My brother Mike has never been in an airplane before, so today was pretty special to both of us. I wasn't sure that we'd be able to go when I woke up. There was intense fog in the region, and the weather report stated that the airport had zero miles visibility. I knew we probably wouldn't get to actually takeoff until about 10:30am, so I figured the sun would help burn off the fog before we were ready to go. My grandparents, mom and aunt also came out to take a look at the planes and watch me do a couple takeoffs and landings. It was nice to have them visit.
The winds were calm so we decided to use the designated no-wind runway, 18. I asked Mike if he was ready to go, and he said, "ready as I'll ever be!" I could tell he was a little nervous... I would be too! I did a normal takeoff and we flew the pattern around. My family was standing by the hangers next to the runway watching. The landing went well. I then took us to runway 36 since the winds were starting to come from the north. Mike was feeling more comfortable, so he said he wanted to feel some G's (g-forces). The closest thing I felt comfortable doing was a short field takeoff. He really liked that one. We then came back to land. My family had just left, so we decided to do a soft field takeoff with a departure to the north.
I had originally wanted to take him somewhere cool, but I also wanted to give him the opportunity to fly the airplane. So we went out to the practice area and climbed to 2500ft. While on the way to Jerseyville, I asked Mike if he wanted to fly the plane. He said he did. I tell him that he has the controls, and told him to do his best to keep it straight and level with light touches on the yoke. He was doing really good, but started to climb a little. I showed him the altimeter to point out his climb, and told him to gently push the yoke forward to lower the nose. He did great. He then kept flying and we must've hit a small pocket of turbulence because the plane slowly started descending to the right and he seemed a little startled. I helped him get it back straight but he said that was enough for him. Even though he didn't fly it long, I am still incredibly proud of him for giving it a shot. It was also a first for me as I have never let a non-pilot fly the plane. I will admit that I was a bit nervous, and may have been a little more critical of his climb and descents than an instructor would've been. But it was a good learning lesson for me and hopefully a positive experience for him.
Once we made it to Jerseyville, the haze seemed worse and our visibility wasn't up to my comfort level standards. I decided not to stick around. There was so much more that I wanted to show Mike, but decided that it was best to head back to the airport. We did a normal landing, and still had a half hour left before needing to return the plane. I asked if he just wanted to do a few more landings before calling it a day. He said he was having fun, so I took him back up. After two more landings, we taxied back to the ramp and parked the plane.
I asked him on the drive home what he thought. He said it was better than he had expected and actually had a lot of fun, but will leave the flying to me. We really had a good time, and I look forward to taking him somewhere cool next time.
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| Mike and I |
September 11, 2001 - We will never forget.
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