Ramble Rouser

Last Friday, I drove out to Austin Bergstrom International and took my first official flight lesson in a Piper Archer single-prop plane.  I was amazed how much they let me do on my first time behind the wheel.  I had a teacher with me the whole time (who has the same controls next to me and can take control at any time), and he let me taxi out to the runway for starters.  That was realy cool, by the way, since I had to use my feet the entire time.  I never knew that even airline pilots taxi just using their feet.

Next, after we got clearance from the tower, he let me take off.  I put the throttle in full gear, and used my feet to stay in the middle of the yellow line running down the middle of the runway.  As we got to full speed, I was instructed to pull back on the yoke, and sure enough, we were off. 

Once in the air, there was a bit of unsteadiness as the plane wanted to bank left.  From there, it was a matter of controlling the rudder with my feet and then using the yoke to level out the plane (my terminology may not be spot-on, but you get the idea).  Once airborne, I got to practice 30 degree bank turns, which was an interesting combination of yoke, rudder, and pulling up on the trim. 

We flew for about an hour at around 2,500 feet (pretty high, but not too high as we could see vultures flying about just below us). 

It was exhilarating to say the least.  I had control for the most part, and the instructor took us down for the landing, which he walked me through. 

I am definitely interested in acquiring my official private pilot license.  Trouble is, it’s a bit expensive, so I will be working towards that goal in increments.  20 hours is my initial goal to get my first license which allows me to fly during daylight hours with one passenger.

Before I took a comedy improv class, these sounds would remind me of a an old Adam  West Batman episode, during a fight with Penguin’s goons.  Yet now, these sounds take on a whole different meaning. 

They refer to a quick game where you must act on your feet and try to make others respond quickly in the moment, without any hesitation.  In a circle, I can pass a Whoosh to someone, who must then pass the Whoosh to the next person in the group. Yet, if they don’t want to Whoosh, they can Bang, in which it blocks the Whoosh back to the person who just Whooshed.  Taking it one step further, you can also Pow the Whoosh across the room, where it starts anew on the other side of the circle.  As complex as this may sound, it’s really just a simple improv exercise that teaches you to act fast and respond in the moment.

Taking this class has been such an awesome eye-opener to how we all plan and act in response to expected outcomes every minute of the day.  It seems the key to improv is to act completely in the moment, without predicting where you’d end up.  Two classes in, I couldn’t be happier with the decision to take this class, and am considering the Level 2 class, once this six week course is up.

How do I describe sky-diving?   Well, surprisingly, it’s much different than I expected. Perhaps, it was the 20 minute plane ride up among the clouds and the fact that I had completely resigned to doing it.  Maybe it was all of the animals at the sky-diving center (alpacas, donkeys, chickens, parrots, dogs, and pigs) and the friendly demeanor of all the employees that put me at ease.  It could have been the good friends that joined me for the journey and the general sense of excitement and camaraderie in the air.   Whatever it was, my sky-diving experience was one of complete and utter PEACE.

I’ve never felt so at ease and full of life, as I fell through the clouds and had my world perspective completely flipped by seeing the Earth from free fall and then gliding down with the chute.  My arms were sore when I landed, as I had my arms spread the whole time.  VIdeo to come soon…

So, last week I decided to buy a ticket to jump out of a plane at 14,000 feet.  In light of this new sky-diving adventure on the horizon, and having lived in Austin for one year officially now, I’ve decided I’m going to spend the next year doing something beyond my experience every single week.  This can range from extreme food, bizarre events, and new travels to learning a new skill, biking a very long distance, and sitting through an intense or awkward film or live production.

I’m looking forward to getting this started next week, when I take a trip out to Texas Skydiving in Lexington, TX for the first of this year of new experiences to ramble & rouse my soul.  As for this weekend, it’ll be floating the river on the Guadalupe, which, while I’ve certainly done this before, this time it will be with the entire Conjunctured crew, a great group who’ve I’ve come to see to eye to eye with on many matters over the last year.

How will I go about ramblin’ and rousin’ week by week?  Well, I’ve already got a small list prepared, but I’ve also signed up for all the major daily deal sites like “Groupon” and “Localiter” for some extra ideas.  I’ll use the Ramble Rouser to help document this year of exploration and welcome new ideas from others as I move forward full steam ahead.