onwards
Pattern Altitude
... when you take someone up for the first time in their life, and it blows their mind. Like, literally.
Been dating this lady recently - truly outstanding, she is - and she was away for the week at her company's sales/marketing shindig (she runs the latter dept). Anyway, she was coming back straight into a big powwow at their biggest client in the valley, and I said "hey, let's do something different, so you can wind down after a stressful week".
Poor girl ended up stuck in ugly bay area traffic for almost three hours yesterday getting to Concord, but still managed a smile when I saw her. I had the plane preflighted but drove back out and waited for her so she could get the whole experience, including driving onto the airport itself and parking right behind the airplane (always a nice kicker for folks who are new to this).
Her mood started changing as soon as the gate opened and I eased the car through. By the time we got in the plane she was already getting excited. She got quiet during taxi, absorbing things, but I could her little gasps as we made our way across 32R headed to 19R for takeoff. I had explained the sterile cockpit concept and she followed it well, but I could hear from her breathing that something special was going on in the right seat. By the time we were at 1500ft departing right downwind and I indicated we could talk again, it became an instant torrent of jumbled excited speech. I don't think I ever remember anyone reacting this way; she was literally jumping up and down in her seat pointing at things and asking question and just being totally into the experience.
And because of the traffic delay, we ended up launching quite literally into the sunset, headed to Half Moon Bay for dinner. As you can imagine, flying over the bay, across the golden gate, and by the shore, while enjoying spectacular pink skies at 2000ft was not the worst way to give someone their first taste of flying low and slow. Everything worked out nicely, too; by the time we got to HAF it was just into the stage where I could turn the runway lights on for her, which I did just as we were crossing it overhead, nailing the timing perfectly for another cute little mind-expanding trick.
And of course, coming back after dark provided another incredible experience in a completely different way.
I have never had a passenger react so positively strongly. We talked about nothing but the experience almost the entire time (which of course I did not mind whatsoever). I have been getting enthusiastic texts with little memories and tidbits for the past 24 hours or so, with neat comments like "you have given me a lifelong experience and I have no idea how to thank you". This woman is a high-level executive in a large setting, I'll remind you. Even better, she's asking me if she can do it, too, so I may get to induct someone else into flight training (which will be my third).
Feels good to be a pilot right about now. Jus' sayin'.
Been dating this lady recently - truly outstanding, she is - and she was away for the week at her company's sales/marketing shindig (she runs the latter dept). Anyway, she was coming back straight into a big powwow at their biggest client in the valley, and I said "hey, let's do something different, so you can wind down after a stressful week".
Poor girl ended up stuck in ugly bay area traffic for almost three hours yesterday getting to Concord, but still managed a smile when I saw her. I had the plane preflighted but drove back out and waited for her so she could get the whole experience, including driving onto the airport itself and parking right behind the airplane (always a nice kicker for folks who are new to this).
Her mood started changing as soon as the gate opened and I eased the car through. By the time we got in the plane she was already getting excited. She got quiet during taxi, absorbing things, but I could her little gasps as we made our way across 32R headed to 19R for takeoff. I had explained the sterile cockpit concept and she followed it well, but I could hear from her breathing that something special was going on in the right seat. By the time we were at 1500ft departing right downwind and I indicated we could talk again, it became an instant torrent of jumbled excited speech. I don't think I ever remember anyone reacting this way; she was literally jumping up and down in her seat pointing at things and asking question and just being totally into the experience.
And because of the traffic delay, we ended up launching quite literally into the sunset, headed to Half Moon Bay for dinner. As you can imagine, flying over the bay, across the golden gate, and by the shore, while enjoying spectacular pink skies at 2000ft was not the worst way to give someone their first taste of flying low and slow. Everything worked out nicely, too; by the time we got to HAF it was just into the stage where I could turn the runway lights on for her, which I did just as we were crossing it overhead, nailing the timing perfectly for another cute little mind-expanding trick.
And of course, coming back after dark provided another incredible experience in a completely different way.
I have never had a passenger react so positively strongly. We talked about nothing but the experience almost the entire time (which of course I did not mind whatsoever). I have been getting enthusiastic texts with little memories and tidbits for the past 24 hours or so, with neat comments like "you have given me a lifelong experience and I have no idea how to thank you". This woman is a high-level executive in a large setting, I'll remind you. Even better, she's asking me if she can do it, too, so I may get to induct someone else into flight training (which will be my third).
Feels good to be a pilot right about now. Jus' sayin'.
