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.