of the a/c number. Unfortunately the same thing did not happen in the next phase, and I went down the Navigator trail successfully. My avatar is a self portrait of me in the back seat of Hornet.

[Ben Brown]

I soloed in a Cessna 150, N6214K. It was pretty uneventful, other then the fact I was alone in an airplane for the first time. There were light rain showers scattered all over Eastern NC, and there happened to be one sitting right about where you'd turn from downwind to base. All 3 times around the airport, I'd get a few drops on me, and George in the tower would clear me in and reassure me and somebody else who was also soloing in the pattern that we were still VFR. It was awesome! :D

Ben

[Rick in Maine]

It's fun reading these stories. Thanks.

I soloed in 1969 at Commerce, Texas Municipal Airport, an oiled-dirt strip of about 2500' of varying width. 1959 Cessna 150. I was anticipating, but not expecting, to solo pretty soon. I think I had about ten hours. The then-East Texas State University (now Texas A&M at Commerce) Aero CIub was an active group of about 20. My instructor was Mike Bonner. I was wearing one of my favorite shirts and was worried about my then-wife's anger about getting the shirt-tail cut off. Still was an exciting moment.

IIRC, my 2nd and 3rd landings were pretty bad examples of the art.

Rick in Maine

Edited May 29, 2013 by Rick in Maine

[majortomski]

In 1976 at age 21 I soloed after only 3.2 hours of dual.

I had been riding in airplanes with my Dad in lots of Cessnas since I was 6 months old.

It was from the short runway (23) at CPS (http://www.airnav.com/airport/KCPS) I don’t remember my instructor getting out. The first rush was just like above, looking over at the now empty seat and realizing I was alone and I WAS FLYING! I was also amazed how well the old C-150 flew with only me sitting in the left seat.

I did two touch-and-goes and one full stop. I know I landed short the last time and had to roll up on to the runway from the grass. Pretty hard to do when you’re coming across the power lines that were 1500 feet from the end of the runway.

Thanks for shaking out some good memories! Good thread!

[thegoodsgt]

I soloed at 18 after about 15 hours of flight time. My Norweigan instructor, Trond Berg, and I flew from Ocala, Florida (OCF) to Dunnellon (X35), an expansive airport that was used for bomber training in World War Two. After shooting a few landings he shook my hand and got out of the airplane. I flew two (or was it three?) touch and go's as quickly as I could as the sun was going to set fairly soon. I was busy making sure I was doing everything by the book, but I remember one moment fairly clearly when I had a moment to sit back and enjoy the moment, realizing I was all alone, flying.

That evening is among the top three or four experiences of my life.

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

Edited May 29, 2013 by thegoodsgt

[echolmberg]

I think my very first solo is the one thing that stands out the most for me. Twenty-two years ago, my instructor, Chris Davis, and I took off from Dulles Airport just outside of DC. Our normal routine was to fly to Davis Field (MNZ) in Manassas where we’d work on our usual routines. After doing some touch-and-goes, he told me to taxi to an area where he then hopped out. He told me to do three touch-and-goes and then come back to pick him up. That’s when things got interesting.

The first two T-n-G’s went without incident. It was on the third one when my door in the Cessna 152 suddenly popped open! Thank God for seatbelts!!! LOL! Needless to say, it freaked the stuffing out of me. But then I realized the plane was still flying normally. All I had to do was reach over and pull the door closed. Of course! Simple, right? In my attempts to do so, I also realized that the slipstream of the plane was acting like a big vacuum on the door and I was not able to slam it shut with my left arm.

Super genius that I am, I deduced “Of course! I’m right handed! My right arm will be much stronger and therefor most capable of shutting the door.†When I reached with my right arm across my body to the door handle on my left, it caused my left arm to jerk downward. This, in turn, caused the plane to jerk to the left which resulted in my sectional chart, frequency list and various pencils and notes, which had been on my lap, to go flying out the open door. To this day, I can’t help but wonder if some homeowner came home from a hard day’s work just wanting to relax in his pool only to discover all my junk sitting at the bottom of it.

Long story short, I eventually slowed the plane down enough to slam the door shut. After I landed and as we were flying back to IAD, my instructor asked me if I wanted to take it on in. I said “No, that’s okay. You go ahead and take this one.†I never told him what happened.

