Up, Up, and Away
- Nov 3, 2017
- 2 min read
Years ago, my Aunt Dot and Uncle Greg got our family for the Christmas White Elephant and they were kind enough to give us flying lessons. After coordinating schedules and dodging bad weather, we finally were able to learn to fly a plane.
And aren't we all glad I fly a plane better than I drive a car.
Our pilot, Wayne, was straight out of a Top Gun fan club with a southern accent so thick you immediately craved Bojangles. He also greatly appreciated me playing Danger Zone as our walkout song to the runway. He, however, did not appreciate my loop-dee-loop jokes.
My dad flew first, up to Cape Lookout out on the coast. The water was clear and you could see the sand bars along the coast and my Aunt and Uncle's house. It was an hour flight and since it was early in the morning, you could watch the clouds and fog start to disappear as the sun came up. The serenity of the view was mesmerizing, but only until you realized you were up several thousand feet up in a old 4-seater plane being driven by your dad.
So when it came to my turn, I figured out two things.
1. I really do drive fast.
2. I can't even reach the pedals of this airplane.
Which wasn't really a problem as long as we were in the air, but when a plane is one the ground, you drive it with the pedals, so when you can't reach the pedals, steering becomes an issue. And I couldn't quite see over the steering wheel, so that was fun too.
I was able to take off by myself and flew over the phosphorous plant nearby (praise I can't smell) and was able to land on my own, immediately retake off, and land again, which I don't know if it was a good thing, but it was cool. The landing was also smooth as hell according to my dad.
Next person to fly was Anna, my eighteen year old little sister, who REALLY couldn't reach the pedals. She also had to sit on a phone book, another book, and a floatation device, just to barely see over the steering wheel, which made this whole ordeal a whole lot less stressful. Anna's flight was a little more bumpy now that the sun was up and the wind was blowing, but she handled it well and was even able to take a selfie.
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