“Dear Lord, please don’t let me f**k up.” -Alan Shepard's pilot prayer
Prior to my first official solo flight, it was business as usual, including the pre-flight and briefings, taxi clearance, taxi, run-ups, etc. The flight today was broken up into two parts: The first part with my instructor and then I was cut loose for the second part after my instructor hopped out of the airplane. My instructor went up with me to assess where I was at in terms of technique and progress. During the taxi to the run-up area, we saw a cat dart across the taxiway! It wasn't like a squirrel darting across the road but I thought that was strangest thing to see out of an airplane! When I think about it though, a cat hanging around the airport grounds kind of makes sense, especially if it's a good mouser. And they probably take care of small birds too... I reported the cat sighting to the controllers in the tower, just in case.
After run-ups we taxied to the runway, picked up our takeoff clearance and I got the airplane airborne once more and we stayed in the vicinity of Provo Airport to do some quick pattern work. My instructor was observing and offering some final insights and advice before he would cut me loose. We did two touch-and-go landings followed by a full-stop landing for a total of three landings. After the third landing, we vacated the runway and taxied back to the UVU flight ramp. My flight instructor gave me some final advice as well as some useful information and he cut me loose! He would continue to watch me with a radio on hand from the ground.
Utilizing my checklist and recalling everything I've learned up until this point relevant to my first solo flight, I started the airplane back up. I picked up my taxi clearance from the ground controller (making sure to inform them that I was a student pilot going on my first solo flight) and I taxied out to the run-up area, where I would perform the usual engine run-up checks.
Following run-ups, I resumed taxiing to the runway and I ended up following a Cessna 172 on the taxiway out to the runway; this was an indication that things were about to get busy in the pattern! I was second in line for takeoff but I did have to hold short of the runway for a little bit due to some landing traffic. Waiting and giving way to other air traffic with priority is just part of the routine...
Once I finally got my takeoff clearance, things just got very real; I applied full throttle, rolled down the runway and I got the DA-20 Katana airborne. It was just me, my thoughts, and the airplane. I only had to land the plane again in order to complete my first solo. But my instructor told me to have the time of my life! Traditionally, the first solo flight is doing a total of three landings, but I was free to do just a full-stop landing or do some touch-and-goes; I went for broke!
I proceeded to do my first of two solo touch-and-go landings! That meant the routine pattern work, like in previous flights. First touch-and-go was pretty decent, but I knew I could do better. I got back into the air and prepared to do my second touch-and-go landing. By this point, air traffic around the Provo Airport started to get a little busy with other planes in the pattern, so it was eyes outside the cockpit for me, scanning the airspace for any other aircraft in the vicinity while occasionally scanning my flight instruments. The most important thing to do when flying in the airport pattern is to report your position, constantly scan for additional traffic, and if at a towered airport, follow the instructions of the air traffic controllers!
I set myself up for the second touch-and-go landing and it was a vast improvement from the first one. I got back up in the air and prepared myself for my third landing which was a full-stop landing. The airspace around the Provo Airport became the busiest I've ever seen while airborne, which was a first for me. To be honest, I don't recall that I was nervous; I continued to maintain situational awareness, call upon what training I have received up until this point and everything turned out fine. Due to some air traffic ahead of me in the queue, the tower controller called and instructed me to extend my downwind approach, which in turn put me on one of the longest final approaches to the runway in my flying career so far. One after another, planes kept landing until it was my turn to land. I came in and touched down and I had a slight bounce; I guess I was kind of thrown off from that extended approach but I still did it! With the third solo landing under my belt, my first solo flight, one flight I will remember for the rest of my life, was finished.
I taxied the DA-20 off the runway and headed back to the UVU ramp and to my waiting flight instructor, who met me at the airplane after I completed the shut-down procedures. I thought I was dreaming but I really did it! I completed my first solo flight! My instructor filled out the entry in my logbook for the portion where he went up with me and then had me make my own entry for the solo flight.