Eric

PS. I hope I didn't violate any FAA regulations. If so, please don't turn me in.

[CorsairMan]

It was the Summer of 2007 for me at Westair in Carp. Perfect morning for circuits and after doing 3 or so with my instructor he requested that I taxi onto the taxiway. While doing so he asked if I felt comfortable going on my own. I said "yes". As he got out of the c172 he poked his head in and said "Do 3 or 4 or until you scare yourself... then come back"

It was a little surreal to backtrack all the way to the end of the runway all by myself, do my radio calls and start my run. But once I radioed that I was off the runway and remaining in the circuit - it seemed almost 'routine' - downwind checks, radio calls, setting up for final.... I did 4 and only needed a little throttle for the 3rd one. It hit me more when I was taxiing back to the school. I actually flew by myself!

I got as far as my long solo cross country before I had to put my flying on hiatus. I miss it but I can't justify the expense right now. Someday I will take it up again.

[Jinxter13]

Thinking back.........on my second solo; I was having fun flying and practicing, and I guess I got to feeling proud, and decided to call it a day head back to the airport and hit the lounge/restaurant and throw down a few cold ones with some other pilots I knew. Forgetting a few things like a puddle jumper airline Frontier airlines had a regular stop there between ABQ and ELP, (thanfully I knew the airport manager (an ex 101 driver) and the Terminal manager (one helluva good soul, who went easy on me, and reminded me that it was a daily occurence, rather sternly, however) and the ETA I entered the pattern and upon turning final I hear in my headset - "aircraft in the pattern where are you exactly?", I replied that I was just over the threshhold "OK". I put that bird down took the first turnoff and as soon as I got clear a Convair 580 went whizzing by; I didn't got to the terminal until after it had departed. No reason to incur the wrath of an airline pilot who was probably not very happy that some "Jackass was screwing with his schedule" . It gave me pause, but it didn't dampen my zen for flying, I did make sure I went up after Frontier had came and gone on a day I was going sightseeing from around 8K feet.

Don't ask me about the first time I went under the hood.... :blink:

Edited May 30, 2013 by #1 Greywolf

[GreyGhost]

Great stories, Clif and the rest of you as well ...

Thanks for sharing them ...

-Gregg

[MikeC]

Does a glider count?

Mine was simple: "Well, you've got it up, now you've got to get it down in one piece", overlaid on top of of the realization that the aircraft was, indeed, lighter and a bit more of a handful without the instructor, plus the sheer exhilaration. Not forgetting, of course, the 45-degree rule, speed on finals, whether to use spoilersor not, and did I really get 1100 ft off the (winch) launch??

[Scott R Wilson]

Excellent thread, it's been great fun to read about others' experiences.

My first solo was September 15, 1984 at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany in Piper Tomahawk N9209A. I'd joined the Aero Club there after getting an incentive flight in an F-4E. I knew I'd never get another fighter ride but badly wanted to be in the skies again, so flying little bugsmashers seemed like a less exciting alternative. Turns out I enjoy flying light aircraft even more than I enjoyed riding in the Phantom.

I have only vague memories of the flight before my solo, and of my instructor Dag Orvik (also a Norwegian) covering the microphone and talking to the tower quietly so I couldn't hear (no intercom in the Tomahawk). But I had it figured out, so when he had me taxi off the runway and let him out I wasn't surprised. I was plenty nervous, maybe a little scared. As I took off I kept glancing at the empty seat, absolutely amazed and thrilled that I was actually flying by myself. It was a perfect evening, light breeze right down the runway, glass smooth air. After the first touch and go, the tower told me to "circle over Mackenbach" as some F-4s were coming in. I was a bit confused as I'd been told never to overfly Mackenbach because they would complain about the noise. Mackenbach was a village just north of the Ramstein midfield downwind. I didn't know what to do, and the tower controller was engaged in conversation with the F-4s so I just decided to do 360s on the downwind. The controller never called me back so I guessed it was okay. I flew a bunch of 360s as the F-4s did pattern work, flying their downwinds 500 feet over me. It was very cool, I could hear their engines over the Tomahawk's motor as they passed over me. After awhile they landed and I was cleared to continue with my touch and goes. I think my landings were okay, I really don't remember. After my third landing I taxied off and picked up Dag, and we went back to the Aero Club. There he cut my shirt tail off (do they still do that?) and being a fair artist, he drew a reasonable cartoon of me flying the Tomahawk and looking rather panicked on the piece of my shirt. Of course I still have it.

