MY first solo this time
Clive Pickles
Well, after reading for a long time about everybody's first solo, IT'S
NOW MY TURN TO WRITE!!
I hadn't been flying for seven weeks, due to some problems getting my
medical processed. I got it last Thursday night, so Friday and Sunday
were spent reviewing procedures.
We went out today (Thursday -- the weather has been awful the last few
days) for a short dual run (15 knot winds, gusting to 20 knots), and
did a couple of standard circuits. Then we did one emergency landing
exercise (engine idle), and I made the runway OK. We taxied back to
Ottawa Aviation Services apron, where my instructor handed me my
student pilot permit, then got out and told me to have fun.
I did one touch and go and one full stop. The instructor didn't call
the tower to let them know that a newbie was going out, so I told them
myself that it was my first solo and to be REAL NICE TO ME. They
were, and the controller congratulated me when I full stopped (the
controller I got was the one I can always understand the best, which
was good).
It was a lot of fun, actually. I could keep my altitude resonably
easily, the circuits were nice and tight (mostly because I could get
up to altitude quicker since there wasn't the 145 lb dead load next to
me!). The radio work was good too (if I say so myself) because there
wasn't somebody yakiiteeyakiing beside me being a distraction. Also I
CRANKED up the radio nice and loud (my instructor thinks I'm quite
deaf, actually...this isn't really the case tough.)
It was quite gusty and windy though. About 100 feet in the air a
doozy hit me, which threw me off a bit. I landed very flat both times
because of the gusts. The senior flight instructor was watching my
landings (apparently -- I didn't know this until after), and he said
they weren't too bad for a gusty windy day, but if it was a calm day,
they would have been reasonably crappy. They certainly weren't my
best landings, but who cares? I didn't break anything. Take offs
were done in a surprisingly short distance. I was warned about this,
but it was a surprise all the same.
The time I felt most nervous was when I was doing to run up, because I
was worried that I would forget something. Since I'm still alive, I
guess I didn't. Once I was on the takeoff roll, my nervousness
subsided. I was reasonably calm for the entire two circuits, and only
started to get excited again once I shut down the engine. I'm still
kind of excited, I guess.
-------------------------------------------------------
Clive Pickles
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
cpic...@iosphere.net
----------------------------
Owner: '91 Kawasaki Zephyr
Renter: '95 Diamond Katana
nsh...@metronet.com
>The time I felt most nervous was when I was doing to run up, because I
>was worried that I would forget something. Since I'm still alive, I
>guess I didn't. Once I was on the takeoff roll, my nervousness
>subsided. I was reasonably calm for the entire two circuits, and only
>started to get excited again once I shut down the engine. I'm still
>kind of excited, I guess.
And, you have every right to be. CONGRATULATIONS!
Andy Shane
Web page http://www.metronet.com/~nshane/
DaveB
Clive Pickles wrote:
>
> Well, after reading for a long time about everybody's first solo, IT'S
> NOW MY TURN TO WRITE!!
[snip]
> I'm still
> kind of excited, I guess.
>
Congratulations! And don't ever lose that excitement; I know I haven't.
Dave B near Houston (SGR)