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Thursday, 30 September 2010 22:09 |
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Passionate people are powerful people. I'm married to a passionate pilot who wants me to participate in the joy of flight in ever increasing measures. I thought I was being exceptionally brave by jumping in the right hand seat the day he passed his GFPT. I patted myself on the back when we went on our first nav' to Portland, and was sure I deserved a medal when I accompanied him to the Gold Coast when he was still 'wet behind the ears'.
 Just when I was feeling comfortable about being a passenger our conversations about flying started to change. "What if something happened to me while we were flying, it would be good for you to know what to do, wouldn't it?" asked hubby. "Hmmm" was my non-committal answer for many months until a "Yeah, I suppose" slipped out. That was it, permission enough for 'Mr. Passionate' to book his wife in for a flying lesson!
So that's the rub I'm booked into a flying lesson I'm not sure I want to do - this is cause for a creative excuse! Reluctantly I conceded that a lesson or two would be like an insurance policy I'd hopefully never have to claim on. A safety measure for that "What if" scenario.
Apprehensively, I headed to the airport to meet my husband-appointed instructor and to my surprise the butterfly's left as soon as the learning began. I was ushered into a training room and with the aid of a small model airplane and cockpit photo all those words I'd often heard of, and vaguely knew about came into sharp focus as the responsibility alighted firmly on my shoulders.
Pitch, yaw and roll were no longer jargon but the knowledge I needed to fly. I discovered how the aileron, rudder and elevator were controlled by the yoke and pedals to achieve the desired effects. At the end of my brief theory lesson, we decided (to my relief) that it would be best for me to sit in the right hand seat, the one I'd grown accustomed to.
Under the reassuring supervision of my instructor I was able to experience first-hand control of the plane. I found out for myself how hard you have to step on the rudders, how gently you need to move the yoke, how much you had to turn the trim wheel.
During my first orbit I caught myself recalling how petrified I was seated alongside my husband on that post GFPT flight when he ever so gently turned the plane. Now I was the one controlling the plane and concentrating so hard I couldn't work out if I should be freaked out or not!
Once back on the ground, proud hubby was there to take some snaps and asked how I'd faired, it wasn't till the instructor gave his report that I realised that It was me that had actually taken off! It took a while for my brain to filter all that had happened, I'd flown straight and level, ascended and descended, circled left and right and amazingly enjoyed it!
Now to decide....How far do I take this? How brave am I really?
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