1 year

Well it’s been one year…

..since I got in that plane! One year since that fateful day I took my first “intro flight”. One year since a certain someone may have planted the little seed in my mind that flying a plane was actually something I could do.

Ha, If I’d known then what I know now, I don’t think I would have been quite so eager. Actually I’m not sure if eager is the right word. I’ve blogged ad infinitum about how terrified I was, so I won’t bore you with that. Maybe quietly determined would be a better way to describe it (or foolishly stubborn, your pick!)

Seriously though, this stuff is hard, even having seen RTH get through his PPL I still had no idea of just exactly how hard it was going to be. The worse thing is I simply don’t have the words to tell other, non piloty people just how tricky it is. Sometimes I swear I hear people thinking “what so you just take off, fly it around a rectangle and land again? How hard can that be?”

Well let me tell you, bloody hard and you have no idea just how fricken hard until you’ve tried it, really. And those of you who`ve had a little bit of a bash behind the control column because you got a “Groupon deal or something” and the pilot “totally let you fly the plane and everything.” Yeah, you really didn’t. You probably had a really good instructor who let you take some control and certainly let you think that you were doing all the flying. But you weren’t, honestly. Even after several hours of lessons, I still wasn’t fully in control of that plane*, a gentle steadying hand on the control column, a light touch of the foot on the rudder pedal; all done without you even realising it. Gradually easing off over time until you are doing it all without you even knowing. All the mark of a good instructor.

It is interesting for me to see how my relationship with Bob has changed too. At the start he was the gentle person , coaxing me into the cockpit. Reassuring me that I could do this, gradually building up my confidence one tiny step at a time. Managing my workload for me, easing off the pressure. Making it all alright.

Now he's the son of a <bleep> who chucks whatever dastardly stuff he can think of at me. Constantly challenging me, never ever letting me get too comfortable, too complacent in the cockpit! Hmm he may well have unleashed the slightly competitive side in me. Well played, yet again!

But still it is hard and sometimes it gets worse before it gets better, sometimes I have to remember just how much I’ve achieved, before I get bogged down in just how much I still have to overcome. The sheer amount of theory I have to know is simply insane and I’m barely scratching the surface here. I knew it was going to be hard, I still had no idea though just how hard.

And yet even with all the above I’m loving every moment of it! It’s been a while since I was truly challenged by anything mentally or physically. Flying is doing both in spades that’s for sure.

Flying has changed me in so many ways, challenged my belief of what I can and can't do. Changed my perception of risk and helped me overcome many of my inner demons. I've made new friends, gained new skills and have a completely new outlook on life. I've reached dizzying heights and hit challenges that left me considering quitting. I've faced adversity and come out the other side a better person.

Here's to another year in the skies!



* I think the jury is still out on whether I actually am now !