Well well well....

What do you know. I finally got my maiden solo flight!

How fantastic was that!!

After a lot of training frustration – on my part – and a lot of patience from Tony & Wayne, I did my first solo yesterday 24 February 2010 at approximately 18h15.

I have never had a feeling of wanting something so badly yet not wanting it at the same time, as my mind raced with mixed feelings of fear, excitement, anxiety and a large dose of adrenaline.

I arrived at the field at about 16h00. Tony asked me to do a few controlled launches with the motor, albeit off. Being nervous with the prospect of doing my first solo, I just could not get the wing up and stable. Frustrated as hell, I despondently walked back to the car to contemplate and re-arrange my thoughts. Wayne was great at this point in re-assuring me that there was no need to feel pressured to fly. Then Tony says casually, “Put on your helmet and radio and let’s get you in the air”. Oh hell, I think. Now there’s no more time for getting it wrong.

My first launch (reverse) was an abort. I had up to then, never felt the full power of my machine on my back (sorry Tony). My second launch was a forward. I get the canopy up and stable and gas on the power. As I start to run, I can feel the wing dropping right and I think, sh*t, another abort. But then I hear Tony’s calm voice on the radio “give full power now and run boet”. With full power and commitment I suddenly feel the weight of the motor lift and my feet treading air as I get airborne.

Then calm and I think: either I’ve died or this is it – I’ve done it, I’m flying, when the whiff of the sewerage factory suddenly brings me back to my senses. After settling in to the seat, I did 2 standard left patterns. Then Tony guided me in to land. Up to this point, nobody had told me how to land, even after repeated requests. All everybody ever said was listen to Tony. Well he did a fantastic job about it. I flared at the right moment, but admittedly when I touched the ground, my feet slipped and I landed on my arse. But I didn’t care – I had Done It!

Thanks to everybody for all the training assistance, Tony, Wayne, Riaan and Alan. It’s guys like you who make this the greatest bunch of guys to train with.

Cheers

Laurie