Yesterday, July 16th, 2007, will go down as the second happiest day of my life, as I was finally able to solo a Cessna 172 after a mere 32.8 hours of dual instruction. Suffice it to say it's been a long time coming, as I've been only able to fly intermittently during this past spring and summer due to weather issues.
The big event took place out at KFTW after going through a few touch and go's with my instructor. Then he sent me off to taxi to Runway 16 and before I knew it, I was in the air flying the pattern. My first landing included a small bounce, but other then that, the whole thing went really well. Then after checking in with my instructor who watched from the ground, I went up again for two more go arounds. It was awesome.
At the end of it all, I had a crazy mix of adrenalin, glee, giddiness that's hard to convey unless you've done it yourself. And yes, they cut my shirt off of me in keeping with the solo tradition.
Congratulations! Eagle and Ranger will no doubt appreciate your new high-speed chaffeuring capabilities.
Posted by: Ayatollah Mugsy | July 31, 2007 at 10:30 AM