I still remember the first time I really thought being a pilot was cool…
I was a student pilot, on my first solo cross-country from MWA (Marion, IL) to SLO (Salem, IL). The trip was about 45-minutes one-way in the Warrior, I landed in a 90-degree crosswind on runway 18 with a smooth touch-down. I taxiied to the ramp and shutdown. I hopped out of the plane and made a stop in the john. There was noone around, the small airport appeared deserted. I checked the weather real quick and walked back out to the lone Warrior on the ramp. Then it hit me. I’m alone, with my airplane. I have no car here, and I, alone, just flew that airplane here.
With a huge smile on my face, I did a quick preflight and hopped back on the wing and climbed into the pilot seat and flew home.
Ok, that was officially cool.
One of those moments hadn’t hit me a second time until last Friday. A good friend of mine and I flew down to Cape Girardeau, MO (CGI) for lunch at the resteraunt on the field. The catfish was fantastic. As we walked back out to the plane, my friend made some comment of how cool it was to knock out a 1:30 drive in 30 minutes of flight time.
Ok, this is just plain cool.
Flying has always been cool, no matter what plane I’m in or who’s flying it, but there are moments that it feels just plain cool to be a pilot. I’m not trying to brag, just share my excitement with everyone else. Nothing could make me happier than seeing a big smile on a friend’s face following a just-for-fun flight.