I was scheduled with Jerry, my CFI, for Sunday the 29th, but he called on Friday morning and wanted to know if I had time during the late evening hours on that Friday. Of course I was; so we scheduled to meet at KEXX at 6:30 p.m. I arrived at 6:15 p.m. with my youngest daughter in tow. I started the pre-flight, with the sound of a Citation V spooling up across the ramp. Jerry arrived, we climbed in N4369R and began the lesson.
Runway 6 was the choice this evening so I taxied to the run-up area and did all my run-up checks. We were ready to go. I made my call on the CTAF, and took off. We went around once in the pattern, did a touch and go, and began our second circuit. Jerry began asking me questions like, "when you solo, do you want your family present?" and "do they live far from here?" He also asked me some questions on where I would land if the engine quit on take-off. He asked me to stop on the runway for my second landing. Then we took off again for the third circuit. As we got abeam the approach in of runway 6, he pulled the power and had me do an emergency landing. I landed, and he told me to taxi to parking and call my family. This evening was going to be the solo!
I called my family. Jerry had me take his written pre-solo test, and then he signed my log book and student pilot certificate. Following this, I walked briskly to 69R by myself.
I thought I would be very nervous but I wasn't. I climbed in, got myself situated, and started the engine. I began to taxi back out to runway 6. The airport had been quiet all day, until this moment. There were two planes in front of me and one behind me. I did the run-up, waited for the plane in front of me to depart, and then taxied into postition. "Power set, Gauges Green, Airspeed Alive, Rotate 55, No Runway, 400 ft AGL turn to crosswind." I was surprised by how quickly the plane climbed with just me in it. When I turned crosswind at 400 agl, I still hadn't reached the end of the runway. Never happened this way before.
As I turned downwind, there was a Piper getting read to take off. By the time I was abeam of the numbers, he still hadn't lined up. My first circuit solo was not going to be standard. So, I extended my downwind. Eventually, the Piper began to roll, so I turned base. I was much farther from the field than normal, so I just kept the power on and the flaps up. Once I turned final and got a glimpse of the VASI, I began to configure for landing.
My first solo landing was my best ever. I got the plane stopped by the first turn-off, reconfigued for take off, added power and began my second circuit. My second landing was a little harder than the first, but it was acceptable. My third circuit was completely normal, and my third landing was just as good as my first. I taxied back to parking, pulled the mixture, and let out a big sigh. I did it. In some ways it was no big deal. I had made more than 80 landings before, and so I followed my training. It is different, however, knowing it is just you in the plane. It was a very affirming experience!
It is less than a day post-solo, and it is still almost like a dream. This is a major step toward fulfilling the goal of being a pilot.
Many thanks go to Jerry who is an excellent and encouraging instructor. I knew that if Jerry was confident in my ability, I could be as well. Perhaps that was why I wasn't nervous. I totally trust Jerry and know that he would not have let me go if he didn't think I was ready.
It was a blessing to have my wife and children present as well. They have been supportive of me over the years as I had my face buried in aviation text books. They know what this means, and I loved to see their excitement for me.
I may have to change my blog from willfly1day to willfly2day!
