Flying my Dad

April 1, 2011

I took my Dad up for the first time this morning. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to fly because the winds were supposed to pick up during the day and the haze was pretty thick. I checked the weather before leaving home, and decided we would be ok. I knew I was comfortable with winds, if they stayed under 20 knots (23mph), and I knew the winds were coming directly from the west, which meant I shouldn't have any crosswinds. If there were crosswinds with that strong of wind, I would not have flown. Once we were ready to take off, the weather report stated that the winds were at 11 knots from the west.

He loved the takeoff. We climbed up to 1600ft and had planned on taking Dad over the river to the practice area. I wasn't sure how much he was going to enjoy flying in a small airplane, especially if it was windy. As we were getting closer to the river, I noticed just how thick the haze was, and also knew the clouds weren't exactly high. I decided that due to the haze, clouds and winds, that it would be best to just hang out around the airport and show him takeoffs and landings.

He seemed to really enjoy the takeoffs, and thought the landings were pretty cool. After a while, the winds picked up to 13 knots with gusts to 18 knots, and the pressure and clouds were also dropping. It wasn't the ideal time to fly a new passenger, so I decided to call it quits after 40 minutes. There will be plenty more opportunities to take him up.

I can't tell you just how much fun I have flying with passengers. It's so interesting to see what different people like and don't like. I love explaining what I'm doing with the plane and why I'm doing it. It is a huge confidence booster! I've also noticed that if they know what to expect, and know that I'm confident in my abilities, then they relax much quicker and have a better time. I hadn't really considered becoming a CFI (instructor) before now. But as time goes on, I think I'd do great teaching others to fly. Now all I need is another couple hundred hours :)

Flight Log to Date
Hours flown: 42.9