polysciguy9
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2005
- Posts
- 96
Just wanted to share my excitment at having finally soloed today. I had twice started working on my private before and had to stop both times right before solo due to issues with my medical. So this was my second time flying with the new FBO I'm with (having moved since my last attempts). At 22.2 hours, I finally got the call to solo today. The day started off a little strange in that my instructor called in sick, so I had another instructor who's quickly approaching 80 years old and 225lbs step in. I was a little concerned about weight, seeing as how we were squeezing into a 152 (I'm 165lbs), when I quickly realized I should have been more concerned with space. The few runs I did in the pattern were a bit stressful since the instructor was having me turn to downwind a bit closer to the runway than I would have liked, and kept telling me my nose wasn't aligned with the runway when I'm quite certain it was. One time ATC instructed me to extend my downwind after I began my base turn, so I proceeded to turn to the left to compensate for being too close to the runway. The instructor scolded me for doing so and I continued on course. Not long after, ATC asked what I was doing by turning into the path of traffic on final. Should have done a better job of communicating to him my perception of our position.
So finally the instructor hops out (I haven't dropped 225 pounds that fast since I broke up with my last girlfirend ... kidding!) and all of a sudden the stress was gone. I had so much dual time, that I felt confident (but not too confident) and by myself, everything was way more relaxed. I nailed the first landing, ballooned and bounced a bit on the second (perhaps still adjusting to the weight change) and had a pretty good third one.
Anyways, thanks for sharing in my excitement - it was a good day indeed.
So finally the instructor hops out (I haven't dropped 225 pounds that fast since I broke up with my last girlfirend ... kidding!) and all of a sudden the stress was gone. I had so much dual time, that I felt confident (but not too confident) and by myself, everything was way more relaxed. I nailed the first landing, ballooned and bounced a bit on the second (perhaps still adjusting to the weight change) and had a pretty good third one.
Anyways, thanks for sharing in my excitement - it was a good day indeed.