Marc took me on an airplane ride before we went over to Scott's hanger at the Waukesha airport. I have always been enamored by the thought of flying a small plane. I do have to admit, that I have always figured it was a similar sensation or experience to commercial flight, but after today, I would say that the two forms of flying have nothing to do with each other. Marc was really excellent about explaining every gauge, button, or switch in the Cessna before we ever took off. He explained everything about the process after we were in the air and even had me "take over" the controls so I could get a feel for how connected you are when you fly a plane this size. Marc demonstrated all controls in regard to actions in the plane. I handled the intentional stall and banked turns where I was able to feel the g-force even in this small plane (which I did not expect). We flew along the ice and it was breathtaking (even saw a bald eagle) and then climbed to cruising altitude and headed to Dodge Country Airport in Juneau. We landed and went inside to get some coffee and cookies while the tanks were being topped off with fuel. We hopped back in the Cessna and climbed to cloud level and then above. We then headed back to Hartford and put the plane back in the hanger. What a trip! I suffer from motion sickness when riding in the back of a car as well as on amusement park rides and so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to stomach the plane ride. I didn't get sick, but I did get a bit disoriented when Marc banked hard inside a cloud. Though my "internal gyro" has been off a bit ever sense the flight. Crazy cool all the same though... Thanks to Marc for taking me on my first small plane flight.
So happy you got to experience flying - REAL flying, not that 'human mailing tube' silliness. It's something you can try to describe to people, but it simply has to be experienced to be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteSo, when are you starting flying lessons? :-)
ME TOO!! Thanks for setting this up with Marc. I owe you.
ReplyDeleteAs for flying lessons...I'll have to find a way to deal with my motion sickness FIRST.
The motion sickness is something you actually get acclimated to pretty quickly, oddly enough. My first few flights, I had to stop at a gas station on the drive home to pace around and ask myself "am I going to hurl? And do I really want to pursue this?". Yep, takes a little while for your 'internal gyro' to settle.
ReplyDeleteDuring one lesson my instructor introduced me to 'Dutch rolls', where you alternately roll the plane quickly from one side to the other, keeping a distant landmark centered in the windshield. It only took about 4-5 oscillations before I returned control to him and asked if we could RTB _right away_ - fortunately he obliged with a straight-in return to runway 36, and I managed to keep my lunch in my stomach. Knowing that EVERY pilot faces motion sickness is some comfort, and is just part of the process of earning your wings.
I wound up trying ginger pills, and they seemed to do the trick for motion sickness - soon after, I was used to the sensation of flying and didn't bother taking ginger pills anymore. I did the rest of my training with no motion sickness issues, even in really bumpy air - the turbulence finally became a simple annoyance and not a concern for whether I'd need a bucket back at the hangar.