First solos suck

[Dot_AK]

I'd been having some trouble with adding enough flare, when my CFI solo'ed me - beautiful sunny day with the usual patchy thin ice and packed snow on the runways.

I had it under control, I kept telling myself, right until the turn when the sun came directly into my eyes and blinded me. And then I came down on final - and as I started the flare, it suddenly became very clear that my instructor had never let me do the flare on my own. It feels a heck of a lot different when I'm the only one pulling on the yoke!

It's a good thing I didn't have the mic switch hit, as I was chanting "oh s*t" under my breath, coming down at the runway.

 

[Typhoon1244]

My first solo was practically a non-event. My CFI was pretty nervous because I was his first solo student. (The fact that he's my father just made it worse!) Anyway, he only had me do one landing instead of the traditional three.

My lasting memory is of being on right downwind, looking over at the runway...and noticing how f__king huge the right seat of that Cessna 150 looked! It seemed so cramped with the two of us sitting in there. Now I felt like the right door was a hundred feet away...like being alone in a cathedral.

Takeoffs are easy, and I yelped with joy when I lifted off. Landings are where it all comes together, though.

By the way, I learned how to fly off a grass strip, so every landing is a greaser!

 

[eriknorth]

Mine wasn't too long ago. My first landing was pretty hard. It was a little unnerving, so I taxied off and swung by the run-up area again and did a run-up not only to check things out, but to make things feel normal in the takeoff. Then the second landing I was told to back-taxi. I had never done that before. To be sure, I verified that I was supposed to 180 on the runway, and since my instructor was watching without a handheld, he was pretty much freaking out wondering why I was turning around on the runway. It was right after a UGA/Clemson game, so Athens tower had a stuffed tiger hanging from it. I finished off with a "...taxi to parking. GO DAWGS!"

 

[toneal]

I was shooting for three in the pattern but on downwind pattern #1 I saw some nasty looking clouds to the west. CFI was on a handheld and told me that if it looked nasty to put it down and call it a day. Then came final, I was still at pattern altitude. I cut the throttle and forward slipped a little then landed. 5 minutes later a thunderstorm moved into the area. I'll never forget that cloud that seemed to reach all the way down to the ground. Never.

 

[JRSLim]

Ones a charm

Well, no matter wghat Ground point six says, my first solo was terrific - beautiful day and I was actually quite calm and yes, all three of my landings were greased on.

Now on my second one, the wind came up, I didnt ask for a different (lower crosswind) runway, did a decent x-wind landing but lost it on the rolloout and bent a wing, left the prepared surface and bent a prop and ..uhh.. engine.

Look at it this way though, it can only get better!

Shaun

 

[tdwnds1]

First Solo Story

I got a great first solo story!

My first solo was out of the Flagler airport in 1988. I can remember that day because I was SCARED TO DEATH. My instructor, cant remember his name had me fly there and I dropped him off at the little cafe that was on the field. Then it was off to do 3 takeoffs and landings.

Well, even though the weather was kind of marginal the first and second landings went really well. Not much wind to worry about. Feeling relaxed, I was making my final approach for my third and final landing when....


WHAM! I see this huge black crow (I think they call it a rook) attempt to make a hard break right to avoid my airplane (C-172) and turns RIGHT INTO THE PROPELLER!!! What a mess...bird guts and blood everywhere! Fortuneately he didnt hit the windscreen. I

I make a safe landing and my instructor RUNS OUT and says, I never foget it, "I have been flying for 20 years and never killed anything, you do it on your first solo!" After inspecting the aircraft we actually both flew it back to ERAU with blood and feathers attatched to get washed off! That was quite a day!

 

[Timebuilder]

You can't remember the instructor's name?

How many did you try to kill?

 

[tdwnds1]

I am SURE I tried to kill a few.

I got to be on the other side of that when I did my "TIME" flight instructing. So I figure I am even

 

[Whirlwind]

Seriously though, I think everyone has some sort of horror story from their first solo, and anyone who tells you they greased 3 landings their first time is lying. (I tell myself that anyways)

Hey! I greased my first landing, doesn't that count?

Of course, the second was a serious of bounces, and the third...

Well look on the bright side, they were still able to reuse the plane.

 

[william]

My first cross-country solo was quite a memorable one, I was flying an old crapy 150, before entering into class B airspace my transponder mode C wasn't working. LOL.. at least the tower able to vector me into the airport without any problem. Everything else was fine though.

Most of my solo was very uneventful, except for one time that I missed my downwind turn because I lost sight of the runway. I usally feel very comfortable flying into controlled airport when mistake like this happened.