Like a leaf on a stream ...

I wasn't sure I'd make it on time today for my 12 noon flight lesson. Preparing, hosting, and thoroughly enjoying a going away party late into last night made getting up this morning a bit of a challenge. But the weather seemed just cooperative enough so I figured I would meet it half way.

Dick, my previous flight instructor, can't teach me on Sundays. So I was just a tad bit apprehensive about flying with someone else. Thankfully my new instructor, Regan Stooutermire, was great. We chatted a bit as he walked me through the initial pre-flight inspection of the plane. Here's a snapshot of the lil' bird.


I think the plane was built in the late 1970s or 1980s. Strange to think how aircraft, machines an entire order of magnitude more complicated than automobiles, are designed to last for decades and routinely serve even longer tours of duty with shining colors. The car industry has us hoodwinked folks. Anyhow, the little Cessna might not be as sexy as the Cirrus or an F16 but she surely does the job.

As we sat on the runway the wind began to pick up. My still not entirely vanquished fear from my initial flight experience began to tap me on the shoulder. Regan assured me it wouldn't be a big problem. I could swear a stronger breeze would kick up each time he said that. Regardless, we strapped in and got ready to go up. Here's a view from my (ie., the Pilot's) seat.


Lots of dials and gauges there. I'm still learning how to read them all properly, sometimes only using the corner of my eyes. The one to the middle left, for example, is actually designed to help you make smooth and proper turns. Second from the top right is the altimeter. Notice how the Cville airport runway is already at about 900 feet? Anyhow, you can read all about the controls lots of places online.

As we took off, we hit a few bumps and I could feel my breakfast starting to say hello. I reached for a handful of ginger gum chicklets. Regan sensed what was going on and offered some words of wisdom that his flight instructor had given him years ago: "Think of yourself like a leaf on a stream." Somehow this really resonated with me in that moment. Either that or the ginger gum had an immediate effect. I feel, however, that the truth in those words might be mined almost infinitely. The plane is basically drifting through a fluid with various flows and currents, much like a stream. Those currents also follow the contour of the land ... as well as many other more complicated variables. But the point is that you do keep flowing, regardless of the bumps, just like a leaf making its way down a mountain aqueduct. The idea was (and is) somehow very reassuring. The turbulence we hit subsequently affected me less and less, eventually not bothering me at all.

Here's a snapshot out the window:

I can only imagine how things will look as the fall foliage turns. Apparently you are allowed to fly over the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge.

Armed with my new found, somewhat zen, philosophy I was able to take the controls for the better part of an hour. We practiced 90 and 180 degree turns, as well as getting a sense of how throttle controls altitude. Regan had me follow the James river for a while, pick Scottsville as a landmark and fly over to it (very cool to pick a city as a landmark and just "fly over to it"), and basically just cruise around the area between Cville, Lake Monticello and Scottsville. We kept a modest speed of 120mph but I can definitely feel my thirst for more coming on strong.

All in all, today was the best flight experience I've ever had in my life. Regan tells me I did very, very well and that I have good respect for the controls, which by the way are extremely sensitive to movement and must be treated with great care and gentility. I'm already looking forward to next week and curious if I can bring some of the lofty, leaf-floating philosophy back down to earth here with me.