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Old 19th Apr 2017, 21:14
  #43 (permalink)  
flyinkiwi
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 370
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First solo was in a 172R on 20 Nov 2004, 0830hrs. Perfect flying morning, no wind, no cloud, no traffic in the circuit. The clubs head instructor asks me when he gets in the plane if I have soloed yet and acts surprised when I say no. After 3 passable circuits together he keys the mike on downwind and asks ATC for a full stop landing. He gets me to taxi back to the hold point at which time he undoes his belts and tells me he wants three more circuits like I just did then to bring the plane back to the club. I remember his last words to me before he closed the door, "...just appreciate that the aircraft will perform differently with only one person in it." I remember being too busy to be nervous, there is so much to do in the circuit and you are not allowed to miss anything. I heard my instructors voice in my headset the whole way around the first circuit, it wasn't till I was on very short final that I realized I was talking to myself! The last landing was one of the best ones I had done to date. My wife tells me I didn't stop smiling for several weeks.
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