Somewhere Near Cloud 9 - Mike's Guest Blog

Today I had the pleasure of redeeming my Father's Day gift - a 1-hour Discovery Flight Lesson courtesy of Exec 1 Aviation in Ankeny.  Yes, it was an epic procrastination scenario, as I was within 10 days of it expiring.  Not all of that was my fault - apparently there's a direct linkage between my schedule and the Earth's wind fields, as I had to reschedule several times because of high winds.  But at 10:00 this morning Gabby and I met up with our pilot, Colin Hansen, for a truly amazing experience.

Colin and Me, checking tires and brakes.

Colin, our pilot.

Much to my surprise, this was an all-out lesson from the ground up, literally.  Colin and I went through the entire pre-flight checks - flaps, wings, brakes, tires, cables, pins, fuel, and oil just to name a few.  I got a crash course (poor choice in words, I know) on the buffet of dials, switches, and gauges on the dashboard.  I probably learned more on the ground than I did in the air, but this was a lesson, after all.  We got our headsets on, ran a couple small checks, and we were ready for some air.

Or not...you can't just take off, because we need to taxi down to the runway first!  This was my first opportunity to actually take control of the aircraft.  Colin got us to what I would consider the least-dangerous stretch of taxi way, throttle set, and told me to steer it down.  I will admit I didn't think my first experience controlling an aircraft would be driving it on the ground.  It was harder than you'd think especially since the winds were picking up.  You control the steering with your feet, using a combination of the smaller rear wings and the brakes.  Colin said I did better than he did his first time.  He makes it all look so easy, so I can't help but think those were just some encouraging words.  And they were.

 

Ok, now we can take off.  One's departure from the ground is, in my opinion, one of the most wonderful feelings in the world.  It makes you want to sing praise to the atmosphere and the Wright brothers.  It didn't take long to climb to our cruising altitude, and before I knew it Colin had us pointed towards our house.

What's it like up there?  Well, it's a lot like looking at Google Earth while sitting on a cardboard box full of bees.  Everything seems so tiny and insignificant, and the motor's humming is remarkably soothing to a gearhead like me.  I've always had a solid sense of direction, but even that was a little skewed by the absence of familiar landmarks at eye-level.  Gabby certainly did her duty of snapping pictures of our surroundings.  Bravo to my little photographer!

My next opportunity to control the aircraft came somewhere near Saylorville Lake - Good call by Mr. Hansen, as not only was it very beautiful, it was also unpopulated.  He let me get a feel for banking, climbing, and keeping it pointed in a somewhat Westerly direction.  It was surprisingly simple to maneuver, despite the winds.  I was also rather surprised to learn that the plane would keep its banking under a calm-wind situation, even after you let go of the wheel (opposite of what a car would do).  The hardest part of the whole deal is trying to pay attention to the dozen gauges on the dashboard and enjoy your surroundings at the same time, but pilots don't get paid to enjoy their surroundings now do they?

We looped back around the north side of town, and headed back to the airport.  Colin flew past the airport and turned around to land.  His training and wisdom both kicked in here, as landing into the wind is far better than having a tail wind.  Landing is both exciting and also a moment where you mentally try to remember if your will is up-to-date.  It feels like 99% luck, and 1% pilot control.  But in Colin's hands, it was absolutely flawless.  Gabby had a permanent smile.  This was a very positive experience for her.

After shutting down the engine, unbelting, and exiting the aircraft, Colin snapped a couple pictures of his crew.

This gift was remarkable - a wonderful pick from Angela, Gabby, Jayden and Dexter.  I was happy to have had a great pilot, compliant weather, a safe airplane, and someone to enjoy it with me.  Thank you to my family, thank you to Colin, and thank you to Exec 1 Aviation for offering this opportunity to the community.  It's the closest I've been to Cloud 9 in awhile.