Dad seemed a little confused after we drove for an hour into the middle of no where just for a golf course, but the directions to the air field literally says, "turn off the paved road". Thank goodness for GPS!
As we pulled up, we started seeing the planes lining the field. They were beautiful - sexy - sleek looking planes.
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| From Fathers Day 2009 |
And my favorite...
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| From Fathers Day 2009 |
Our plane... which compared to the other cool fiberglass plane, lacked sex appeal. Well, for that matter... it lacked confidence! I lovingly refer to it is "The Beater".
We met our flight instructor Vince and we started pre-flight prep. I could tell Dad had some cautious optimism... which was only confirmed whenever he looked under the belly of the plane and saw duct tape! When Dad asked Vince about a rusty screw, the response sounded like a confident "oh don't worry... it just holds the wing on."
Vince didn't help the situation telling us stories about "miscalculations" he has made in his years of flying. Listen to the pre-flight video below...
"Well... at least he's going up there with us!", which is some what comforting. We moved the plane to the middle of the run way and Dad climbed in (there was no way I was going first!) Below are some of the pics from his take off and landing (click for larger pics)!
When he got back to firm land, he looked relieved and happy! But he did mention that the climbing in the plane made him a little dizzy. Gliders use thermals to gain altitude, and they were in full form that day. In his flight, he gained over 1000 feet AFTER the plane detached from the pull plane at 4200 feet above sea level! But to climb, you spin... in tight circles... very... tight... circles. You know those people who get selected at minor league games to do the bat races where they spin around and then run to home plate... imagine that feeling soaring from cloud to cloud.
Then it was my turn. Here's video of the take off.
At 4200 feet "You'll hear a little POP! Don't be alarmed, the wings are still on." This was his way of being funny. Here's a video of the pull plane releasing and then we are on our own!
The whole experience was amazing and I'm really glad we both enjoyed it. Can't wait for our next adventure. Happy Father's Day Dad!
