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General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: balance1 on October 29, 2009, 09:26:31 PM

Title: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: balance1 on October 29, 2009, 09:26:31 PM
As of 19:25 zulu today i took a very big step into entering an elite fraternity. One of men who walk the earth with their eyes turned skywards, for we have tasted flight and flight is where we long to return. In short I SOLOED!
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Karnak on October 29, 2009, 09:33:51 PM
Congratulations, Balance1.

I hope you have a great experience going forward from here.

 :aok
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: SB on October 29, 2009, 09:54:11 PM
Yeah I can remember the day I solo'd. Was busy getting the Cessna off the ground, flaps up, throttled back to go around the pattern and then looked over at the right seat to see it was empty.....talk about a great feeling even if it was a bit drafty after I lost my shirttail.

SB
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Flipperk on October 29, 2009, 10:00:15 PM
I remember my first solo...


... I looked over at the right seat being empty...the aircraft weighed 200 pounds less


I felt alone, helpless, and unsure of myself.....



.....then i started my preflight..

Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: mechanic on October 29, 2009, 10:10:04 PM
Balance, hearty congratulations and please take some of my deepest envy for seconds :D

S!
batfink
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Oldman731 on October 29, 2009, 10:42:37 PM
As of 19:25 zulu today i took a very big step into entering an elite fraternity. One of men who walk the earth with their eyes turned skywards, for we have tasted flight and flight is where we long to return. In short I SOLOED!

Congrats, dude, it's a great feeling you'll not forget.

- oldman
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: bcadoo on October 29, 2009, 10:44:15 PM
Welcome to the club  :aok
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Guppy35 on October 29, 2009, 10:44:28 PM
Congrats!  It was a long time ago, but contrary to CorkyJr's cartoon flying ability, I did not auger the Piper Warrior II I soloed in.  N3332Q.  I've never forgotten that ID :)
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Stalwart on October 29, 2009, 10:44:48 PM
balance1   :salute

Many happy landings!~  :aok
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Pyro on October 29, 2009, 11:15:17 PM
Congrats although I wouldn't classify it as an elite fraternity if the likes of SB and myself can belong to it. :D

I was at the tender age of 16 when I soloed at an Air Force Base aero club.  I wasn't afraid of crashing but I was afraid of not understanding radio communications with tower and breaking some protocol or instruction.  I was flying a Cessna 152 and I had 11000 feet of runway.

I was flying around the pattern when a pair of A-10's came in with the call signs of Pyro 1 and Pyro 2.  Years later when signing up for Air Warrior I thought of that when picking a call sign.

Another notable thing that I remember is that being young and dumb, I never took heed to all the patches of signed cloth hung on the wall of the aero club.  I was completely oblivious to the tradition and wore my favorite shirt to my solo.  When my instructor greeted me with a pair of scissors I was horrified at the thought of having my favorite shirt butchered and thought she was joking.  After having the shirt tails pointed out to me on the wall, I sacrificed my favorite shirt.  I just wished that I had known about that before.  Not only did I ruin my favorite shirt, I had to ride my bike back home with a missing chunk out of my shirt.


Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Simba on October 29, 2009, 11:35:53 PM
A draughty Kirby Cadet TX Mk.3 glider was my first solo ride, at RAF Old Sarum a l-o-n-g time ago. Unforgettable. Went on to train on Chipmunks and flew a Tiger Moth for a bit, but there's nothing like your first time up there alone.

Fly long and prosper, Grasshopper!

 :salute
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: rvflyer on October 29, 2009, 11:57:23 PM
As of 19:25 zulu today i took a very big step into entering an elite fraternity. One of men who walk the earth with their eyes turned skywards, for we have tasted flight and flight is where we long to return. In short I SOLOED!

Congratulation!!!! I certainly remember my first solo as if it was yesterday and it has been 45 years ago.  :airplane:
Another great experience is building your own airplane and then getting in it and flying it the first time. The airplane I built is an RV-6 which
is where my name comes from.

I think the thing that makes me more nervous than anything else now is watching my students solo for the first time :pray
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: save on October 30, 2009, 06:02:25 AM
congrats .

solo'ed myself 1992 in a ultralight trike  , and later moved to cubs due to climate here .
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: beddog on October 30, 2009, 06:32:06 AM
Great going pal and welcome to the REAL pilots club.
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: RufusLeaking on October 30, 2009, 07:39:58 AM
Wtg balance.  Stay sharp.  Have fun.

