November 17, 2010
First Solo
It’s been a long, long time since my first solo flight in an airplane and I still remember the mixed emotions of excitement and fear. Glancing over at the empty right seat during the takeoff roll, I realized what a huge commitment I was about to make. As the plane climbed out, I couldn’t get out of my mind that it was all me! There was no one else to get this plane back on the ground. Pretty exciting. But there was just a tinge of fear, or maybe anxiety is a better word. I wouldn’t have my instructor to fall back on for this one.
Now I’m on a new solo. Being given an opportunity to write a blog for the Air & Space website is pretty exciting. I’ve never had a blog before and I’m looking forward to having this forum to discuss my experiences as an airline pilot.
But there’s more than a little anxiety to go along with this opportunity. I have to question what makes anything I have to say worthy of your attention. Let’s get it out up front that I’m not a recognized aviation authority or expert. I’ve been flying since 1977 and I have experience in both the General Aviation (GA) world and the airline industry. My pilot license shows 5 type ratings and I’m currently flying the Boeing 757 and 767 on both international and domestic flights. I love flying and I hope to share some of that with you in future posts.
Your feedback and questions will help me determine the content of this blog, but for now at least I’ll just pick some areas that I like to talk about and we’ll see how it goes.
4 Comments »
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Share your personal experiences and leave the technical stuff for other forums. The “Bad Commute” was quite interesting to me as an outsider.
Comment by Chris K — November 26, 2010 @ 4:59 pm
Thanks for the feedback. It’s hard to know what might be “blog-worthy” and obviously my musings won’t be interesting to everyone. But I’ll just keep throwing stuff against the wall and we’ll see what sticks.
Comment by Steve Satre — November 29, 2010 @ 7:48 pm
Steve, Don’t worry about pleasing everyone and just write what you want. Maybe other pilots will say it’s “common” or “boring” but the rest of us regular people find your blog very insightful and interesting. Keep up the good work and “keep the shiny side up.”
Comment by Bruce McLaughlin — December 23, 2010 @ 12:27 am
To me as an outsider it’s like having a peek behind the curtains. Your stories don’t need to be “epic”, it’s just a good read because you write clearly and from the perspective of an experienced pilot. The reader gets a glimpse of what goes on in the cockpit.
Comment by Jukka — September 30, 2011 @ 10:00 am