Pilot Life: Flying the Piper Cherokee with My Sister!

It's Martin Luther King Day so that means it's a no-school day for everyone! I was originally planning on flying in a DA-20 Katana with Cloe, my little sister this morning, but we were both tired from the weekend and I ended up cancelling the flight to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

However, I capitalized on this change in plans and my sister did end up flying later in the afternoon after we ran some errands; we flew in the Piper Cherokee! It's been about a month since I last flew in and got checked out in the Cherokee by my flight instructor, so naturally, I was a little nervous flying it again. However, I was able to recall everything I learned while flying it and applied it to today's flight with my first passenger of 2018 and my first passenger while flying the Cherokee! I ended up have a really good, enjoyable flight in the Piper Cherokee and it gave me a major confidence boost!

My fourth ever flight in the Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser, my first without an instructor, and my first with a passenger all in one go!

We got to the flight school, I did my pre-flight, and then got a workout towing the plane over to the fuel pumps with the tow-bar! I added some fuel to each of the wing tanks before moving the plane away from the self-serve fuel pumps. I took my time with all the pre-flight stuff since the Piper Cherokee is still fairly new to me. My sister and I hopped in the plane and after some initial difficulty, I got the engine started. I taxied a short distance to the runway and did my run-ups. Once I verified that engine systems were in the green, I taxied onto the runway, lined up, began takeoff roll,  and I got us airborne.

I initially stayed in the traffic pattern to practice a few landings. I honestly felt that I wasn't going to do too well with landings in the Cherokee. But strangely enough, I did really well as I was able to recall everything I previously learned flying the PA-28-140! It was like riding a bicycle as I was able to execute three decent touch-and-go landings on Runway 30 that I felt really good about! Having gained quite a bit of confidence in flying the aircraft, I asked my sister what we should do; she wanted to fly around the valley a little bit. So after the third touch-and-go, I took us away from the traffic pattern and headed south towards Payson, where we would fly around for a little bit enjoying the view and keeping an ear open on the Spanish Fork CTAF for traffic.

After we were done flying around, I took us back to Spanish Fork-Springville Airport, descending down to pattern altitude along the way. I entered the traffic pattern and set up for another good landing in the Piper Cherokee. After clearing the runway, I taxied us back to the ramp and the parking spot I pulled the plane from when this little adventure began. I shut the engine down and called it another successful flight; my first as the sole pilot-in-command in a Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser!

Needless to say, today's flight with my sister in the Cherokee was a huge confidence booster regarding my own personal evaluation as a pilot!

Right after the flight. The Cherokee is really growing on me!
(Photo credit: My sister Cloe.)