Fly Girl in Training: Knocking the rust off

On an extended downwind looking out at downtown Sacramento.
I looked at my logbook in horror. No, that can't be right. Did I forget an entry or five?

 Nope. Before Saturday afternoon, it had been seven weeks since my last flying lesson. And nearly three months since I flew my trusty Cessna 182 (we switched to the taildragger Rans S7-S for a few lessons). No wonder Mr. T, my father-in-law Ray-Dad, and flight instructor Stan had been giving me such a hard time.

After reconsidering my arsenal of excuses--weather, budget, and work--I decided to live up to my I-won't-be-an-ideal-worker-any-more pledge and get back to having more fun. As I scheduled my flight lesson over speaker phone, T teased me that it would be like starting over. Starting over? Seriously?

With his words ringing in my ears, I headed to the airport on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. While pre-flighting the 182, I immediately dripped engine oil on my pants and spritzed myself with avgas. T wasn't joking I thought.

So good to see greenery in the Sacramento Valley and knock some of the
rust off my flying skills. 
Only after reading my checklist three times did I crank the engine and nervously taxi over to pick up Stan.

Turns out the nerves were unnecessary. Although I didn't completely shake them until after the second landing (it'd been a long while, okay??), I couldn't help but smile. And pump a fist in yay-me! excitement. And high-five Stan. It wasn't starting from scratch. It was like riding a bike!

I got so comfortable, in fact, that Stan had me get solo current at our home airport. With six solo passes around the pattern--with friends watching and my hubby listening on the radio no less--I felt so damn happy of myself. And more importantly, eager to get back into flying and finish my ticket. I've still got quite a ways to go, but I can't wait!

xoxo,
shawna

Other Fly Girl in Training posts:



Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,