June 21- The Solo

"Aviation is proof that given, the will, we have the capacity to achieve the impossible."

"Courage is doing what you're afraid to do.  There can be no courage unless you're scared."

Edward Vernon Rickenbacker

The way the day went I'd have never guessed that I'd solo on June 21.  I'd flown that afternoon with Shane's other CFI and we ended up fighting some wind.  I finished the lesson and was a bit frustrated with myself. I worked at the airport the rest of the afternoon and tried to learn how to update the website.  And I thought flying was tough.  Shane finished with a student about seven, and we decided since it was a nice night that we'd do a little flying.  I really had no expectations but hoped I'd make some more progress with my landings.  

Shane and I teamed up on the preflight and soon we were ready to go.  After the checklist and run up were complete we were ready to go.  I prepared to take-off from three four.  I've had a love/hate relationship with that end of the runway.   My best landings have been on three four on the flip side some of my worst ones have been too.  I took off and worked my way around the pattern.  The air was smooth and the evening light beautiful!  My first couple landings were ok, but I was a little too early on my flares.  My third landing was less than stellar and I ended up pretty close to tears.  Shane was able to get me to snap out of it.  I won't repeat what he said because that isn't important.  The tough love approach worked, I think he shocked me out of my funk.  I relaxed, did what I needed to do, and had two textbook landings.  After the second landing Shane asked me if I was ready to go by myself.  My confidence was building, but I wanted to go around one more time before I went on my own.  I went around one more time with Shane, had a good landing, and was ready to go it alone.

We taxied towards the ramp, Shane briefed me, and then I was all by myself.  I patiently waited for some traffic to clear the runway (which was actually Shane's uncle).  Once he was clear, I made my radio call, and started my back taxi to three four.  I was amazingly relaxed as I did the taxi.   I got  lined up on the runway and said a little prayer.  All to soon it was go time, because daylight was fading fast.  I gave it full power and soon I was in the air all by myself.  It was quite a rush!  I knew exactly what I needed to do and I did it.  I stayed relaxed and didn't overanalyze.  I never once looked over to the other seat to confirm I was alone.  I was afraid if I did I would freak out!  I remember every detail about flying until I got to the end of the downwind. I do remember saying another little prayer before I pulled the carb heat on. I asked God to get me safely on the ground to my little guy.  It was weird because I wasn't really nervous; I just wanted to have a good safe landing.  The next thing I remember was being on the runway after completing a safe and smooth landing.  Once I realized I was on the ground I started to tear up.  They were tears of relief, happiness, and pride.  I'd overcome a lot of obstacles to get to this point, and I was proud that I accomplished this goal.  The goal of solo flight has probably been the most challenging goal I've set for myself.  Flying has stretched me mentally, physically, and emotionally. I am glad that I did it, and that Shane and I will someday be able to share this adventure with Sullivan.  It is now part of our story and I think we're both beyond excited that it is.

Here are some FAQs about my solo flight

Were you scared?  No, I knew exactly what I needed to do to make it a safe flight and landing.  I had well over twenty hours of flying with experienced instructors before I went on my own.  I'd venture to say that 10-15 of those hours were just flying around the pattern at Pella to polish take-offs and landings.  I was a little nervous about having a good landing though especially since I'm not real fond of go arounds.

What was it like to fly by yourself/did you look in the seat next to you?  Flying by myself was not much different than flying with an instructor. I've been flying the airplane on my own lately, but receiving feedback from the instructors.  It was liberating to know that the instructors had confidence in my ability to fly on my own though. I was also so focused on getting the job done that I didn't really get to fully enjoy the moment.


I only looked over at the other seat one time and that was when I latched the door shut after Shane got out.  I didn't look over to the other seat on purpose, because I was afraid I'd jinx myself.

Did you notice that the airplane was lighter without the instructor?  I was too focused on flying the airplane that I didn't notice.

Will you finish and get your private pilot's license?  I'm taking one flight at a time.  I'd like to finish it, but I'm just going to play it by ear.  There is a big time commitment involved and our family is very busy.  I'm also learning I don't like being in the airplane on a super hot day, being drenched in sweat in a hot airplane does nothing for me.

