A Dream to Fly
Donald Russell
English Department, WGU
English Composition I
Amanda Sperry
April 21, 2021
There are a few moments in life that are truly memorable. It might be the day you received your first driver’s license, graduation, or your first beer. For most pilots, the first flight lesson is an experience that will be cemented within memory for a lifetime.
My first lesson came when I was 30 years old. Like most pilot candidates, learning to fly was a lifelong dream. As a child, I enjoyed reading about aviation pioneers such as the Wright Brothers, General Doolittle, and the Tuskegee Airmen, But, for many reasons, I had dismissed my dream as unattainable until that day. As a result, I knew almost nothing about flying. While I had been an airman in the U.S. Navy, and had a basic understanding of the airframe, cockpit functions such as throttle, mixture, yoke, attitude indicator were completely new to me.
Because this was my first time behind the controls, my first lesson took several hours. Even though it was a late afternoon, my instructor, Erick, and I didn’t climb out of the Cirrus SR22 until after dusk. Fortunately, Erick had the patience and commitment as an instructor to guide me through this challenging first step in a fun and positive way. Yet my most prominent memory was the feeling of nearly being overwhelmed. While today it feels almost as easy as riding a bike seemed then to be nearly impossible. So many things to learn. Had it not been for my total excitement at this new venture, and the incredible patience of my flight instructor, the experience might have scarred me away. To prevent this, I would recommend an introduction flight before climbing into the pilot’s seat for the first lesson.
A pilot’s life is all about checklists, and use checklists during the most important segments of flight, such as preflight, pre-start, taxi, before takeoff, cruise, etc. The pilot’s operating handbook for a given airplane includes checklists specific to each aircraft’s make and model. Condensed, laminated, easier-to-use checklists are almost always in every pilot’s flight bag. As a word of advice, once you know the type of airplane you’re going to fly, make yourself familiar with the cockpit environment and the components listed in the checklists. Because my instructor had to show me each component in the checklists, it must have taken us at least an hour before we even got the propeller spinning. By comparison, an experienced Cirrus SR22 pilot can get through the preflight and pre-start checklists in about 15 minutes.
Once in the cockpit, it was time to gain a basic understanding of the flight controls. What does the yoke do? Which direction on the throttle gives you more or less power? What is trim? We went over the instruments on the primary flight display. Where can I tell what speed I’m flying? Where is the altimeter? What does the attitude indicator tell me?
It was finally time for us to get underway for what would become a lifelong addiction! After a lengthy taxi and hold, my instructor expertly guided the aircraft onto Runway 26L, powered the throttle, and reaching rotation speed, gently climbed away from California’s Chino Airfield. After pointing the nose west, I could not believe it when, shortly thereafter, he gave me the controls and allowed me to start maneuvering the airplane over the beautiful sand beaches of the Pacific coastline. That first lesson included very basic maneuvers: straight-and-level flight, the use of trim, turns at various degrees of bank angle, climbs, and descents. I was amazed that I was looking down at the Newport Beach while flying an airplane.
My first lesson also included an unplanned introduction to Spatial Disorientation, an aspect that made a lasting impression. The sun was starting to set, and there was a marine layer off the California shoreline, and Erick instructed me turn the airplane toward it. He made me close my eyes and, after opening them again, guess our attitude. Were we level, in a bank, climbing or descending? I don’t quite remember my guess, but I do remember being completely off. That first lesson made me realize I had to trust my instruments because my inner ear would fool me when the outside picture didn’t provide any reliable information.
Erick was an amazing instructor, and he gave me a terrific start to my training. About 20 hours into my training, Erick was hired by SkyWest Airlines and went off on his way to flying commercial jets. Fortunately, my replacement instructor proved to be a good replacement that had a sense of humor and talent for sarcasm that matched my own, which made the learning experience even more enjoyable. And fortunately, because he remained with the school for some time, he was able to help me complete both my private pilot certificate and instrument rating.
Looking back, it was those early pioneers of aviation that guided me down my chosen path. Almost 20 years later, I work for an airline and regularly fly around the world. My head is truly in the clouds. While becoming a pilot may not be for everyone, sitting in the pilot’s seat is an experience I would highly recommend.
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