On the way home afterwards I remember being so proud and excited that it was all I could do to keep from shouting at everyone I passed by "I just flew an airplane all by myself!!!!!"

In 1988 I had to drop out of flying for 16 years because I'd married a woman who, it ended up, spent more than we made. After too many years of fighting, a bankruptcy and then divorce, I took a few years to find the right woman. I am now married to a wonderful gal who encouraged me to get back into flying, even though she gets terribly airsick and doesn't enjoy it at all. I told her it was too expensive. She told me, "But it's your passion. We'll make the budget work". So I got back into flying rentals, and we did make it work. After a few years she said "You should buy your own plane." I said it was too expensive, and she said, let's find a way. So I ended up buying into a partnership with a 1978 Cessna 172N in 2008. We're still solvent, got plenty in savings, and I've since earned my Instrument Rating and Commercial Rating, and am now working on my CFI. I just went over 600 hours. Did I mention she can be so frugal she could pinch Lincoln off the head of a penny? After my first marriage disaster I made a really good choice. Every guy should be so lucky.

Scott Wilson

[Snowbird3a]

'Twas 30 Aug 1983 at Medicine Hat, Alberta in an '46 Aeronca 7AC Champ that father had bought as a basket case and I put back together with an AME and myself as an apprentice AME. I worked at the local flying school as said apprentice, and received the instruction for free. I just paid the gas money. After 9.8 hours, I got to take C-FSMD around the circuit at 500' because it would take to long to do the circuits at 1000'. At 41.8 hours I did my flight test in a second Champ C-FYIV, 14 July 1984. Passed. Since then, I have flown a 7/8 scale SE5a(dad owned) and my own PA28-140 and currently have a 69 C-150.( and a ton of dual CT-114 time )

Cheers, Tony

Edited May 30, 2013 by Snowbird3a

[hawkwrench]

Wow, here goes a trip down the memory runway. I remember back in 83-84 when I was a 16 year old sophomore in high school and I started learning to fly at Commonwealth Aviation at Greater Cincinnati. My FEMALE instructor's name was Connie Taroski and many a cold winters day was spent either in CVG's traffic pattern or at the practice area flying Cessna 152's N5084L, N6302H or N7611A. Here's a pic of 11A:

All flying came to a halt when I got stupid and try to hop over a stairrail late for class and blew out and torn the ligaments in my right ankle. I flew a little bit while stationed at Ft. Bragg and then got back into it seriously around 97 flying out of Lunken airport in Cincinnati. My sweet little 152 was N3281R. Here's a pic I found on the net of her. Man she flew beautiful.

Well, thanks for allowing me to share my flying memories. I'll always remember that cold day in 83 when she got out and I was on my own surrounded in the pattern by 727's and departing wake turbulence. It was all worth it when the back of my shirt was cut out and my name put on it!. Flying is a feeling and memory one will NEVER forget!

Edited May 30, 2013 by hawkwrench

[Flyboyf18]

Wow there are a lot of Aviators amongst the ARC family!!

Just to add a bit to my story;

I started in the military as an engine technician working on the basic training a/c, the Musketeer. When I returned for pilot training the servicing crew were basically the same lads I worked with!! So not only did I have to impress my instructors but was under the critical eyes of my old servicing buddies!! I have noticed that a fair number in the stories above were taught by foreign (don't know that that's the right word but it's early here!) instructors, even I had an instructor from another military!! At Portage La Prairie we had a group of Dutch instructors, and for the final half of my course I had the shortest one, he even brought out a phone book for the first flight and sat on it!!!! :D :blink:

One of the Dutch instructors was in the standards cell and as such administered some of the flight tests. He always seemed to be in a bad mood and so us 'studs' called him Oscar the Grouch, not to his face of course!?! We all dreaded the thought of having him for any test!! Well the last test we fly is called the Final Handling Test (FHT), basically you cover everything you have learned, you have have pretty much passed the course but there were a few who failed on that test. On the day I walked into the flight room for my FHT and looked at the schedule my heart sank, I was scheduled to fly with 'Oscar'!!! All went well until we did the engine failure at altitude, which I was ready for and had a perfect landing area picked, BUT, I pooched my high key, pooched my lo key, but rolled out perfectly lined up for the field. He told me to climb back up and head for home. In the debrief, with my instructor, we went thru the flight everything was well done until we got to engine failure and he said he hadn't believed in miracles until that day!!!

