To Fly...

Lesson 36
4-24-13
1.0 hours logged
44.3 hours total recorded in logbook

In spite of differing forecasts--everything from snow and rain to partly sunny--the day turned out very beautiful indeed--sunshine and blue skies and--yes! oh yes!!!--I flew today! At long last, I flew!!! At ten days shy of five months since my last flight, my long unasked for furlough from flying is at last, it appears, over!

It was a while before I could convince myself to believe that the flight was indeed going to happen but once I was on my way to Oshkosh, I was flying almost before I'd even reached the hangar! In twenty minutes, I was there, had met Jim Kress, and, in short order, we were preflighting and pulling 6YE (the RV-6) out into the sunshine. It was much warmer than last time I flew in it I realized as I noted how easy it was to buckle in over a light jacket rather than the thick winter coat I had worn at my last lesson. Jim climbed in and seated himself beside me and, after a review of the panel, we were ready to go.



Holding short of Runway 27 before takeoff

 I couldn't suppress a smile as I turned the key in the ignition and watched the propeller blades spin individually at first, then become a blur as the engine caught and roared to life. How good it sounded! We listened to the ATIS broadcast--winds 270 at 11 knots gusting to 15--then called ground control and taxied out. Preflight checks and run-up complete, we waited for another plane to takeoff ahead of us then runway 27 was ours! Lined up on the runway, I advanced the throttle to full power and in response to the roar of power, the little plane was soon speeding down the runway and had lifted gracefully into the air. "Airborne!" I heard Jim say and, oh! what a multitude of thoughts went through my head at that moment. To fly! How much is wrapped up in those simple words! It is pure joy and I closed my eyes for a second with a happy sigh and an unspoken prayer of thankfulness that the endless wait was over at last! The thrill of flight! How I've missed it!

 

We climbed out to the west and I was amazed again by the responsiveness of the controls and the terrific speed (even though we were flying into the wind) with which we passed Rush Lake, were parallel with Green Lake and could see Berlin just ahead of us. Yes, those are some of the biggest differences between the Cub and the RV and I am continuing to adjust. The RV-6 simply has a lot more performance--higher horsepower and faster speeds--than I'm used to in the Cub.  

My lesson for today was, inevitably, review--turns, climbs/descents, slow flight. After not having flown for so long this is to be expected though I hated to backtrack, as it seemed. However, I determined to do my best to gain back as quickly as possible anything I had lost. I was also getting used to yet another new instructor, remember, but I found this to be an easy adjustment. Jim did a great job and I was quite comfortable with him. It was actually not the very first time I'd flown with him. It was he who took me up for an introductory flight in his Cessna 150 at Brennand Field on the very first International Learn to Fly Day, May 15, 2010. So to fly with him again was sort of like coming full circle. Who would have thought then that, three years later, I'd be well into my flight training and flying with him as my instructor? Strange how things work out! 

 

Below 4,000 feet it was rather bumpy so we stayed above that altitude most of the time doing a lot of work on slow flight. I had some difficulty staying precise with speed and altitude especially at first but got a little better as we continued. The hour slipped quickly by and soon we headed back toward the airport, entered a right downwind in the pattern and were cleared to land. We were a bit high on approach but flaps and a decrease in power put us where we needed to be on final. The runway came up to meet us and, a few seconds later, I felt the main gear gently contact the surface and the nosewheel follow. We were down. What a beautiful landing! I still can't get over what nice landings the RV-6 makes.

We turned off the runway and taxied to the fuel pump. After filling the tanks I got to call the tower for permission to taxi back to Weeks. Back at the hangar, Jim let me push the plane in then we pulled the great doors closed and my first lesson in months was complete. It was so good to be back at it once again!