To Fly
Today I flew an airplane. A real one, with me and 3 other people inside. It was incredible.
There is a local flight instructor who will let people take up and fly one of his planes for an hour, for a reasonable fee. (The instructor handles the actual landing part, which I was just fine with.) Our roommate Starr thought that would be a grand birthday present for me, and after delays caused by holiday and weather, I took the Piper Warrior into the air. Hampton Roads is pretty amazing from up there; Norfolk and Virginia Beach seem like one contiguous urban area when you drive through them, but are quite discrete from 2000 feet.
Working the yoke and the rudder pedals at the same time is a little more difficult than I’d expected, though I did get compliments from the instructor relating to my basic knowledge of planes and aerodynamics. He said that even a couple hours on Microsoft Flight Simulator or the equivalent saves him a great deal of explanation during one of these “discovery flights”.
Of course, the deal is partially an attempt for the instructor to sell me $6000 worth of pilot’s license training. I’m not saying I wouldn’t like the idea, and I might do so in the future… but not right now.
Nevertheless, the idealist in me had a grand time. In 1903, the Wright Brothers made their historic flight; just over 100 years later, a Trek geek with a few bucks (or with a friend with a few) can take a plane into the sky and fulfill the dreams of thousands of his ancestors.
It’s easy to forget how surrounded we are by miracles.
Tags: technology
I’ve been waiting a long time for someone to let me do this with a biplane.
Or maybe a Corsair. But preferably a biplane.
I did this at the Tech airport, it was cool.
Very cool. Been meaning to do one of those.
As many different craft as I’ve been up in, I’ve never been offered the chance to take the controls. Of course, I can’t see myself piloting a C-130, C-9A, C-141, or C-5. That would be like turning a newly licensed teenager loose in a NASCAR stock car at Talladega …
High-wings are usually easier for a novice than a low-wing. Give better views of the ground, too.