First SOLO!!!
I finally did it!! My first solo -- it was by all means a solo in the supervised sense, which was a good thing since I hadn't been up since my check ride. This time we were in the newly repaired 9849L, my new favorite plane. It has a nice smell. Or perhaps I'm just high on what my friend Maureen referred to as "heroin for rich people" -- the experience of flight!
Kevin and I went up and did a few landings to start with, and my first few attempts were pretty poor. Just getting a feel for things, I guess; then I had a few good ones. I was basically kind of inconsistent, some good, some bad.
Then Kevin left the aircraft. He said, "You're ready." And I couldn't really argue, except that a little more consistency on landings would've been nice. But I knew I could do it! So off I went!
First time: I took off, and I was expecting the plane to behave significantly differently without the extra weight. It did not..not really, anyway, maybe a little, but I was expecting a much bigger difference. Anyway, so I turned crosswind, downwind, got my clearance for the option, base, and approach. Actually I don't remember the approach; I just remember flaring early, and hitting the power and going around. OK, no big deal, we'll get it next time.
Second time: Pretty much the same thing, but this time I touched down beautifully, if I do say so myself! It felt great!! I taxied back, gave Kevin a big smile and held my finger "1" up in the air, and he gave me 2 thumbs up!
Third, fourth, fifth times: Go arounds. I don't remember what happened each time; I know the fifth time there probably was nothing wrong. This is where I felt the difference of Kevin not being in the plane; I was just floating there! What's going on? I'm getting out of here. But Kevin told me later, he didn't see anything wrong with it!
Then I landed really nicely once, and then my final landing was a little screwy -- I got blown around by the wind a little, right at touchdown, I think, so it was definitely not graceful. But, I didn't hurt myself or the plane and didn't make too big a fool of myself, so...I did it! 0.7 hours, Pilot In Command. That's me!
One of the things I was really worried about is that I have a tendency to dwell on mistakes. This is not a good quality, for anything, but especially for flying. So I was really worried that I'd get in a situation where I just couldn't land, I'd freak out and lose confidence, and then REALLY not be able to land. Well, today I had to go around three times. No confidence lost, no sense of urgency, just...let's try it again. Do you know what happened? Yes/no, doesn't really even matter. Let's try it again! Hey, this way I get to fly longer, right?
For the first time since I first started lessons, I really feel like a pilot. I am not a pilot; in fact I am about to begin learning about pilotage, navigation, dead reckoning, course planning, etc. It's a little daunting, but it's not bad. Actually it's only daunting in that screwing up course planning is a lot more likely, and just as fatal, as screwing up the actual flying. So I'm not a pilot, yet, but I really do feel like a flyer, and it feels great!
Kevin and I went up and did a few landings to start with, and my first few attempts were pretty poor. Just getting a feel for things, I guess; then I had a few good ones. I was basically kind of inconsistent, some good, some bad.
Then Kevin left the aircraft. He said, "You're ready." And I couldn't really argue, except that a little more consistency on landings would've been nice. But I knew I could do it! So off I went!
First time: I took off, and I was expecting the plane to behave significantly differently without the extra weight. It did not..not really, anyway, maybe a little, but I was expecting a much bigger difference. Anyway, so I turned crosswind, downwind, got my clearance for the option, base, and approach. Actually I don't remember the approach; I just remember flaring early, and hitting the power and going around. OK, no big deal, we'll get it next time.
Second time: Pretty much the same thing, but this time I touched down beautifully, if I do say so myself! It felt great!! I taxied back, gave Kevin a big smile and held my finger "1" up in the air, and he gave me 2 thumbs up!
Third, fourth, fifth times: Go arounds. I don't remember what happened each time; I know the fifth time there probably was nothing wrong. This is where I felt the difference of Kevin not being in the plane; I was just floating there! What's going on? I'm getting out of here. But Kevin told me later, he didn't see anything wrong with it!
Then I landed really nicely once, and then my final landing was a little screwy -- I got blown around by the wind a little, right at touchdown, I think, so it was definitely not graceful. But, I didn't hurt myself or the plane and didn't make too big a fool of myself, so...I did it! 0.7 hours, Pilot In Command. That's me!
One of the things I was really worried about is that I have a tendency to dwell on mistakes. This is not a good quality, for anything, but especially for flying. So I was really worried that I'd get in a situation where I just couldn't land, I'd freak out and lose confidence, and then REALLY not be able to land. Well, today I had to go around three times. No confidence lost, no sense of urgency, just...let's try it again. Do you know what happened? Yes/no, doesn't really even matter. Let's try it again! Hey, this way I get to fly longer, right?
For the first time since I first started lessons, I really feel like a pilot. I am not a pilot; in fact I am about to begin learning about pilotage, navigation, dead reckoning, course planning, etc. It's a little daunting, but it's not bad. Actually it's only daunting in that screwing up course planning is a lot more likely, and just as fatal, as screwing up the actual flying. So I'm not a pilot, yet, but I really do feel like a flyer, and it feels great!
posted by MKT at 4:36 PM
2 Comments:
I'm training to be a pilot as well and I'm just getting ready to do my first solo. I wanted to hear how other student's first solos went and I found your post. I'm a little nervous but it actually has nothing to do with my landings. I fly at a controlled airport and I'm mostly nervous about talking on the radio. I'm a little worried that atc will tell me to do something out of the ordinary and I won't understand. I guess my instructor won't let me go if there's too much traffic but I'm still nervous!!! I remember learning to drive-I actually learned the most when I started driving on my own. I guess it will be the same with flying. You learn better when you're forced to make the decisions on your own.
You're going to do great! Controllers are a lot more forgiving than they seem, and if you don't understand something, just 'fess up! "I'm sorry, student on first solo, I don't understand." At WORST they'll get a little snippy with you, but more than likely they'll be really helpful. Which airport are you training at? Good luck with the first solo, please let me know how it goes!
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