I Love to Fly

I made a promise to my father in my late teens. I didn't want to make this promise but because I knew his brother had died in his own small plane in 1942, I promised my father I wouldn't get a pilot's license as long as my father was alive. I grew up when people actually made promises and kept them, not like today. This did not mean to me, however, that I would not fly. So whenever I could I would take a flying lesson and when my father passed on in 1985 I soloed in a Cessna 152 several times in 1987. I have taken a few lessons since then as well and had intended to complete my pilot's license and possibly either join a flying club or own my own plane by now.

However, in the interim about 5 years ago my Brother in law and his wife and dog died in their Piper Cherokee augering in to Idaho way out in the boonies. A nearby fire lookout saw the plane go down a few miles away from his station. This changed everything because the same thing that had happened to my father's family happened to my wife's and I had to take a hard look at myself and my responsibilities once again. I sort of made the same commitment to my wife that I had to my father,"I won't get a pilot's license or buy a plane." Though this still doesn't prevent me from taking flying lessons(for example I really would like to take off and land a sea plane the kind often seen in Canada and Alaska). However, when you are with an instructor there is also an added layer of security to the whole thing.

I remember my first solo flight in 1987. I had done the take-off and landing pattern and landing thing(touch and go's) many many times in preparation for my first solo. But when I took off alone and found myself in the air for the first time alone I found myself fighting back panic. I had not expected this reaction. So I was very surprised to experience this. So, I fought back the panic and tried to enjoy the experience. However, there were just too many planes in the air at the time and I wasn't alone up there by myself and therefore able to better enjoy the experience. Also, there was no control tower where I was taking off and landing so it was first come first served so to speak both in the taking off and landing. So I took off and flew around trying to land alone for the first time. However, just before I turned for my final approach some crazy lady in a small place cut in front of me and nearly hit me in the process. So, I was sort of white knuckled at this point and it was all I could do to land the plane in one piece. I forced myself to take off and land two more times. But for me, the joy of the experience was completely gone at that point and I couldn't really rationalize any reason to continue at that point. Maybe it was all the conditioning from my father about how his brother died and messed up everyone in his family for yearas. Maybe that was it. However, now I prefer to be up flying with an instructor when I go. I don't really want to be alone in the air. I'm fine in a car or truck or even on a motorcycle but I've lost my desire to be alone up there in the air. I suppose in an emergency I could land almost anything I was riding in because of everything I know now from direct experience.

The single most important thing to know about flying is that taking off almost any 5 year old could do if he or she was strong enough to pull the yoke back and follow instructions. However, landing is really difficult if you want to walk away from it.

So when you hear about some kid who takes off a plane who hasn't flown one before it makes any pilot scared for that child. Because every pilot know just how hard it is to land a plane and to walk away from it given every variable possible of winds, altitude, heat, clouds, fog, rain etc. that one could potentially face in trying to land.