And, it is the greatest day of your life so far.
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: PFactorDave on October 30, 2009, 07:46:08 AM

I wasn't afraid of crashing but I was afraid of not understanding radio communications with tower and breaking some protocol or instruction.  I was flying a Cessna 152 and I had 11000 feet of runway.


This made me smile, it almost mirrors my experience exactly.  Like you, I wasn't afraid of the flying, but was absolutely scared to death that I would screw up the comms with the tower.  I also had an insanely long runway to land on, but instead of a 152 I was in a Piper Traumahawk.

On another note, WTG Balance!
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: TnDep on October 30, 2009, 07:50:29 AM
Congrats, be careful!  :airplane:
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: CAP1 on October 30, 2009, 07:55:50 AM
As of 19:25 zulu today i took a very big step into entering an elite fraternity. One of men who walk the earth with their eyes turned skywards, for we have tasted flight and flight is where we long to return. In short I SOLOED!

it's a day you'll never forget sir.

congrats! :aok :airplane:
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Warspawn on October 30, 2009, 04:12:22 PM
WTFG!!

Did the same here about 3 years ago; just now finished my single-engine land and multi-engine land commercial ratings.

I'll never forget that first feeling of being all by myself in the cockpit...and like the others have said here, absolutely terrified of making the wrong radio calls, or cutting someone off in the pattern and getting yelled at.   :pray

 
Flying is absolutely the best fun you'll have with your clothes on!
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: SectorNine50 on October 30, 2009, 05:32:34 PM
I'm so jealous... :(
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: xNOVAx on October 30, 2009, 06:20:58 PM
woot! Way to go dude! I had my first solo about 2 months ago.. Awesome feeling!  :rock
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Slash27 on October 30, 2009, 07:47:02 PM
 :airplane:     :aok
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: crazyivan on October 30, 2009, 07:51:29 PM
Congrats although I wouldn't classify it as an elite fraternity if the likes of SB and myself can belong to it. :D



I was flying around the pattern when a pair of A-10's came in with the call signs of Pyro 1 and Pyro 2.  Years later when signing up for Air Warrior I thought of that when picking a call sign.



Would've loved to hear the coms on the A-10s. " hey Gary, I bet I can make that Cessna wet himself."  :neener:
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: CAP1 on October 30, 2009, 10:35:19 PM
i think that to this day, my 3 best landings were on my first solo. i actually greased all 3 of them on. i don't think i;ve greased one since......they're pretty, but i can always hear the "chirpchirp" as the mains touch down.  :aok
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Nitro185 on October 31, 2009, 07:44:35 AM
Congrats balance1     :aok


 But remember...Takeoff's are Optional.... :rock ......Landings are mandatory.. :uhoh


 :joystick:--> :eek:

Be safe !
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: mia389 on October 31, 2009, 08:50:27 AM
Congrat!

Did they cut your shirt?  I always would tell my students to wear an old shirt. Most of them didnt know why. A lot of instructors now days dont bother with this tradition. I still have mine framed.

Good luck with the rest of your training towards your PPL
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Flyboy on October 31, 2009, 12:56:34 PM
i remeber my first solo, defently one the most powerfull experiences in my life.
our tradition is after your first solo you get drowned in tha bucket full of water and get kicked in your bellybutton by your instructor and all your buddies  :D

(http://i573.photobucket.com/albums/ss177/VMF251/other/IMG_0772.jpg)
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: jocko- on October 31, 2009, 03:21:53 PM
Congrats, Oct. 29th will be a day with meaning for every year of your life. If you think the first solo was fun, you'll love your first solo X-Country even more, because it won't be just flying the airplane anymore. It's everything that pilots do - map reading, decision making, getting a chance to get out and see something besides your home field. In short, a wonderful feeling of independance and accomplishment.
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: rvflyer on November 01, 2009, 01:02:46 PM


 
Flying is absolutely the best fun you'll have with your clothes on!


and off, think mile high club. :D
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: Wagger on November 01, 2009, 02:58:17 PM
Ah yes.  I remember my first solo so well.  I believe it involved a tool shed, bed sheet and absence of common sense.  It was a glorious flight up until my knee met my chin.
Title: Re: I'm in! Today was the greatest day of my life.....thus far
Post by: MachFly on November 01, 2009, 03:15:57 PM
congrats   :aok