Take it round yourself
1st Solo!
On the 6th June 2004 I did my first solo. Bob Fennell, my instructor said something like “how would you like to take it round yourself?”. I hummed and hawwed for a while, before deciding…
We did 3 more flights together, then Bob got out of the back, and briefed me on what to expect. I tried hard to focus on what I needed to do. I’d done it many times before, but always with someone in the back seat to sort out whatever mess I caused.
Checks complete, the launch point signals “up slack”, then “all out”. At the top of the launch I released the cable, and turned 90 degrees to the left to begin the circuit. I glanced over my shoulder to check where I was in relation to the runway, and caught a glimpse of the empty rear seat. I was really up here by myself.
I continued the routine. High key point at 800 ft established on downwind. Downwind checks. Altitude climbing… somethings wrong here. On my first solo, there was some lift on the downwind leg. I’d never been in lift before and now I was far too high. I decided at 900ft I had enough altitude to orbit to the right. As I returned to downwind, I did the checks again and second time round I was roughly where I should be. From that point on, I don’t remember much. I’ve got a video of my approach and landing which seems smooth enough. I rolled to a stop with and obvious look of concentration (or something) on my face. Bob walks over to the aircraft, camera in hand and says “Well, look happy then!”.
I’d done it. Flown an aircraft by myself. It took a while to sink in, but I’d actually done it. My logbook shows my solo was after around 4 hours & 40 launches.
Boggles at rest after my first solo
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