Unexpected ...

Life can be so very strange. Last week there were, at least in my mind, simply two possible posts I would make on this blog: my test flight was fantastic ... or ... I just couldn't deal with it and flying is simply out of the question for me. You would think I'm old and barely wise enough to know that there are always alternatives.

Before flying at Charlottesville Flight Center last Thursday, I actually took a slightly different test flight of sorts. Specifically, about twenty feet or so over the hood, windshield and roof of an older honda civic. While biking home at maximum velocity down the center lane (in between the double lines) of a two lane road full of commuters and undergraduate students, I locked horns with the left side of the automobile and went soaring and tumbling overhead.

Sadly I've already thrown away my helmet, but have been told that instead I should have made a shrine to it that I'd ideally bow to every morning in thanks for my ability to walk and breathe. I guess I'm doing that in part here.

After torquing myself, I asked the driver of the car I pummeled to give me a ride home so I could make it to my intoductory test flight. I guess I was so wired on adrenaline that I didn't really notice my shattered fifth metacarpal bone and separated shoulder.

The flight was absolutely fantastic. My instructor, Dick Yates, was wonderful. Part of what made it such an amazing and easy flight was the fact that there wasn't a single bump of turbulence. It seems as though the "other" flight school I checked out years ago made a mistake taking me (a complete novice) up in the air on a bumpy day. Dick explained that you simply can't do that. Turbulence is something you get better at dealing with over time.

I can't explain how easy and effortless it was to fly around up there. Granted, these are my first baby steps, but I'm happy to report that Dave 2.0, complete with broken hand and other injuries, was able to go up and fly a Cessna 172, one of the most popular trainers in the world. That being said, when I got down, my eyes began to wander. I love planes. I think they're amazingly sexy. It would seem as though there's a new supermodel on the block, the Cirrus SR22. A North Carolina based "sky taxi" service had one sitting on the runway at CFC. Sadly, I didn't have a camera at the ready. But here's a snapshot for you:

The image makes it hard to appreciate the gracious flowing lines of the machine. It's largely a composite structure, not aluminum. So naturally it has a more fluid body. It's also lighter and more powerful than your average single engine plane. It also encorporates some innovations like a side mounted stick (freeing up more console space for ... sexy ... instrument gages) and yes, believe it or not, a parachute. No, not for the pilots and passengers, but for the plane!

I want one, plain and simple.

Odd, I thought this post entry was going to be very different. But there ya go.