I soloed yesterday.

K

ki4lzk

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
Messages
172
Location
Milford, KS
Display Name
Display name:
Joshua Jones
Yesterday my instructor and I went up to practice some landings. From the get go I could tell that something was just not right. For what ever reason, I looked like I had never landed a plane before. There was just something with correcting for the left cross wind. We switched runways and I was able to land perfectly in a right cross wind. It was a strange event.

We went ahead and called it a day at this point. I was upset and frustrated. I expected to solo and put my nerves on high doing this. It doesn't help that I work at the FBO so all of my co-workers had also expected me to solo.

I went to lunch about 1530 to think about what went wrong. Ultimately I had no clue. So I get back to work and the plane had not been put away. I thought to myself that perhaps this is a sign that I should try again. We went up and I did 6 perfect (or as perfect as mine can be :rolleyes:) landings, in both a left and right cross wind. After the last landing we went back to the FBO. I figured that my instructor was going to sign me off, but I didn't want to jinx that. I grabbed the checklist to start shutting down, when he said 'Don't shutdown, you know I am getting ready to solo you.'

My three laps around the pattern were fun. The first two landings are perhaps the best I have done. The pattern was beautiful. It was kind of cool after the first landing looking at the ramp and seeing one of my co-workers watching me. The third landing was not bad, but wasn't as good as the first two. I have always expected to be nervous during my first Solo. I wasn't, not even a bit. I think this was because of how bad I flew earlier in the day. It was just nice to fly the plane without listening to anyone else talk.

When I got back to the FBO my instructor came out and we took the traditional pictures. He told me that my hiccups earlier in the day proved that I was ready to solo, because everyone has one of those just prior to solo.
 
Congratulations!! That will be a day you never forget.

Now comes the fun part...cross countries!!

Have fun and be safe!
 
Excellent! Congrats! I have two student who will likely solo yet this week. It's an exciting event!
 
Understand Josh, the CFI had enough faith in your flying skills to turn you loose. That is a very big milestone. In my book you just graduated from student to pilot. The rest is paperwork, butt time, and a check ride. ;)

Nicely done. :yes:
 
Congratulations! I think everyone of us has struggled with something at one time or another. Turns around a point were my nemesis during my PPL training. I could nail anything to the right, but had problems with left turns. Eventually it all worked out.
 
A story stolen from the Red Board (posted by bluefishbeagle). But fun to share with the student pilots who just soloed.

Picture this:

I was once working with a student I'll call "Super Dave"

The first time I flew with Super Dave he was wearing an insulated Air Force flight suit carrying an Air Force pilots helmet with flip down visor. He was very disappointed to learn my plane did not have Air Force style plugs for the mike. He insisted on wearing the flight suit however and did for every lesson.

Super Dave was fearless
Super Dave was implusive
Super Dave was over confident
Super Dave was always seeking approval
Super Dave was invincible
Super Dave drove me nuts.

To be fair Super Dave was a good stick but a stick without a lick of common sense.

He could have soloed in 5 hours but I held him back till he had 12 and we had covered every pre solo manuver three times over.

Finally it was time for Super Dave to solo. I feared the day but it had arrived. Super Dave arrived at the airport early (flight suit and all) and did a preflight while I was in the hanger praying.

Super Dave was instructed to make three "Stop and go landing PLUS I instructed him to taxi back to the end and use full length each time.

What could go wrong I reasoned as I signed his student Lic and logbook. He had been making perfect patterns and landings for the last 7 hours.

Super Dave lined up and off he went, the rotation was textbook. But that's where all things normal stopped.

Super Dave was all over the sky. Banking crazily, pitching like a seal with a great white on it's tail. I could not talk to Super Dave this was before hand helds and the small country airport did not have a working unicom.

The downwind was wild as well as his final approach. He rolled and pitched I envisioned my trusty C150 in a pile of smoking rubble with me explaing to the FAA why I let this wild man solo.

