Even though I knew this was a day I would always remember, this one started like many others before. My flight instructor, Dennis Moss, and I climbed into the Remos 408RA and taxied toward runway 33 under early morning, blue, windless skies. After the run-up, a series of tests performed to make sure all systems were safe and operational before leaving the safety of the ground, I pushed the talk button of the radio and announced, "Erie traffic, Remos four-zero-eight-Romeo-Alpha is taking the active runway three-three, we'll be staying in the pattern".
Pushing the throttle in, I felt my anxiety fade as the plane sped up and I lifted off from the ground. My hands and feet began doing what I spent months practicing and the weather couldn’t have been better. As I began circling the airport for my first "touch and go" (the practice of landing and immediately taking off again) I found myself fully relaxing and enjoying the moment. Looking down, I could see that the grass had just been cut in the field below me and the tire tracks were still visible from the tractor. I also noticed that the hot air balloons were rising out of Boulder, rather than crowding near Erie as they often do on calm mornings.
The rest of the pattern went by and I continued to feel calm and in control. As I brought the plane down on final (the last few minutes before touching down), I had a very clear moment, just above the runway numbers, of total joy. Setting the plane down on the ground I set my flaps and pushed the throttle back in with a grin so wide it was nearly painful.
"Make another landing like that last one and come to a full stop, so I can climb out." Dennis says, indicating that he is pleased so far, and ready for me to fly solo. I watched my wife and son waving to me from the ground as I acknowledged him.
After another smooth landing, I pulled off of the runway and stopped the airplane where Dennis unbuckled his seatbelt, grabbed and signed the solo endorsement of my logbook and climbed out. "Just to show you how much I trust you, I'll leave my headsets in the plane!" He told me, and closed the door.
For the first time, I was alone in the cockpit of an airplane, and about to fly solo!! Taxiing to the runway, I found myself very aware of the total lack of fear that I felt. I knew that the weather was good, and I was capable.
Making my radio announcement I paused briefly, wondering if I should warn the local aviation community that I was heading out by myself for the first time, but decided against it for no reason other than I wanted to hurry up and fly!
Pushing the throttle in, I remembered Dennis's words about how the plane would perform better without the extra person in it. Immediately I felt what he was talking about as it eased into the sky with power that I didn’t know it had. After a quick glance at my family and teacher, who for the first time waved to me from the ground, I looked at my instrument panel to find that I was ready to retract flaps much sooner than I was used to. Smiling like an idiot, I found myself at pattern altitude (the altitude that local traffic maintains when landing at the airport) before I even finished the crosswind leg of the pattern (this is the first turn after take off). Normally, I would spend nearly double that amount of time climbing!
Landing the plane was a dream, and the next three laps around the airport followed suit. After my final landing, I was greeted by my son's voice over the radio saying "Way to go Dad!" I think that radio call will live with me for the rest of my life.
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