The Wild Blue Yonder Page

Ever since I was a child, I had wanted to fly. When I was in the Navy I had applied for flight training, but at the last minute my hopes were shattered when they discovered I was astigmatic. As the years went by I continued my interest in aviation, but the frustration at not being able to afford flying lessons was always there. When Lynn got me a combination Anniversary/Christmas/Chanukah gift of flying lessons my emotions welled up. She had known about my long-held dream and made the decision to help me realize it.

July 14: This was my first day of flight instruction. Lynn and I arrived at Olympia Airport where we met Jeff,who would be my instructor for the course. After a few minutes of preliminary explanation, along with demonstrations of flight theory with a balsa wood model, Jeff took me out to meet the craft that would be my learning tool for the course; a Cessna C-152. He showed me the procedure for pre-flight inspection, explained the different control surfaces (ailerons, flaps, elevator, rudder, and trim tabs),and we were ready to begin. The first thing I found out is that the Cessna C-152, a high-wing monoplane, is not the easiest mother to get into. In fact, it was similar to getting into one of the old 1950's sports cars, only without the luxury of an open top. It would take several tries before I learned the trick.

Once inside, Jeff explained the instruments, handed me the key, and told me to turn the ignition. It took longer than a car's engine to start, but soon the Lycoming was running smoothly. I increased engine speed to start taxiing, and soon was heading toward the grass. I had a long way to go toward mastering the art of steering with my feet.

With the instructor's help, I managed to make it to the runway, and made a left turn for take-off. I assumed he would do the work. "OK," he said, "push in the throttle and take off." I think I gulped; it's kind of hazy, actually.

The engine roared at full revs, and we accelerated down the runway. Jeff told me to watch the air speed indicator, and when it was between 60 and 65 knots, pull back the yoke. Amazingly, it worked. I was airborne!

We climbed to 1,200 feet and leveled off. I learned the basics of turning, climbing, descending, etc. It only seemed like a few minutes had passed when Jeff said we were returning to the airport. I made most of the descent to the runway, and let him take the controls for the landing.

We landed, and taxied to the flight school. Surprisingly, although I was excited at surviving my first flight, I think I handled it fairly well. I did not go out to buy a white silk scarf. That shows discipline.

July 17: This time I did the pre-flight check by myself. When we were ready to taxi, I learned proper procedure for contacting the tower, and got permission to taxi. I almost went on the grass again, but I was getting better at steering with the pedals. I practiced climbs, descents, and turns over a small island. I learned how it feels to make a 30° bank and a 45° bank. There's one hell of a big difference between the two.

I was also becoming aware of one thing. The excitement that had been building up for so long was replaced by the realization that flying, while truly enjoyable, is also work. It demands total concentration. By the time we landed my forearms were tired from gripping the yoke. This would change with practice and as my confidence grew.

July 22: This was an interesting lesson. Once we were airborne and well away from the airport, Jeff gave me a visor to wear, which effectively blocked my view of the horizon. It only took a couple of minutes to become thoroughly disoriented. Depending solely on the instruments I was unable to avoid drifting from the correct heading and altitude. After that, he showed me some stalls, demonstrated how to choose an emergency landing site and how to prepare for such a landing, and we finished up with a couple of touch-and-goes. I was doing better at landing, but I did overcompensate a couple of times when I drifted from the center of the runway. Taxiing back to the school I did not go onto the grass, so at least my driving was getting better. Lynn had come with me, hoping that she could accompany us in the plane, but she's been plagued by a persistent cough, so it wouldn't be wise for her to go up right now.

July 25: Fourth lesson. We took off and headed due south. Over Chehalis I practiced stalls and recoveries. We also did a couple of touch-and-goes at Chehalis, this time landing with full flaps and minimum power. Trying to keep the plane aligned with the runway, avoiding descending too steeply, and holding the throttle really taxed my arms. I hope the next time it won't be so stressful, since I'm still gripping the yoke with full strength. But I am getting better. And more confident.

After we returned, Jeff invited me to accompany another student and himself while they logged some time in a Piper Seneca. Two engines, fast climb, and seeing Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Adams at the same time from 8,000 feet was an awesome experience.

July 29: Lynn was feeling better, so we took a Cessna C-172, with room for a passenger, for the lesson.
This time we headed due west, with the intention of practicing short landings and take-offs from the airport at Hoquiam, on the coast. Most of my flying has been at @1,200 feet, but this time I climbed to 3,000 to get over a mountain. We flew over the abandoned nuclear facility at Satsop, and continued on to the coast. However, increased low-level fog made landing too risky at this stage, so we headed back to practice on the short field at Elma. On the way I drank in the vista of seemingly endless hills and pine forests that gave Washington the nickname of "The Evergreen State", and were a part of my incentive for moving up here (along with a relationship, of course).

Elma is a single runway landing strip, but they have a great little restaurant there. I landed (with Jeff's assistance) on the 2,300 ft runway, and we taxied to the restaurant for some pretty good fish and chips and coffee. The "Landing Strip Restaurant" was written up in the Fall 2000 issue of Pilot Getaways magazine. If you're flying by, drop in. Good food, really good coffee, and the prices are affordable.

After lunch, we taxied to the end of the runway, and I made my first short take-off without any problems. Brakes on, full power and let 'er rip. The 172's engine did the job beautifully.

We headed back toward Olympia, making a southward detour around the mountains to come up through the Chehalis Valley. As we passed over Rochester, I made a circle, trying to show Lynn the Lucky Eagle Casino from a bird's eye view. As I circled at 1,500 feet with a 30° right hand bank, I suddenly entered a cloud. I was briefly, but totally, disoriented. My body told me one thing while the instruments told me another. I realized that if I had a problem, Jeff would get us out of it, but I fought to hold the nose up and level the wings. It's frightening not knowing where up is, and when we emerged from the cloud and my blood pressure returned to normal, I found that I had dropped a couple of hundred feet. I definitely need more time with instruments.

We continued up the valley, passing Olympia Airport to give Lynn a view of the Capitol from the air. We made a turn over her house (showing off my tour guide skills in the process) and made our final approach to the airport, landing without incident. This lesson gave me another 1.6 hours of flight time toward soloing.

August 5: This was grueling. I practiced touch-and-goes, while Jeff constantly reminded me to keep my right hand on the throttle. I had strained a muscle in my forearm while lifting weights, and this situation, with only one hand on the yoke, caused me to hold it very tightly. Sort of a death grip. Landing a plane with one hand on the controls is not like driving a car. As the ground rushes up to meet you, while the aircraft is wobbling at the mercy of the wind.....it's called "pucker factor".
Needless to say, the stress of gripping the yoke with only my left hand left me with tendinitis the length of my arm. It'll be Advilville for a few days.

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