It was time to flare or crash, just as suddenly as he lost control he regained it, the plane leveled off just in time an made a perfect touchdown. I ran out to the runway to flag him in as he taxied back. But Super Dave did not taxi back he did a touch and go.

Again a perfect takeoff, then the previous nightmare started all over again. I could not imagine what was happening. Again just before the second landing he seemed to regain control and make a perfect landing.

Again Super Dave did not stop he did a touch and go. The wild gyrations continued during the third circut and again just before he crashed, the plane smoothed out and he made his third perfect touch down. Finally I thought "It's over" That is until Super Dave was off again. Super Dave could not count. His fourth time around the patterned was no better but true to form he regained control and made a perfect fouth landing.

Finally Super Dave taxied back to the ramp, exited the aircraft with sweating running from every pore in his body, his insulated flight suit drenched, but not out of fear it was July with 90 per cent humidity.

Super Dave's first words upon exiting the plane was. "how'd I do, how'd I do, it was good wasn't it".

I drew a deep breath and said "the takeoff and landing were perfect but what in the "blazes" (cleaned up to meet forum rules) were you doing the rest of the time."

Oh he said " I was taking pictures" as he pulled a camera out of one of the many pockets in his flight suit.​
 
Geico266 said:
Understand Josh, the CFI had enough faith in your flying skills to turn you loose. That is a very big milestone. In my book you just graduated from student to pilot. The rest is paperwork, butt time, and a check ride. ;)

Nicely done. :yes:
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Agree with the highlighted.

My first set of local solo practice flights felt really odd to me. Here I was, being entrusted with a flying machine I couldn't afford, and provided permission to take it out, all by myself, to the practice area and local airports.... all by my self.

After so many hours with Instructor Dan to my right... it was a strange feeling to have that space empty. (but I got over it real quick! :) :) )

But I definitely started feeling like a real pilot.

Congrats Ki4lzk!
 
Congrats! What a great feeling huh? Likes others have said, now the fun begins. Keep at it and be safe, it goes fast from here.
 
Congrats! I did my first solo just a few months back in November. As my CFI said after I was done "You'll have a lot of flights in your lifetime, but you'll never forget that one."
 
Congrats!! A big achievement, for sure!
 
Congratulations.
It's a day you will remember for the rest of your life. Revel in it.
 
Congrats! Good luck with the rest of your training!
 
eman1200 said:
awesome!!



haha, hope ur instructor isn't reading this!
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I told him the samething. It truly is a day I shall never forget. It was neat to be flying all by my self. After the third landing I got just past the hold short line and did the after landing check list. After this, I took a few seconds to reflect on the day. It was truly a day of ups and downs. As mad as I was at my self after the first lesson of he day, that all seemed to drift away after I soloed.

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. I am excited to start the cross country portion of training. Before to long I will be studying for my checkride!
 
Congrats! I hope to do the same soon. People keep saying it's one you'll never forget, I wan't that feeling solo bad right now.
 
The plane sure climbs better without that instructor weighing down the right seat, doesn't it? :D

Congratulations!
 
Ghery said:
The plane sure climbs better without that instructor weighing down the right seat, doesn't it? :D

Congratulations!
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When I soloed my son I congratulated him on his first landing. As he turned downwind for his second he announces on UNICOM "It sure flys different without fatso on board!!"

No respect...
 
"It sure flys different without fatso on board!!"
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Hey, Loren -- I resemble that remark!

Good on you though that you have taken your time, effort and money to obtain your CFI (and then CFII!) and are teaching others about the joy and pure "awesomeness" of flying. If we pilots weren't so good at keeping the big secret, the sky would be full of airplanes! From pilot to pilot, thank you for what you do.

Stacey
 
congrats! I started my 1st lesson yesterday and I can wait till I solo.
 
Congratulations!! I can't wait until the day I solo for the first time. It's all I think about.
 
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