No doubt about it, it has to be my first glider solo ... I didn't think I had quite made the grade, but at the end of the afternoon, my instructor Pat Brown gave me a couple of shots at showing him I could get it all right. I did ok on the two flights ... and was duly sent up solo after sorting the paperwork.
I was petrified on the walk out to the glider, went through my pretakoff checklist, then don't remember much until I was about 10 feet in the air behind the towplane ... then, as we climbed into the clear Texas sky I called '200 feet' and relaxed to enjoy one of the biggest steps that anyone can make.
It was fantastic cutting loose from the towplane and being able to soar free. I always remember the calmness and sound of the wind rushing past at 3000 feet. Just awesome. I did it.