Ahhh the good old days!

[ross blackford]

:D, My turn I guess. It was the 12th of March 1978 at Maitland in Cessna 150 VH-KOF after about 19 hours dual, I was rather slow because my pre-solo training had been very truncated and uneven. My instructor, Ray Burns had wanted to send me solo the week before but I'd just returned from a trip to Sydney and was pretty tired and was also getting over a cold and not at my best. The day I did solo we flew around the training area for a bit and did a couple of touch and goes then he said "Ok, we'll have another couple of touch and goes and call it a day." You can imagine my disappointment at that because I thought I'd been doing extra well. I decided to make my touch and go a textbook landing (if I could) and got everything set up just nicely on the downwind and across base and finals just fell into place.

The approach was good and after flaring the mainwheels kissed the runway (couldn't even feel it) and I was raising the flaps and just about to open the throttle when Ray said "No, hold her down, you're ready to go off by yourself." I couldn't believe my ears. I was actually going to go solo. He got me to stop at the intersection of the two main runways and he got out, dressed the harness, gave a first solo call to other aircraft operating in the circuit and told me "Just do one circuit and come back. Of course if you mess the approach up go round again but try not to mess it up." Like all the others, I looked at the empty seat beside me and couldn't believe it.

Off I went and to say I was nervous is an understatement. But I got around that circuit and made a not too bad landing, a bit rougher than the previous one but not bad all the same. When I touched down and returned to pick Ray up there were a few congratulatory calls over the radio (things were much more relaxed back then) and then when Ray got back in he said "You were nervous weren't you?" I replied, "Yeah, a bit, how did you know?" He replied "I could see the rudder moving side to side. Your nerves were acting through your legs and feet on the pedals. What a wonderful day that was. It took me the rest of the day to come back to earth after that.

Ross.

[majortomski]

I envy you guys who have pics of the planes you solo'd in. All I have is a number in a logbook (somewhere). Not long after I got my ticket the hangar at the school (Bellville Area College, Cahokia IL) burned down taking all the planes with it.

[Jinxter13]

Sometimes stories have great endings and other times ones heart gets a blast it finds hard to accept. I have nothing but fond memories of 80J, however she met with circumstances she could not overcome, perhaps its better than being stuck in the back lot of an airport and forgotten or used as scrap.

Final Facts on N1880J

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

I soloed back in 1990, Cessna 5244Q. It all seemed to happen so fast, all three takeoffs and landings, that when it was over it almost didn't seem real. Really strange thing, though, looking over next to you and seeing an empty seat where the instructor had always been, and you notice the huge silence (other than the radio) in the cockpit.

Thing is, about a week or two later that same plane had an engine failure!! Luckily it was already aligned on final when it happened, so they just glided down to an acceptable landing. Doesn't get much better than that.

Edited May 30, 2013 by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy

[Sebastijan]

I first soloed in a Blanik L-13 glider in summer 2002. It was a normal morning with flight activities running as usual. I just landed the first morning flight when my instructor in the back seat opens the canopy and steps out of the plane. You're on you own now, kid :D

Anyway when the Super Cub towplane pulled I couldn't apprehand the acceleration with an odd 100kg lighter glider. Also I wasn't expecting the reduced weight would require different trim setting and my plane jumped up but I reacted quickly and compensated immediately. When the Cub waved the wings and I released the cable, the feeling was amazing. Just me, the plane and the sound of the wind over the canopy. I was so excited that I started whistling Indiana Jones tune :D

I did a few orbits then joined the right traffic pattern and did quite a good landing - afterall the whole airfield was watching. Baptism followed later that evening with mandatory buttkicking and some alcohol :D

[Joe Hegedus]

31 Dec, 1981, in Cessna 152 II N5368L, at Westmoreland County Airport, Latrobe, PA. Other than the fact that it was just me in the airplane, the whole thing was pretty uneventful. Just like with an instructor except he was on the ground.

