I flew a plane!!

Well ok - I didn't exactly "fly" it as in taking off or landing, but once we were in the sky, the flight instructor pretty much handed the controls over to me and boy was that fun! A few weeks ago hubby arranged for a demo flight for the two of us and a flight instructor for Saturday morning. Since he's been in a small plane before, he offered to sit in back so that meant I was able to sit in front as the PIC (pilot in command.) The plane was a small 4-seater Cessna Skyhawk. It had the latest in aviation technology (commonly referred to as a "glass cockpit"). Along with all the regular dials and gauges you see in older aircraft, this thing also had 2 LCD screens - one of which was a moving map display so you can see your aircraft on a map as we flew over major roads and landmarks. Pretty neat stuff. We even took part in the pre-flight checklist and the instructor walked me through which switches to turn on and which levers to press when. Now that was confusing and completely overwhelming, but it was still a lot of fun once you were up in the air. And I've got the video to prove it! This first one was taken as we were climbing after take-off. Those who are familiar with the location of this little airport might be able to recognize some landmarks. And yes, that is me in the driver's seat. It was quite hazy yesterday morning, so the visibility wasn't great, but it was still a really cool ride. On a clear day from our altitude, we should have been able to see all the way to the Sound.

The next video will also look pretty familiar to those who live in this area. Those 2 towers on the hill are a predominant landmark but they look so different from the air! Hubby also filmed one of the largest houses in the area. Owned by a popular rapper who bought it from a former boxer. I think it's up for sale again if you've got a few million to spare.

I also flew us over our own house. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find things from the air. You really need to know your landmarks! After turning us north and keeping an eye out for a very large reservoir, I was actually able to follow the roads and turned us right toward our neighborhood. And not long after that, I found our house. Or actually I found our back deck. The red stain is amazingly very visible from 2000 feet up! At that point the instructor took over and put the plane in a 45° bank. Now that was a bit freaky - look next to your shoulder and the wing of the plane is pretty much pointed straight down. But by doing that we were able circle it and the neighborhood a few times before heading back towards the airport. The landing was pretty smooth, but it looked really complicated. All-in-all it was definitely a fun ride. Now on to the more pressing question...would I want to learn how to do all of this myself?