On the ground. Did not die.

cowman

cowman

Final Approach
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Cowman
That title is what I txt my wife each time I finish a lesson. I'm posting this from my phone while waiting in the checkout line at wal-mart. About an hour ago I did my first solo and that's about all I can say.

I'm glad nobody recorded those landings because they were crap... at least to me, instructor says it looked good. Either way 3 landings and I'm alive and nothing damaged so I'll take it.
 
Unlike ski-jumping, no style points are awarded or deducted if you can use the plane again. Congrats!
 
nothing like celebrating a solo at walmart! anyways, congrats!!
 
my wife used to fly with me but I am like you and was a bit dramatic about the whole thing and she has decided that she is too scared.
 
cowman said:
That title is what I txt my wife each time I finish a lesson. I'm posting this from my phone while waiting in the checkout line at wal-mart. About an hour ago I did my first solo and that's about all I can say.

I'm glad nobody recorded those landings because they were crap... at least to me, instructor says it looked good. Either way 3 landings and I'm alive and nothing damaged so I'll take it.
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I am assuming you landed on the runway, and then went to Walmart, and are not at Walmart because you landed in their parking lot. Congrats.
 
The all important question is, can the plane be used again for aviation? lol...

Oh, and congrats. Your style will improve once you relax that death grip on the yoke. Or, is it yolk? :D
 
You are a pilot now, Kudos and be safe exploring.


cowman said:
That title is what I txt my wife each time I finish a lesson. I'm posting this from my phone while waiting in the checkout line at wal-mart. About an hour ago I did my first solo and that's about all I can say.

I'm glad nobody recorded those landings because they were crap... at least to me, instructor says it looked good. Either way 3 landings and I'm alive and nothing damaged so I'll take it.
Click to expand...
 
cowman said:
That title is what I txt my wife each time I finish a lesson. I'm posting this from my phone while waiting in the checkout line at wal-mart. About an hour ago I did my first solo and that's about all I can say.

I'm glad nobody recorded those landings because they were crap... at least to me, instructor says it looked good. Either way 3 landings and I'm alive and nothing damaged so I'll take it.
Click to expand...

Congratulations!
 
Thanks, all.

I know I will get better. What I did wrong was just plain poor crosswind technique and being not perfectly straight down the runway on touchdown with an awkward recovery. In retrospect it probably wasn't anywhere near as bad as it felt at the time. I'll practice and it will get better.

Also "On the ground, did not die" is a psuedo-inside joke with my wife. I'm kind of practical and blunt about that sort of thing, so when she asks me to do the whole checking in thing when I'm driving a long ways without her or now flying I say something like that. My thinking being if something does happen I'll either call or emergency personnel are going to find me before she figures out I'm overdue.

She's cool with my flying and intends to go with me when I'm done with my private(and once I'm satisfied I can make trips safely but let's hope that happens before I'm done with my private). We ride snowmobiles together and I explained that it's less dangerous than that, but probably a bit more dangerous than a car ride and she's cool with that.
 
When I did my first solo I thought my landings were crap. My instructor didn't seem to think so. I'm never content with my landings no matter how good they may seem to another person. Just this past week a friend soloed for the first time and on his landing he got a 2 for 1 deal. He thought he bounced 10 or so feet high, in reality he only did a 2ish foot bounce.
 
Congrats on the solo......:cheers:...

It is an experience you will NEVER forget..:no:
 
Congrats on the solo! As to being able to take a trip safely, your CFI will not let you take the check ride until s/he feels you can, so it will just be a matter of gaining confidence.
 
I used to text my wife similar. We both go up, her for lessons and me to putter around and we don't think twice about the other anymore. It's pretty amazing how something that is so unique and adventuresome can become soon become a normal activity.
 
Congratulations.

Try to avoid the dying references in your texts but keep up the sending of texts announcing that you landed safely. The wife types seem to appreciate receiving those.
 
You need to change up your txts. Try: crashed, burning to death. Escalate from there. The wives they love drama so, deliver it.
 
Congrats.

I usually say "time to close the REAL flight plan" then call the wife.
 
ClimbnSink said:
You need to change up your txts. Try: crashed, burning to death. Escalate from there. The wives they love drama so, deliver it.
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I like this guy's way of thinking LOL

CONGRATS on a successful solo flight!
 
The antithesis would be:
"Take the carburetor out of my stomach,
Take the pistons out of my head.
Send what's left back to dear old mother,
Say that I am finally dead."

