Tag: Discovery Flight

Introductory flight number 2 is in the books.  It was a great experience too, but it felt different than the first one.  For both flights I wanted the full 1 hour intro, not the shortened 20 min flight.  This flight I did book the full 1 hour and was expecting about $230.  I was told to arrive 30 minutes before the flight to take care of the paperwork.

When I arrived at the desk, again, not a pleasant greeting, but not a bad one.  I would say it was a quiet and distracted greeting, then I was sent to another person.  This person seemed confused as to why I was sent to him, but a third person stepped in and knew exactly what to do.

He took my ID and came by 10 minutes later with a photocopy.  He wrote $113 on it.  I inquired about the charge and said i was expecting $230 for the 1 hour.  He said I may have been looking at something else on the website.  In the end what i got was OK and if that was the $230 it would have been a disappointment.  After I did review the website and it does have a 1 hour for $230 (non-sightseeing).

I then sat outside to wait for my pilot and watch the activity.  A guy came back from his lesson and went to get someone who was also waiting outside.  On their way past me his friend asked which plane he was in, was he in the good take off, or the really shaky awkward one?  I felt for him at that moment, he said nothing until he got out of earshot.  Shortly that will be me in his shoes.

My pilot came up and greeted me and we were off to the plane.  We did a bit of a pre-check, he mentioned several times that normally there is a bit longer of a check but he just landed and we are going right back up.  We walked around looking for dents on the propeller, looking to see the hinges were free form obstructions, the wired nuts were still wired.  This was a much more immersive intro than the first.

We got in the plane, a 1980s Cessna 172, and did the passenger briefing: Exits, fire extinguisher, how to put on the seat belt and then into the checklists.  Engine start and taxi to the run up area, Paul was explaining the why behind what he was doing and the checklists all the time.  Off to the end of the runway to wait to take off.

We took off and he was explaining that we had to climb to 1900′ before a turn could be made, mostly to do with people buying houses near the airport and then forgetting they bought a house near an airport.  That is my commentary not my instructor.  

The trip was short, maybe 20 to 25 minutes, just out 10 to 12 minutes a 180 and headed back to the airport.  On the way back I saw a stunning, very traditional English looking estate with full English garden.  We turned to land, touched down and taxied back to parking.

This time the instructor came inside and started to go over the ground school, pricing and flight instruction.  Then, unexpectedly to him, he had to go back up.  Someone cancelled on him but someone else slipped in that spot and he said goodbye and he was off.  I took the papers he gave me and I headed home.

When I got home I built a short list of questions for both schools to help with the decision process.  That will be the next entry is the questions and answers from the schools.

What do you think is better?  The longer flight with less info for pre-flight and walk-around or a much shorter flight with more details.  Let me know.

First intro flight complete; it was a terrific experience.  The instructor that took me up for a 1 hour flight was excellent.  He shared a lot of what he was doing and talked through the flight.  He explained local land marks students use for reference and training.  He showed me where they practice for floats as well as the grass strip at a local private field.  I saw the Super Cub FlightChops highlights in some of his videos – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVhtOMeiZ4M

My flight was in a Cessna 172, it is the one in the picture.  While I didn’t want the flight to end I am glad it did.  I was very nervouscited (a term only a kid could come up with) and the adrenaline did not like an empty stomach.  I never felt like I was going to be sick, it was starting to just get overwhelming.

The weather the past few weeks has been challenging, rain, thunderstorms and cloud.  Trying to book with a couple days’ notice has been hard as cancelled flights have been pushed and there have been limited times that line up with my schedule.  It did get booked and away I went.  The person booking the flight said I just needed to be there 5 minutes before the scheduled flight, I was 30 minutes early.

I walked in went to the counter and told them why I was there.  I then sat in the waiting area and just watched, that’s when I saw the Super Cub.  There was a student who looked like he was studying; he had his From the Ground Up book and a thick book on Canadian Aviation Regulations.  Mostly he was watching the activity of behind the counter.  I was watching the take offs and landings and listening to liveatc.  One of my concerns about learning to fly is the radio work, so I listen when I can to get a feel for it.

Finally it is my turn; we head out to the plane with headset in hand.  I am told how to get in the plane and shown how to use the door.  He then gets in and starts his ground briefing and startup procedures.  A few minutes later we are taxing to the runway.  A few more procedures and a run up then wait for a couple of others to land, and then we are off the ground.  We were in the air for 5 minutes or so and I got the control and the first task was to keep the wings level and keep an altitude.  I guess I did ok and we moved on to changing the direction we were going and I was told to turn to a specified direction. 

It started with a shallow turn 10 to 15 degrees of bank then in other turns we tried 45 degrees of bank.  We saw some local sights and a glider club or school, apparently there was a competition that day.  We flew over the field and saw some of the tow-planes taking off so we headed to another area.  More turns, more keep on a heading, and then started to descend.  Descent means one thing; in this case anyway, it is over. 

We head back to the airport and enter the pattern to land.  Once off the runway there were a few more procedures and back to the parking area.  The rampie guided us to the fuel pump and the engine shuts off.  The rampie said something to the pilot, something to do with scheduling, and then the pilot said Goodbye and headed off.  I don’t think he liked what was said and the rampie took me back into the office to pay.

I am not sure what I expected but after I paid but the person who took my payment said goodbye and was also gone.  I guess I expected to talk to someone about my questions about the school and facilities.  So I do need to call back and get those answered before picking my school for learning.

I have another discovery flight booked at another school near me and so far the weather is cooperating. I am exactly 25 minutes from each of the airports so distance to the schools is not a factor in the decision.

All in all, I am hooked.  What was your first intro flight like?