My First Solo Flight - It Was Fun!

To make it short: I did my first solo flight yesterday afternoon and it wasn’t scary at all. It was fun!!!

After wading through bureaucratic hurdles for the last year and spending a bunch of money for lessons and other things, plus a whole lot of practicing, I felt ready. Also thanks to two really amazing instructors, Peter Olt (our Head of Training) and Günter Krenn. Both taught me the many little things you need to pay attention to when flying (and also the big things). Especially when it comes to landing an airplane, which takes some time to get right.

The Moment of Truth

So when they stepped out of the cockpit right after my phase 2 progress check on Sunday afternoon, I wasn’t even all that nervous. I knew I got this. Been doing this for months now. I also knew that I had them on the radio should anything come up. Can’t say I was totally cool 😎, but not as nervous as I had anticipated I would be.

Yes, it was weird at first: nobody next to you who you can double check your decisions with. No real safety net. Nobody you can talk to either. So I just focused on what I had learned and step by step went through my checklists and procedures. Talked to myself quite a bit too during the flight which helped 😉 Verbalizing the things you are about to do is a good practice. Also helps you think ahead.

The Landings

Not gonna lie, I didn’t nail the very first landing. Actually was a little fast and thus aborted it last second. Those kilos you don’t have on board any longer do make a difference. The next 3 I did, 2 touch-and-gos and one full stop, were much better. Not perfect (I’m still learning after all) but we were all quite happy with them. 😊

Then taxied back to the hangar and put the plane away all on my own. I was quite happy, as you can see in the photo I took afterwards. It’s just so much fun and such an amazing feeling to fly around in this little shoebox of a plane (An Aquila A211 if you want to know).

What’s Next?

I’m not done yet and have a lot to learn still, not just for my license but also beyond that. It’s a whole different kind of responsibility too. Which is something I thrive on!