Love that old movie.
 
Yeah, I'd try to get out of the habit of referring to dying with respect to your landings. You WILL say it at the wrong time. It might be fine for your wife, but what about the neighbor's kid you're giving a first-ever flight to?

I found the mountain turbulence rather fun to fly (call me weird -- you wouldn't be the first) and got a rather stern lecture from my instructor due to the "woo-hoo"'s.

Unfamiliar passengers freak out at things we might find routine. I scared the CRAP out of my kid over the Sierra crest when I told him we were going up to 13000 and we had 30 minutes before I needed oxygen (it was maybe a 15 minute crossing counting the very slow high-DA climb). He didn't know I was referring to regulations rather than me passing out in a high pass.
 
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My text would have read: Made it through Wal-Mart checkout, did not die.:D In any case, congratulations! And it's refreshing to hear someone say their first solo landings weren't good. I'm always reading about how everyone greased their first solo landings, blah, blah, blah. My first one was truly awful -- released back pressure too soon because I was so thankful to be down (after two go-arounds) and thought the plane was going to pitch over. But I survived, the plane was still good, and I've moved on. Someday we'll look back at these moments fondly.:)
 
There are a lot of fish stories about soloing.

Lots of folks seem to do perfect greasers after 5 hours.

My own landings were firm but reasonably safe. Definitely not greasers. But I committed the aviation equivalent of showing up at work with your fly open. The cargo door was flapping in the breeze through all three landings, and neither I nor the instructor watching from the ground noticed it. I found it when I parked afterward....oops. Nothing lost but my pride.
 
Shepherd said:
The antithesis would be:
"Take the carburetor out of my stomach,
Take the pistons out of my head.
Send what's left back to dear old mother,
Say that I am finally dead."

Love that old movie.
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Which movie would that be from?
 
weilke said:
Congratulations.

Try to avoid the dying references in your texts but keep up the sending of texts announcing that you landed safely. The wife types seem to appreciate receiving those.
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+1 on that one.

At the end of every flight my instrument instructor used to say, "Well, we cheated death once again." Shortly after I finished working with him he augured into a mountain and his death-cheating days were over. I've been superstitious about those kind of sayings ever since.

I do call or text my wife after every flight, though.
 
My usual response when someone asks 'how ya doin?' is 'still vertical'. Knowing that some day, I won't be able to use that anymore.
 
Congratulations !
So you landed in Wall Mart parking lot on your first solo, and you don't think you're good .:rofl:
 
Don't worry about the landings. Those are the first things that will go (the finesse) when you get out of currency. It will improve (and come back if you stop for awhile).
 
Concorde said:
Congratulations !
So you landed in Wall Mart parking lot on your first solo, and you don't think you're good .:rofl:
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I'm guessing that would be a short field landing then :goofy:

Congrats first solo will always be remembered. I had an alternator failure on mine while on the down wind :hairraise:
 
Concorde said:
Congratulations !
So you landed in Wall Mart parking lot on your first solo, and you don't think you're good .:rofl:
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I'm always tempted to pick up something at JC Penney when flying into KRHV. Just ask for 31R, open the door and reach out. Well it looks that way on final anyway.
 
MAKG1 said:
Yeah, I'd try to get out of the habit of referring to dying with respect to your landings. You WILL say it at the wrong time. It might be fine for your wife, but what about the neighbor's kid you're giving a first-ever flight to?

I found the mountain turbulence rather fun to fly (call me weird -- you wouldn't be the first) and got a rather stern lecture from my instructor due to the "woo-hoo"'s.

Unfamiliar passengers freak out at things we might find routine. I scared the CRAP out of my kid over the Sierra crest when I told him we were going up to 13000 and we had 30 minutes before I needed oxygen (it was maybe a 15 minute crossing counting the very slow high-DA climb). He didn't know I was referring to regulations rather than me passing out in a high pass.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you never know what the non-pilots are thinking. On a long flight with our adult son and his wife, at night, Hubby and I are chatting away and the kids have turned down the sound on their headsets, but not enough to not hear, "Oh, sh*t!" from both of us simultaneously and to notice we suddenly started scrambling for charts, pushing buttons, and talking on the radio. What happened? Flight following had just given us a re-route that would take us out of the way and we had to add a new checkpoint into the GPS.

PS. Congratulations on the solo. Keep up the good work.
 
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