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| Before heading up for my solo flight. (Photo credit goes to Nick Forshee, my flight instructor.) |
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| Canopy closed, going through the start-up checklist on N980CT, "Wolf 09." (Photo credit: Nick Forshee) |
Utilizing my checklist and recalling everything I've learned up until this point relevant to my first solo flight, I started the airplane back up. I picked up my taxi clearance from the ground controller (making sure to inform them that I was a student pilot going on my first solo flight) and I taxied out to the run-up area, where I would perform the usual engine run-up checks.
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| View from the run-up area! |
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| "Wolf 09," the call-sign on the day I soloed, a call-sign I will remember for the rest of my life! |
Following run-ups, I resumed taxiing to the runway and I ended up following a Cessna 172 on the taxiway out to the runway; this was an indication that things were about to get busy in the pattern! I was second in line for takeoff but I did have to hold short of the runway for a little bit due to some landing traffic. Waiting and giving way to other air traffic with priority is just part of the routine...
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| Holding short of Provo's Runway 13, the runway I would use for the touch-and-go landings that would soon follow. |
Once I finally got my takeoff clearance, things just got very real; I applied full throttle, rolled down the runway and I got the DA-20 Katana airborne. It was just me, my thoughts, and the airplane. I only had to land the plane again in order to complete my first solo. But my instructor told me to have the time of my life! Traditionally, the first solo flight is doing a total of three landings, but I was free to do just a full-stop landing or do some touch-and-goes; I went for broke!
I proceeded to do my first of two solo touch-and-go landings! That meant the routine pattern work, like in previous flights. First touch-and-go was pretty decent, but I knew I could do better. I got back into the air and prepared to do my second touch-and-go landing. By this point, air traffic around the Provo Airport started to get a little busy with other planes in the pattern, so it was eyes outside the cockpit for me, scanning the airspace for any other aircraft in the vicinity while occasionally scanning my flight instruments. The most important thing to do when flying in the airport pattern is to report your position, constantly scan for additional traffic, and if at a towered airport, follow the instructions of the air traffic controllers!
I set myself up for the second touch-and-go landing and it was a vast improvement from the first one. I got back up in the air and prepared myself for my third landing which was a full-stop landing. The airspace around the Provo Airport became the busiest I've ever seen while airborne, which was a first for me. To be honest, I don't recall that I was nervous; I continued to maintain situational awareness, call upon what training I have received up until this point and everything turned out fine. Due to some air traffic ahead of me in the queue, the tower controller called and instructed me to extend my downwind approach, which in turn put me on one of the longest final approaches to the runway in my flying career so far. One after another, planes kept landing until it was my turn to land. I came in and touched down and I had a slight bounce; I guess I was kind of thrown off from that extended approach but I still did it! With the third solo landing under my belt, my first solo flight, one flight I will remember for the rest of my life, was finished.
I taxied the DA-20 off the runway and headed back to the UVU ramp and to my waiting flight instructor, who met me at the airplane after I completed the shut-down procedures. I thought I was dreaming but I really did it! I completed my first solo flight! My instructor filled out the entry in my logbook for the portion where he went up with me and then had me make my own entry for the solo flight.
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| Back on the ground! (Photo credit: Nick Forshee) |
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| My first logbook entry as pilot-in-command! Yeah baby!!! |
Thursday, October 20, 2016 (eleven days before my birthday!) will be a day I'll remember for the rest of my life. I want to acknowledge and express gratitude to my flight instructor for the instruction and training he's given me up until this point. I look forward to working more with and learning more from him in my continued pursuit towards earning my private pilot's certificate. I also express gratitude to the fellow student pilots as well as the Aviation Science staff of Utah Valley University for the camaraderie and input that went a long way towards my flight training thus far.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the supportive family members and friends who cheered me on all the way and continue to do so. My thoughts especially turned towards my dad and grandfather, former private pilots, as well as two of my uncles, who are currently private pilots; these guys ultimately put me on the path towards becoming a pilot and helped me to keep that interest alive until I was able to begin flight training.
My first solo flight, the first major milestone is complete. But this is just one of many milestones to achieve and I look forward to the next one!
"What I love so much about flying is it puts you the present. You're not thinking about paying your bills. You're not thinking about what's going on. You're elevated above all the problems on Earth, and you're in the present. Right now. Right here. And you're living there the whole time you're flying." -Sean D. Tucker
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