Just over 10 months later, I used the same airplane to take the PPSEL checkride. Couldn't do it any sooner - ya have to be 17 to get the ticket and I took the checkride on my 17th birthday. Stayed current through college and after, until Offspring Unit 1 was born in 2000. At that point the diposable income that paid for flying dried up, and unfortunately I haven't been current since - and that isn't likely to change anytime soon as I just checked on what the hourly rate for a rental is here now - about $100/hr for a 150 plus instructor. Yikes!

[bradebaugh]

My first solo was in a T-41 (Cessna 172) at Hondo Field , TX in 1973. I was at Air Force OTS in the flight screening program. The washout rate was at least 50%. I had busted my last two rides and I was up for a final progress check ride. My fellow trainees didn't hold much hope for me because none of our other fellow trainees that had gone up on an "89" ride had made it. I wnet up with my instructor out to the training airspace, did the maneuvers he requested and then we went back to the pattern. After two or so landings he told me to full stop it. while taxiing in he told me to pull over and stop. I asked why and he said he was getting out of the plane. He told me to takeoff and do three landings and the park it! I soloed and was done with the training! I passed! When I walked back into the squadron I walked in with my head down low. Wverybody was afraid to ask me how it went. Finally one of the guys asked and I answered "I'm done". Everybody started saying how sorry they were to hear that and how awful that was. I said no, I'm done, I just soloed! You guys still have two weeks to go, I'm finished! They were all speechless, nobody had passed an "89" ride before. I graduated OTS and went on to Moody AFB, GA. That "89" ride wasn't my last but I soloed in T-37s and T-38s, finished pilot training in 1975 and became a KC-135 pilot. I flew the KC-135A/R and RC-135S until I retired in 1991 and then in '92 became a civilian 135 simulator instructor training 135 pilots and have been doing so to this day.

Bruce

[Helidriver]

Interesting to see the many different paths that led to flying, and the different ways we have all gone since.

I'm sure the training, completed or not, have had a great effect on our lives...

Anyways, I first soloed, in a helicopter, in November 2001. Schweizer 300CB N2039Y. There was no surprise to it, it was a well choreographed exercise, planned days in advance. Sometimes I miss having had the excitement of the surprise solo...

The flight itself was fine. Did 3 landings, and the instructor stepped out. This was on one of 3 helicopter spots in the middle of the airport. I did 3 pick ups to a hover and set downs, (to feel the new CG, power settings and attitude in the hover when alone), the instructor came over and told me to go do 3 patterns. I did, and the first thing that struck me was that I could see the cyclic and collective move on the left side...and that fascinated me for some reason. On the first approach I did a go around due to a Piper Aztec taxiing what seemed like very close to the landing spot. Of course it was far away, and would have been perfectly safe to land...

When it was all over, I started planning for my Cross Country stage, and that was a whole different ball of wax.

Did my first solo X-C to Kissimmee, and I can still remember sitting on the ground in front of the FBO, trying to figure out how to fit in with the taxiing Cessna, Piper, T-6 and P-51 aircraft that seemed to be everywhere!! In the end I thought "F'it" and called tower for an "immediate eastbound departure from present position, below 500'" Response was "approved as requested, report clear of the airspace". Problem solved.

My next memorable "solo" was first time I flew a Bell407 alone in New York City airspace. From south of Newark to landing at Downtown Wall Street Heliport, taking off up East River and flying the Throgs route overhead LaGuardia and heading out to eastern Long Island. I swear that was more stressful than my first solo, and I had close to 5000hrs at the time.

I have since been signed off by my employer to "solo" (read : ferry) the Sikorsky S-76C helicopter. I haven't done it yet...but I'm looking forward to it!!

I also soloed a Piper Warrior back on '03. I was mostly struck by how slowly everything happened...and how easy it was to fly. Apart from the flare to landing part...helicopter flying had by then seriously screwed with my sense of what was a good airspeed and angle of approach. (stalling at 6' is not a good idea....)

Ken