Flying a plane is not at all like driving a car

The first thing that is strange is how you steer it on the ground. You don't use the (yoke) steering wheel at all. It is completely useless to you until you take off. So, you use the motor to move along the ground at the airport but you both brake and steer with your feet on the pedals. Steering with pedals really takes some getting used to because there really isn't anything else in life that is mechanical that is anything like this.

Also, unlike a car a plane has no transmission where any power at all is tranferred directly to the wheels. The ONLY way you move forward on the ground is by blowing air with your propeller washing over the plane. This is completely different than driving a car to begin with.

So, imagine this, you stop by pushing both pedals and you slow down the same way. But, you can't use the brakes really without pushing both pedals. But, if you are going too fast taxing on the ground and suddenly push one pedal to the floor you are going to turn the plane over on the ground. So, you have to be really really careful how fast you are going on the ground while taxiing to your takeoff position.

When you finally reach take off position you hold both feet on the pedals while you ramp up the power to the throttle for take off. Then you release your pedals and begin taking off when either given permission by the tower (if you have one) or just by observing flying traffic and taking off (after announcing it over the radio) on the frequency used by that airport so you and another plane don't collide taking off or landing.

Next, you cannot just go out to the main runway to taxi or another plane taking off or landing might crash into you. And if you have a control tower you aren't supposed to even move the plane without asking permission from the tower.

I found it much cheaper to learn to fly at an airport without a control tower. Because you are going to be burning up a lot of money on the ground waiting to take off otherwise. Because your instructor gets paid by the hour as soon as he gets in the plane with you. And that's not cheap.

So, you have gone through your checklist (a plastic sheet that give you a checklist so you don't crash by not realizing something is wrong with the plane before you take off.

Note: If you don't use your check list you might die. This is reality.

What is the most common cause of death?

Not checking for water in the fuel tanks. Moisture in the fuel tanks combined with a take off can kill you. It can also kill you in the air if you cannot start the motor before you crash. When a plane is sitting there for weeks or months not being flown it should have the gas tanks full. Otherwise there is a danger of moisture in the gas tank or tanks and you dying as a result. So, make sure the gas tanks are full all the time (for a variety of reasons) John Denver died from one empty gas tank and not easily able to switch tanks in time before he crashed into the ocean just after takeoff from Monterey Airport in California. The switch on his plane he had to turn around to switch and he crashed before the 2nd tank kicked in and died at high speed because his was an experimental high speed aircraft.
This is something like he was flying:

• And they tend to fly faster than most 2 to 4 passenger Cessnas

Another odd thing about flying is you don't use your right hand on the yoke except in a complete emergency for pulling out of a dive or sometimes out of a stall in an emergency.

So, only in an emergency do you ever use your right hand on the yoke.

The main reason for this is your left hand (Flies) the plane while you operate all the other controls (except the pedals for the rudder) with your right hand. Your throttle is a hand throttle for example,(operated by your right hand) your flaps for landing are operated a little like your hand brake in some cars between the two bucket seats in the aircraft (also operated by your right hand).

So, Unless you are flying a two passenger forward and back seat Piper Cub or similar plane or an antique and have a stick instead of a yoke(steering wheel) what I described is what I flew in Piper Tri Pacers, a 49 Stinson,  a Grumman low wing, a Cessna 152 or a Cessna 172 that I have flown as a pilot with an instructor. I also have soloed in a Cessna 152.

Also, a high wing plane is better for seeing the ground and is easier to see what you are landing on than a high wing plane. I found it a little nerve wracking to land a low wing plane myself because you see so little of the ground coming up and you are less sure how far off the ground you are for landing.

So, as you can see I prefer a high wing plane because I feel safer in one. However, if you like to fly fast you usually are going to be flying a low wing plane because they can fly faster than a high wing plane because the wing is built stronger to take turbulence better than a high wing plane usually. And the faster you go the more likely you could get into a situation where your wings might be ripped off by turbulence before you can slow down.

How do you slow down a plane?

Ease off the hand throttle and lift the nose a little. (In other words pull back a little on the stick or yoke).

However, in an emergency likely level flight and easing off the throttle would be best because pulling back might stress the wings even more.

The type of emergency I'm thinking of is hitting too much turbulence at too high a speed.

The danger?

Ripping your wings off or otherwise losing permanent control of the plane which causes you to crash.

So, the first sign of turbulence the first thing you do is to slow down so you don't damage the plane or any control surfaces.

One time when I was a boy and my father's friend   wasn't noticing he was flying south from Santa Barbara and into the takeoff path for LAX (the main airport in Los Angeles. I pointed out to him that we were heading towards a large jet taking off.

He said, "Oh my God!" and threw the plane into a dive. I was a kid about 10 years old but I was sitting next to him that day in the front because I wanted to be a pilot like my uncle who likely died in a plane crash in WWII. (my Dad's Brother).

So, as we dove I noticed the wings were shaking as we pulled out after dropping quickly about 2000 or 3000 feet to get out of the take off pattern for LAX. I was a little worried the wings were going to come off the plane but they didn't. Luckily.

Another time we flew out to Yucca Valley where he had a Weekend Cabin up on Yucca Mesa and on our way back( I was 10 or 12 then) he let me fly from Morongo Valley on up Interstate 10 through the Cajon pass I believe.

However, the cross winds were blowing left to right so I was going to hit San Gorgonio mountain which is at 11,000 feet or more in altitude. We were flying I think about 7000 feet then between San Jacinto and San Gorgonio Mountain. Ed pointed out to me that we would hit San Gorgonio unless I used the pedals to pedal into the wind to the left. So, as the wind was buffeting us up, down and sideways I did as he asked. But, I found this was more sort of like Sailing a boat than anything else. I had sailed Super Sabots at Newport Harbor as a friend of my Dad's that we sailed with own a 40 plus foot Bounty II hulled boat which was one of the early fiberglass sailing boats. When I was 12 we sailed to Ensenada with his friend and two other TWA pilots in the Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico Race.

So, as I pedaled left we then were flying sideways sort of like a crab. In fact this aircraft maneuver is called "Crabbing" into the wind to avoid hitting things or keeping the trajectory you want. Otherwise in a cross wind you would never get to your destination. So, planes of all sizes have to do this to stay on course if they are in a significant enough cross wind. Either that or you have to correct your course some way or at some point somehow so you get to wherever you are going.

So, in this way flying is much more like sailing on the ocean than it ever would be like driving a car. Only in sailing does it remind me of anything like the same thing. So, space between planes is really important just like space between boats because there are no actual brakes in the sky. Everything is fluid like the ocean when in the air.

And the more weight you are carrying whether it is people or cargo or both make sure you do not exceed the weight limit of the plane or you are more likely to crash on takeoff or landing and more likely to damage the plane if you are in turbulence at too high a speed. The weight of a plane and your skill as a pilot combined with the airworthiness of the plane decides whether you live or die every time you fly.

And not being aware of weather conditions not only where you are taking off from but in between airports including the one where you are going to land is a problem.

However, if you are just joy riding and taking off from one airport and staying somewhat nearby and landing the same place and the wind seems okay and the sky is clear and you checked the weather report then enjoy your day flying!