My first time was through an orientation flight as a Civil Air Patrol cadet in the early 1980s. It was amazing, and I knew immediately that I wanted to learn about aircraft and flying. I eventually took flying lessons later in high school thanks to a modest CAP scholarship, and soloed after 13 hours of flying time, one of the top five moments of my life to be sure. Sadly, my lessons stopped soon after that when I found that my $3.60/hour job bagging groceries would be insufficient for the expense of the more time-consuming training and flying that was to follow. I never became an Air Force pilot either, for reasons too complicated to explain right now, but I always take advantage of every opportunity I can to fly, even if it's in the aisle seat of an Airbus A320.
You probably remember your first flight as well, which is why I enjoyed this video so much. The kid's smile is priceless as the plane leaves the ground at the 2:11 point. You can see the magic of the moment, and you know he’ll never forget his first flight either.
By the way, in case you aren't aware of his videos, Mr. Aviation 101 is Josh Flowers, a 20 year-old commercial pilot, flight instructor, and YouTube sensation. He’s an excellent pilot with a rare ability to clearly explain what he’s doing in the cockpit. He's uploaded dozens of videos, each providing an in-depth look into flying that we non-pilots don’t often see. I think you’ll enjoy them. Yet another fun way to waste time away from the workbench!
Thanks for the video. He was very good to his first-time passenger and they had nice conditions for a sedate flight.
ReplyDeleteYes, I recall my first flight in a light aircraft. It was a tryout in 1984 for a flight scholarship being offered by a local aeroclub. The winner would receive free tuition up to resricted PPL (Private Pilot Licence) level. As you might expect there were hundreds of takers. Although my test flight seemed to go OK I didn't win the scholarship. However, it cemented my long-held desire to learn to fly and I commenced flight training in 1985 and went on to get my unrestricted private licence. The lessons were indeed expensive which meant stringing them out over a longer period than was desirable, but that's how things go :-) It's a great freedom to be able to fly about the countryside and I also competed in the Light Aircraft Championships in Spot Landing/Forced Landing and Streamer Cutting events over the years. Good fun, and tightened up the skills. I got to fly a number of different aircraft, all having their own characteristics (and vices!). Unfortunately I havn't flown for quite some time now. There's quite a bit of good stuff on YouTube such as that from the pilot you show.