My first solo today!

Wrench978

Wrench978

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
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376
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San Juan, Puerto Rico
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Wrench978
My instructor warned me yesterday that I should wear a shirt I didn't mind losing. My wife and I had already planned on having breakfast at the airport, so she would be able to watch me solo for the first time. I started my lesson on the wrong foot, forgetting to release the parking brake and and ended up coming back to the ramp for maintenance to look at the plane because it felt odd turning (my instructor didn't notice either, but I should have seen it. my bad...). when we got to the ramp, I realized the issue, and my instructor played it off cool by telling the maint. guy he had to pee. I then had a few not so great landings. Nothing unsafe, just not completely aligned wth the runway, or landing a little low.

At this point I figured I wouldn't be soloing, but after about 5 landings, Bob took the plane, taxied to the ramp and asked me if I was ready to do this on my own. we went inside to fill out log book and student pilot cert endorsements, and then I was on my way! I noticed that my in-laws, who live down the street, had shown up, so I had a bit more of an audience than anticipated, but as soon as I started moving, that was out of my mind.

My first landing I ballooned a little bit, but had a safe touch down. My 2nd was beautiful and my 3rd was decent. I asked my instructor if I could do one more or if I should bring it in, and he let me go around once more, and I ended with another beautiful landing.

It was a great day, and I couldn't be happier! now its on to Cross country training!


TL;DR

Flew by myself today. it was great.
 
Awesome! A day you'll never forget!
 
That is HUGE! Big congrats. You're well on your way to getting the Golden Ticket. :)
 
The "in" thing today is to begin with "BLUF" which stands for: bottom line up front. Teal Deer is so last year.

Congrats on the solo!
 
Congrats!!! This will be a day that you will remember the rest of our life...:happydance::happydance::happydance:
 
good going something you will always remember
 
Congrats. You owe him a beverage for covering on the parking brake thing. Ha. But don't worry, he went inside and told them the truth and they laughed. ;)
 
denverpilot said:
Congrats. You owe him a beverage for covering on the parking brake thing. Ha. But don't worry, he went inside and told them the truth and they laughed. ;)
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oh yeah, definitely! I expected him to chew my ass out for missing it, but he didn't...
 
denverpilot said:
Congrats. You owe him a beverage for covering on the parking brake thing. Ha. But don't worry, he went inside and told them the truth and they laughed. ;)
Click to expand...

I doubt it very much. Taxiing with the brakes on creates serious wear on the brakepads and/or tires, and could also be rough on the engine and prop. If a CFI lets a forgetful student do it for more than a few feet, their job could be on the line.
 
RotorDude said:
I doubt it very much. Taxiing with the brakes on creates serious wear on the brakepads and/or tires. If a CFI lets a forgetful student do it for more than a few feet, their job could be on the line.
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LOL. Oh yeah. CYA in the rental.

Let the next guy figure out the brake pads are gone. There's just enough left for the solo.

I forgot. ;)

I actually rented from a place once that fined CFIs for writing up intermittent squawks that couldn't be found.

I ran away as a customer once I learned about that. It wasn't supposed to be public knowledge.
 
Nice. I'm at 18.8, should be soloing soon.

I'm on the slow boat though, took my first lesson in May of last year. My goal is to be finished this time next year.
 
Awesome! Pic of the moment would be nice too, I'm sure your wife has dozens. ;-)
 
Im uploading the video my father-in-law took. my wife live streamed it to Facebook with some commentary, but the quality is terrible. oh well.20160903_095547.jpg
 
My wife is in the foreground recording, and my instructor is out by the navion with a hand held. I was pretty happy the only thing he had to tell me was "good job- do it again."

I ballooned a little bit, but it felt a lot worse in the plane than it looks. overall, I think it was a decent first landing


 
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