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Barbecue Saturday
Wow, it is the third Saturday of the month already. That means it is barbecue time at Monadnock Aviation. Please join us for lunch Saturday at noon at Keene's FBO. |
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The Excitement of Solo
For some, the excitement of solo flight becomes forgotten and lost in every day details and responsibilities. Others feel that excitement every time they fly, even years after their first solo flight. This is the writing (edited for brevity) of one of our student pilots who flew solo for the first time this month. It took me back...
My heart was racing....
I was nervous....
Here goes nothing, I thought.....
I taxied out to the runway.
Before getting onto the runway, I thought to myself......this is it. Today, I am the pilot in command (PIC).
My instructor was not physically with me. He trusted me with the utmost responsibility of taking care of his plane while I learned to fly it alone.
I knew he was watching me from inside the building. I knew he was listening to my every word over the radio.
He felt I was ready for this.....
I had to show that I was ready for this.
It was now my turn. I got out onto the runway.
There's no turning back at this point.
I called it in. "Keene traffic. Warrior 337. Rolling on runway 02. Staying in the traffic pattern. Keene."
I took a deep breath in. I slowly exhaled.
My left hand was on the yoke and right hand on the throttle. I punched the throttled all the way up.
The plane roared and sped up gradually and reached 50 knots...rotating speed.
I pulled the yoke gently and the plane took off from the ground.
The wind was stronger than I thought.
The plane jolted left and right abruptly.
That scared the hell out of me!
I thought to myself, "Holy shit! What the hell was I thinking??!! Land the damn plane and go home and find an easier hobby!!
My sweaty hands gripped the yoke.
My legs were stiff because I was somewhat paralyzed because I was so damn nervous.
My instructor was not sitting next to me to provide comfort and reassurance that everything was going to be ok.....
This wind was making things harder than necessary.
All of a sudden, it happened.....what happened? Well, IT happened. I heard a voice.....it came from up above.....
My instructor came into my mind and he said to me, "It's just the wind and there's nothing you can do about it. So just get over it and fly the plane"!
I remembered how my instructor would always tell me that flying with winds is what makes a great pilot. Anyone can fly on a calm day but it takes a real pilot to fly on a windy day.
And I thought to myself, "I want to be that great pilot. I'm gonna do this".
I eased up my grip on the controls and relaxed my legs.....
I took command of my aircraft.
That's right. MY aircraft. This is MY plane today.
I came back around and prepared for my landing.
"Keene traffic. Warrior 337. Final for runway 02. Full stop. Keene."
I descended....Somewhere in there shortly thereafter, I made a fairly nice and smooth landing.
I exhaled a breath of relief. Phew, I thought.....I made it.
Hell yeah I made it!!! I'm gonna do this again....
As I was getting ready to continue back out for another run, my CFI says over the radio, "How did that feel"?
How did that feel?
HOW DID THAT FEEL???
HOW DID THAT FEEL??!!??!!??!!
It felt UN-FRIGGIN-BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!
I just flew a goddamn airplane ALL BY MYSELF!!!!!!!!
I mean, its only ever so slightly different than parallel parking a car!
Wait til I tell my friends and family all about it.....they'll never believe it!
It was just yesterday that I was a young ambitious kid walking into that airport and signing up for flying lessons because I had this crazy vision that someday, maybe someday, I could be a great pilot.
And today, I was the Pilot in Command of my own aircraft - Warrior N43337.
Come fly with me.
You'll never regret it and you'll never forget it!
Signing off,
Student Pilot, |
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Airport Restaurant
The City of Keene has announced that the India Pavilion restaurant will not renew its lease which expires this month. The city will be seeking a new eatery for the space in the terminal building. If you are interested, please let me know and I will get you more information on the application process.
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Runway Resurfacing
This just in from Ed Mattern, Keene's Airport Manager...
"In an effort to continually improve the infrastructure at the Dillant-Hopkins Airport, the City will be resurfacing Runway 2/20 this summer. The $4.5 million project will include the grinding and reclamation of the exiting surface, installation of new taxiway fillet lighting, new primary wind cone, new signage, safety area improvements, drainage improvements and, of course, new pavement and markings. The project is currently in the engineering phase and will soon be bid for construction. During the construction phase of the project, Runway 2/20 will need to be closed for approximately 2 months. With the exception of a two week period when the runway intersection is constructed, Runway 14/32 will remain open and available. Once a contractor has been identified and a construction schedule formulated, additional information will be made available. We appreciate your understanding for any inconvenience this project may cause. We believe the end result will be worth it." |
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Relax and Enjoy the In Flight Video
Twenty years ago, I spent some amount of time sitting on the floor, packed like cattle, and freezing my butt off somewhere over the South China Sea. During those years I never once thought of the C-130 as a particularly sexy plane (sorry to offend you C-130 people). This KC-130 video does reveal redeeming characteristics and the plane now seems quite nice from the comfort of my warm Keene office with a cushioned, back supporting roller chair with cocoa in hand! |
Springs a' coming! I hope to see you tomorrow at the BBQ.
Thank you,
603-357-7600 |
