Earlier I posted that Jay gave me a flying lesson for Christmas. Well, I cashed in my certificate and went flying! Jay and I headed to the Ogden Airport Feb. 12th. We used this as part of our Valentines weekend. So I will break down what happened and let you know what it was like for me.
Me and "my" plane.
First I met my teacher and we headed into the training room for an overview of the instruments, what they do, and what they mean to me as I am flying. Surprisingly not as complicated as I thought it would be. Then we headed to the plane. Just a little 4 seater, so I was nervous that I was going to get sick because of the size and how bumpy turbulence would be. Anyway, we will get to that in a bit. My instructor and I went through the inside of the plane then the outside checking to make sure everything was in working order, I checked the lights, any damage, the gas, oil, everything. My instructor was way cool and let me take full control of everything, checking the plane and flying (coming up). Once the check was over we grabbed Jay, got in the plane, and headed out.
Ready to go
The one thing that I didn't do was the take off and the landing but I did have my hands on the yolk and feet on the pedals so I could feel what it was like, which I was fine with, other than that I had full control of the plane the whole hour flight!
Me on the left flying the plane.
Now to the best part, THE FLIGHT! What an amazing experience! I hope I never forget it. We took the airplane up towards Brigham City, over the mountains which was so so beautiful. All the snow capped mountains were breathtaking, we hung out there for quite a bit of time, none of us wanted to leave that area. I will tell you though that is where the turbulence was and boy is that weird to feel while actually flying. It kept throwing me off because in a car or boat you kind of know a bump is coming and expect it, however, in a plane you have no idea it's coming and what a weird feeling. It freaked me out the first time, I thought I did something wrong to the plane, but was reassured all was good. Next we headed into Mantua, worked on my turns and just playing around. When my instructor had me make my first 30* turn I was laughing my head off because for some reason my brain was telling me that I was going to fall out of the plane, even though I was strapped in and encased inside a metal object. I knew I wasn't going to fall out but the feeling was so real! So of course I had to do another turn to feel that again. I think my instructor thought I was a little strange for laughing at that feeling! But it was a funny feeling and completely unrealistic. Anyway we crossed over the mountains again and headed back to Ogden Airport. Just to let you know at this point I was not feeling sick. On our way in my instructor wanted to show me a touch and go, so we touched down and took off again. Now this was the only part I got a little sick on, not sure why but I did. Anyway, we came back around and landed the plane, as I was driving the plane to its parking spot the lady over the headset announced "I want to wish a Happy Birthday to the new flyer" (me). I didn't realize she was talking about me since it wasn't my birthday, so I looked at my instructor thinking it was his. He then realized it wasn't my birthday and remembered it was for Christmas, we told the lady and she just laughed jokingly got mad at my instructor and corrected the mistake. It was pretty funny, one of those you had to be there moments. Well, I will say I had a wonderful time and would love to head out and fly again. This was one thing I have always wanted to do since I was little and it was better than I could have imagined!
Finishing our flight.
Me stepping out of the plane.
Me after my flight. I could have hugged the plane I had so much fun!
Jay and I after our flight
Thank you Jay for an amazing gift and for sharing the experience with me! I love you.
If you are reading this part I am amazed, because that was a long post. Thanks for sticking in and reading it all.
They were covered in snow and ice making it very very hard to climb up without falling. I saw at least 4 people slip and fall and Jay said the girl in front of him and some ice chunks fall on her head that melted away from the the cliff. On our way back down we found it was easiest to sit down and slide down the trail. It was a blast! Ava got a little nervous on the way down but realized we were all laughing then she relaxed and kept yelling for more.
