1st Solo

just had to post about my first solo last night as it was just such an awesome experience. Got to the airport about 5:45PM (and sunset is now about 7PM). Usually I'm early to get the plane prepped and preflighted, but today I was running late. My instructor (who rocks) got my back and had the plane ready to go (for which I thanked him profusely). Not being sure if this was solo day or not, we hopped in and did a few T/Os and landings. We had a decent x-wind which was cool because I finally had gotten the hang on them and was enjoying it. First two landings were pretty solid and right as I was getting ready to go after the touch, my instructor pulled the throttle back, and said "_____ it, I'm getting out!". So we taxied off the runway over onto the tarmac next to the jet hangar, shutdown, he signed my book, grabbed his stuff, and said good luck.

So at this point, I had a little butt clench going on, but then I just grabbed the checklist from inbetween the seats and started going over it. After that things just fell into place. Did the startup, and runup sequence, announced my intentions to takeoff runway 35 and did it. Boy did that 152 leap into the air without Mike on board! The sun was now getting pretty low in the sky, visibility was great, which made for a really unbelievable evening.

Came in, stuck the first landing pretty good, a little to the left, but overall one of my better ones. Mike crackled over the radio "Niiiice". Full stop, taxied back and took off for the second trip around the pattern. Radio had been very quiet as it had stormed a bit around 4PM, which I think keep a lot of GA planes in their houses, but right at the beginning of downwind, I heard a very professional "____Hotel Hotel Citation 20 miles out straight in for runway 35" and I thought, "hey that's my runway, but he's 20 miles away so I'm good." At the end of downwind, less than one minute later, I hear "____Hotel Hotel Citation 10 miles out straight in for runway 35" and I was like "holy crap, 10 miles in under a minute, he's going over 600 miles an hour!, and I'm going at the speed of smell". I turned base and announced very clearly to make sure I didn't get run over, kept checking out my right window to see if I could see him, but nothing yet. Turned final and heard him say he was 5 miles out. Stuck another halfway decent landing all things considered and taxied off announcing I was clear of the active. Sure enough, as I was taxing back to the end of the runway for one more, that big 'ol Citation landing in our little podunk airport, pretty cool sight to see up close.

So he clears out, one more once around the pattern and I was done. My instructor was fired up, I was fired up, it was pretty damn cool. We took off again to go fuel up at a local FBO, and he comes over with a pair of scissors innocently asking what it said on the back of my t-shirt. Next thing I know, there's a cool breeze across the bottom of my back and Mike is standing there holding his "scalp". So I got clipped. We flew back to base and our club mech (who also rocks) handed me a 1pt Straub. Beer never tasted so good....