Will Shane continue as your instructor?  Yes and no.  Shane is super busy right now.  It's hard to for us to find time to fly that doesn't cut into our family time.  We plan on doing some cross country and night flying together this summer.  I will fly on a more consistent basis with one of his other instructors. I'm pretty comfortable flying with both of them so it shouldn't be to big of a deal.

Favorite part of flying?  Greasing a landing hands down and the exhilaration of being in the air on a calm night is a close second.

Least favorite part of flying?  The preflight.  I always ended up with grease, oil, and fuel on myself.  I hate being dirty and smelly.  

SOLO- I DID IT! June 21, 2012

I finally did it!  I can now cross fly an airplane on my own off the bucket list.  The longest 7 minutes of Shane's life.  You can check out more details at https://www.facebook.com/flyclassicaviation
I'll post more soon!

Perspective - Week of June 11

“Child, you have to learn to see things in the right proportions. Learn to see great things great and small things small.” 

Corrie Ten Boom

As I type this my boys are on their way to Sully with our Cessna 120.  The plan is to drop in and visit Shane's dad.  A perfect Father's day for guys who have created a rich aviation family history. The 120 is very special to Shane and I, and now to Shane and Sullivan.  The two seats limit family trips, but I'm glad that my boys can create wonderful memories together.  Shane was gone to Kansas for jet recurrent training from Sunday to Wednesday of this week.  He felt that in his absence I should get some flying in since I'd just switched airplanes.  We had hoped to squeeze in some flying last weekend, but it didn't happen.  We both had terribly crazy weekends which seems to be the normal for us lately.   Tuesday and Wednesday I did some flying with one of his instructors.  I'd been in a bit of a funk with my landings and was just starting to overcome the huge mental block I'd created for myself.

We flew in the evening on Tuesday which worked out well since I'd been working at the airport late that afternoon.  It started off a bit rough.  I worked through the check list at a snail's pace which was frustrating. I'd gotten pretty efficient at it in 3NK and had to retrain myself for 27G.  The first couple of landings were far from outstanding, but we worked through them.  It was after those landings that the CFI gave me some good visuals I needed to watch for.  It was like a light bulb went on, and my landings got a little better each time.  I'm such a visual learner so this was huge for me.  When I need to learn something on photoshop I hit the YouTube videos first.  I was actually so excited about it that I brought my camera the next day. I wanted to capture what a correct landing would look like.  Sadly, the next day was a bit bumpy so it was hard to get good pictures.  When I replay a landing in my head   I can't remember what I saw out the window.  It all happens so fast and my brain is too focused on getting the plane safely on the ground.  I'm looking forward to a calm day in the near future so we can experiment with the my camera and the InFlight video camera that Shane has.  I think a whole new dimension could be added to flight instruction at Classic.

Wednesday was a crazy day for me, but I managed to get out to the airport for another lesson.  I was a little concerned when I got to the airport and found out we'd be fighting a crosswind.  The last crosswind lesson with Shane left me feeling nauseous and defeated. I knew it was part of learning to fly, but I was still holding out hope that the FAA would issue a fair weather pilot's license (no crosswind training required).  We flew at one which was actually the earliest in the day I've ever flown.  The bad part was it was HOT!  I think I sweated through my shirt repeatedly in that hour.  The awesome part was that I wasn't totally exhausted like I normally am in the evening.  I found my reaction time was better, and I didn't seem to be as emotionally reactive when I made mistakes.  I was able to get through the checklist in a more timely manner which makes me think I'm starting to adjust to 27G (but don't tell my instructors). I think we did six landings and by the end I was shot.  Landing in a crosswind is physically exhausting, because you're manhandling the airplane to correct for the wind that's trying to push you off the runway.

I was tired but triumphant after the lesson!  I felt like I made some real progress with crosswind landings, and am finally starting to regain some of my confidence back.  I missed flying with Shane, but the change in perspective helped me make some serious gains.  Plus, I found someone else at Classic that likes iced coffees.  Shane doesn't really understand my excitement about a mocha frozito from The Brew since he doesn't like anything coffee related.  If you haven't had one you're missing out!  All in all it was a great day with a perfect ending, Shane came home.  He breezed right through his recurrent training like I knew he would.  Needless to say we were both ready for bed that night.  Hopefully, I'll continue to move forward with flying and be able to solo soon.

My own worst enemy

"I'm a perfectionist, so I can drive myself mad - and other people, too. At the same time, I think that's one of the reasons I'm successful. Because I really care about what I do."

Michelle Pfeiffer

My quest for perfection plus added pressure has put me into a bit of a flying funk.  Shane and I've had a string of lessons that were lesson than wonderful.  After some bumpy rides, crappy crosswinds, and less than perfect landings I ended up being my own worst enemy. I'm not going to give them more time by blogging on each of them, and so this is going to be the catch all post.  

I was in a very bad place on Monday night.  I didn't even make it to the gas pumps before I hit full on sobbing.  If I didn't have so much invested in this venture I probably would've quit that night.  The other reason I didn't quit is that I'm an example for Sullivan.  I don't want to teach him that quitting is the answer when things get difficult.  It totally affected my mood in the days that followed, because   failures take me to a dark place since I'm a perfectionist.  I was still a pretty big mess even after Shane and I talked things through.  He felt that I should fly with someone else, and hoped it would get me out of my funk.  I agreed.  It is that much harder on both of us when things don't go well.  I have a hard time putting my emotions away when I fly with Shane.  It's a double edged sword. We're on top of the world when things go well, but when they don't it takes a toll on both of us.  I'm very thankful that we've been able to go as long as we've had without any issues.   I truly love flying with him.  I couldn't find an instructor that could better tailor the training to fit my learning style.  On the other hand it is easier to accept criticism from someone other than your best friend.

So it was decided that I would fly with the instructor that I had flown with previously.  The issue of  flying in the other airplane was brought up when we talked through the lessons that had gone poorly.  He felt that I'd have a better view from that plane and that my landings would improve again.  I told him for the millionth time that I didn't want to switch planes.  I felt like he understood my reasons, and knew that I had overcome so much to be able to fly 3NK.   I went out to the airport on Tuesday afternoon, because I've recently started working a few hours a week there for him.  There was also a chance I was going to fly with his other instructor that afternoon.  Shane felt the sooner I got back in the plane the better it would be for me psychologically.  Shortly after I got there he called me into his office and told me that he and the other instructor had talked.  They both felt strongly that I should try flying the other airplane.  I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I thought he understood my side of things.  He told me it was ultimately my decision.  That discussion made me want to pause the flying and give myself a couple days to regroup.  It didn't end up that way though.  After some nagging, pushing, encouraging, and manipulating I ended up in the airplane I didn't want to be in.

Both 3NK and 27G are Cessna 172s but they are a bit different.  The major differences are the instrument panel setup, rudder performance, and the view of the nose.  I being left handed much prefer the way 3NK is setup, because many of 27G's instruments/switches are on the far right side of the panel.  The rudders are require much less pressure and felt very loose to me.  I will agree that my view of the nose was a bit better, but that didn't win me over.  I felt like a fish out of water in the airplane.  The checklist work was less than smooth since I had to look around for the instruments I needed.  My footwork ended up being less than desirable since I had to get used to using different amounts of rudder pressure.  A good portion of the lesson I spent just working out the bugs of flying a different airplane with an instructor I wasn't as used to.  My landings did get progressively better, and by the last landing I felt a small glimmer of confidence coming back.  The other instructor agreed that I over thought things, and my quest for perfectionism was getting in the way of  flying the airplane.  Oddly enough, the landing that we chatted through was my best one because I didn't over think it.  

I'm not exactly sure where to go from here since my goal has been to master flying 3NK on my own.  It wasn't my original goal but one I set for myself when I started to struggle with the physical flying of it. Do I fly in 27G until I get my confidence back and my landings have improved greatly?  Do I try to go right back to 3NK even though Shane and the other instructor feel that 27G is a better fit for me?  I'm pretty stubborn, and I'd like to show them that 3NK can be a good fit for me too?  I know, real mature, but they can't begin to understand what learning to fly is like for me.   The mature me asks am I allowed to change my goal considering the circumstances?  Lots of things to ponder and I'll try not to over analyze them.