WichitaFallsComplete.com
I Might Fly Again One Day Soon - Maybe
Related Story - A Short Story About Flying
May 2010
Probably not a day goes by that I don't think about the possibility of flying again. I'm pretty sure I don't want to get back into it full-time, but I would like to get into the air and see how "sharp" I am after 20 years.
They say it's like riding a bicycle, that you never really forget. And that's true, I'm sure. After all, the mechanics of flying, as far as making the airplane do what you want it to do, are not that complicated. The physics are a little bit harder to comprehend, but even that's not too bad.
Flying a fixed-wing airplane requires a little coordination, but not a lot, especially compared to a rotary-wing airplane, commonly referred to as a helicopter.
My current place of employment is just a mile or so from the small airport where I logged most of my almost 400 hours. I can see and hear small planes in the air almost every day. About a quarter of a mile from my workplace is the Wichita Falls Vortac, or VOR station. If you've never seen one it's a small building with a disk on top and an inverted cone on top of that. It's used for aircraft navigation and they're scattered about the country.
So I'll call and reserve a flight instructor and an airplane. Something small, but not too small. Not a twin-engine, of course. I've only got about 20 hours in one of those. I'm not interested in going over "engine out" procedures just to go out and have a little fun.
I'll probably ask the instructor to just watch me as I go through the pre-flight inspection and only chime in if I miss a spot. I'll probably want him to talk me through the in-cockpit, before and after engine start checklist, however. That will speed things up a bit. After all, I'm there to fly, not take a lesson. If I decide to fly after that, then I'll want to pay more attention to details.
Flying the airplane hasn't changed, but some of the Federal Aviation Regulations have. Airspace is not designated in a different way than it was 20 years ago. New classes of license - Recreational & Sport Pilot - have been introduced. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that, but I guess the Feds know what they're doing. Don't they always?
The take-off doesn't worry me. The airplane will let me know when it's ready to fly! Landing will be a different story. We'll get down okay, but will I be able to "grease" it onto the runway like the old days? Probably not, but hopefully I won't bend the landing gear, either.
If I do this thing, I'll be sure to write a report on the event!
Maynard