First Flight

N8739E, the first airplane that I flew

Today I bade farewell to my student who finished up his course. He's on his way back home, where he will start the next chapter in his journey to becoming a professional pilot in the right seat of one of those large, sleek airliners. I'm excited for him, and I find myself imagining what it would be like to be in his shoes pushing forward on a set of jet engine thrust levers for the first time. Maybe I'll have the opportunity to do something like that one day too. In the meantime, I have the privilege helping future pilots like him earn their wings in single-engine training aircraft.

As he leaves, another student is just starting the challenging, but exciting Stage 1 of his training. This is where everything goes from being just theoretical head knowledge to being the real, visceral experience of taking off, flying maneuvers, talking on the radio to ATC, and bringing the airplane in for a landing. When he finishes the stage, he'll be ready to solo - a moment that every pilot remembers for the rest of his or her life.

Flying a plane for the first time is also a moment many people always remember. Since I've been doing this for so long, I often forget how tremendous of an experience that first flight is and I have to remind myself of those memories - the thrill and excitement of controlling a flying machine, the challenge of trying to direct the plane's wandering nose in the direction I wanted it to go, the fascination of seeing the familiar points on the ground shrink and melt into an ever-widening landscape. Despite getting somewhat overwhelmed at the end when the instructor talked me all the way onto final approach, when the propeller came to a stop back at the parking ramp, I couldn't wipe the huge grin off my face. I was completely and absolutely hooked. I knew this was what I was meant to do and I have never looked back.

 Tomorrow I get to give this experience to my new student. I think he's going to like it - and I look forward to seeing the twinkle in his eyes and imagining the grin beneath his mask.