“The lure of flying is the lure of beauty.” Amelia Earhart
This morning I met my instructor at the airport at 6:00 AM. It really makes my day, my week, my month, my year, my life to see the sunrise. It gives meaning to everything that I love so dearly.
And, since we got there before the sunrise, I got to practice takeoffs and landings in the dark. Nothing replaces flight time – nothing. The other thing that can’t be replaced is my instructor. Yesterday I got more experience and training in crosswinds. This morning my instructor walked me through night landings since I had never been able to do smooth landings. I could land but you could definitely feel them unfortunately. It’s hard to judge just how far off the ground you are when it’s dark out. But, there was my Yoda to the rescue. The secret was positioning the plane better. I had him talking me through them a couple of times. It helped greatly!
We watched the sun come up. (Pictures below!) Then he got out of the plane. (Yes, after I landed!) It’s a scary, but exhilarating feeling when that happens. I instantly think: “I can’t do this. But, apparently I can because he just got out of the plane and left me with his pride and joy.”
I then did about 20 takeoffs and landings. I did 2 hours solo this morning. I had to avoid deer on the runway, a truck on the runway, then dance with two planes during landings. The last landing I did, I had to crab my way in the wind to do a final landing. I consider that a very precious, beautiful morning, don’t you think?
“In my life, I’ve lived, I’ve loved, I’ve lost, I’ve missed, I’ve hurt, I’ve trusted, I’ve mistrusted, I’ve made mistakes but the most wonderful thing of all, I’ve learned.”
All photos near the Virginia Tech airport:
