OK…today I fulfilled a boyhood dream.
I always wanted to fly. In fact, I remember literally taking flight as a kid in my dreams quite often as I jumped off the concrete porch at my grandfather’s house so high that I stayed up and viewed the world from the skies. I also remember my attempts to build a remote control airplane as a kid with a toy plane, an antenna, and a battery. It never really worked but I sure believed it would.
It took me 45 years to really get in the air. My most recent flying experience was at Disney Epcot Center on the Soar! ride. Cool, but it didn’t compare to the real thing. Sure, I’ve taken many jet flights and even a helicopter flight in Hawaii but today I took my first flight lesson where I actually sat behind the controls and made it happen. This was a birthday present from my lovely wife…who was confident that I’m well insured.
It was fun, exciting, and a little nerve racking. It was kind of an overwhelming sensory experience. I did remember to breath. There’s the physical sensation of moving, lots of new sights to see from a different perspective (2000 feet up), and the sound of the radio and plane engine. So many things to remember…the dials, knobs, and controls.. all important to do their function.
I think I’ll do some more ground training for a while and with flight simulators before I go up again…but I’m sure there will be another time. This is really living!
Check out Photos and video of landing the Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP I flew. (By the way…in the video it appears that the propeller stops and starts and even goes backwards. It’s not really doing that. It’s just how video works when it’s trying to capture something moving really fast.)
If you’re interested in doing this yourself, go to Pilot Journey at http://www.pilotjourney.com
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