Solo flight

[cjsmith]

A friend of mine soloed today. I'm incredibly pleased, all the more so because he's worked very hard for this. Y'all probably don't know him, and heck I don't even know him WELL, but I'm happy for him.

I'm always happy when a new pilot flies an aircraft alone for the first time. It's a big accomplishment. I'm even happier this time because I know how much effort it took on his part. I love seeing people accomplish things that aren't easy -- things that stretch their abilities a bit, things that make them learn, make them try, make them grow. Enough stuff is like that for me that I'm heartened any time someone succeeds.

Comments

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

I've never soloed, I ran out of money before I ran out of lessons, I'll never forget the joy of being at the controls. Congratulations to your friend and a long and joyous flying lifetime ahead.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I hear ya. I ran out of money twice and finally got to solo (and license) the third time. Fourteen years from first lesson to license. :-) It's not a cheap hobby!

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Awesome. I think if I'd gotten that far I probably wouldn't have been able to drop it the last time.

Someday...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ayup. I dropped it twice, and the third time was the charm - fourteen years from first lesson to solo (and eventually license). Now I've dropped it again, partially because of a new fixation on retirement planning, but I still keep a tiny flame of hope alive.