Lucky for me, Jack is the corporate pilot for another friend's company. He Thought one of the company's planes needed a quick workout, so my first lesson was in a V-35 Bonanza. Retractable gear, constant speed prop, cruising comfort for four! Jack introduced me to some ground reference maneuvers (pretty wild in high winds), and showed me how landings work (the Bonanza having only one yoke, of the 'throw-over' style, I had to give it back to him for landing). Shortly after that lesson, I started a new job in Minneapolis, MN, so I haven't flown with Jack since. I do remember that lesson though; and am proud of my one hour of high-performance time.

The new job was with a consulting firm and my first assignment was down in Rochester, MN, about an hour and a half from Minneapolis. I really wanted to start flying, so I would come home once or twice during the week for lessons. I'm not sure if it was the brightest idea, but I wanted to fly with an instructor in the cities, so that when my Rochester assignment was over, I would still be near my instructor. An FBO at Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) rents Citabrias, so thats where I went for my instruction.

I chose to learn in taildraggers because I want to fly for fun, not for a career. I've become biased that a tailwheel pilot will be a better pilot than a tricycle pilot, because the landings require more thought & planning. I also plan to eventually fly aerobatics, so learning how to use the rudder now will make the transition easier when I get to that stage.

When I first went to General Aviation Services (GAS), I met an instructor, Chris, whose schedule worked well with mine. There were only two instructors for the Champs (Citabrias/Champs/Decathelons are known by several names), so my options were limited. It turns out that Chris was a pretty good choice; he also instructs aerobatics, and is a pretty young guy. At the time, I was 23, he was 24 or 25. He's also pretty cool so we were able to develop good rapport.

For the next six months, I flew with Chris as often as I could. After a couple hours, I was flying all the landings, even in heavy crosswinds. We had a pretty good time, his personality worked well with mine, so I was having fun in addition to learning. The big problem, though, was that I couldn't get out to the airport enough. Since I was working an hour and a half away, getting to the airport before dark, even in summer, was rather difficult. Since I was only flying an hour or two per week, and sometimes less, I spent alot of time relearning the airplane. As the days grew shorter and the wallet thinner (should've fixed the old car instead of buying a Jeep), it became tough to find the time & money to go flying. I kept hoping that the next lesson would see me show Chris a couple perfect takeoffs & landings, then he'd get out and tell me to go alone - solo. Unfortunately, I wasn't at the airport enough to get the necessary practice that Chris felt comfortable sending me up alone. I flew my last flight of '93 in October, with 15(?) hours in the logbook.

In '94, I tried again.

When I finally began flying again, I was able to 'catchup' relatively quickly - in just a few hours, we began doing more advanced stall training, and what's listed in my logbook as 'Spin Awareness'. Well, flying Spin Awareness with Chris means (or at least, meant at the time) flying spins. "Ok, we're doing pretty well with stalls, so lets take this one step farther." Hmmm, I'm thinking, does he mean - ? Could he mean? "To spin the plane, we start with a normal stall entry, with the stick all the way back. As the wing stalls, push the right rudder pedal through the floor. Now Watch." Whooaaaooopppeee!! Sure, it starts like a stall, until the 'outside' wing 'unstalls' and lifts up and over, whoa - I can see the ground out the top of the windshield - briefly - then the autorotation sets in; the world is whizzing past the nose. "Now, push opposite rudder to stop the spin, and ease up on the stick to recover to straight & level." We climb back to a safe altitude, and do it again. Wow!! "Now you do it." I think I'll remeber my first spins better than my first solo (which happens later).

Turns out my spins were closer to spirals (yes, 'graveyard' spirals), 'cause I wasn't aggressive enough with the rudder (to force the spin). But I'll tell you, I'm much more confident as a pilot (ok, student pilot). I know that spins are not going to kill me, and if I inadvertently spin during stall practices, or any other time, I'm likely to recover - because I've been there before. I heartily recommend to all pilots (students and certified) to get spin training; you'll only become a better pilot - and who knows, you might like it! If I can ever get back into the cockpit, I'm definately going to review spins, and continue to practice them once certified. Of course, by that time I hope to be doing loops and rolls too 8^)

A couple lessons later, Chris keeps telling me to make sure to wear a ratty shirt for lessons. This is because of an old (and unfortunately dying) tradition with flight instructors and students' first solos. The fledgeling pilot's tailfeathers get clipped - so wear an old shirt. Well, at this point, I didn't really care which shirt I was wearing, I wanted to go up alone. Of course, since I'm trying to fly my best to prove my abilities, I make dumb mistakes (if that semi driver is reading this - sorry, it scared the crap outta me too).

One day, I must not have tried as hard; Chris and I did just a couple stop&gos. We had been flying much shorter than the usual hour, and he tells me the next one will be full stop, we're goin' back to GAS. Does he really mean it? I taxi back to the FBO and we both get out. He gives me the rundown - Have to do three full stop landings, make sure ATC knows you're a student soloing, take it easy. I go back out to the Champ, and repeat the startup sequence. Hmm, oil pressure looks kinda low. Not really bad, but its not normal. I'd really like to do this soloing NOW, without a mechanical. Better go inside though... I shut down, and go inside to explain the problem. "Since the engine's hot, the oil pressure will read low at idle." Oh. I feel dumb. I go back out, through the startup again.

88642: "Flying Cloud Ground, Champ 88642 at GAS, taxi for takeoff for full stop taxibacks for student solo, with Yankee."
FCM Ground: "642, cleared to taxi to runway niner left. Contact the Tower when ready."

I taxi to runway 18, I think there were a couple planes ahead of me. The runup goes ok (oil pressure is normal). I change to the tower frequency.

642: "Flying Cloud Tower, 642 at niner left, ready for takeoff."
FCM Tower: "642, you're number three for full stop taxibacks. Hold Short niner left."
642: "Hold Short, niner left."

The other takeoffs & landings go ok for everyone else. I'm noticing how hot it gets under the 'green house' of the Champ.

FCM Tower: "642, taxi to position and hold."
642: "Position & Hold, 642."
FCM Tower: "642 cleared for takeoff."

I can hardly believe she's just given me permission to leave the ground. I throttle up a little slower than usual, without Chris there to cover my butt. Performance is still incredible (or so it seems) without his weight in the back. The tail pops up really quick, the runway veers a little left & right forcing me to dance (ok, stomp) on the pedals to stay outta the grass. I'm barely aware of the ground falling away...

Once I was flying, things were ok. This is pretty routine, yep, no problems for me. No sirree. Whoops, Turn a little late for the crosswind; idiot, now your pattern is going to be a little large. Whoa!! Level off, keep it at pattern altitude, and watch the airspeed and don't forget to turn on downwind. Geez... Get a grip buddy, ths should be second nature by now.

FCM Tower: "642, cleared for landing."

Whoops! Better check everything, Hmm, Primer, mixture, fuel's on; airspeed ok. Whoa, a little late for the Base turn. Now finesse it on; plenty of time; don't slow down just yet, or you won't reach the runway... Ok, now I should be ok. Damn. Too high. Better slip a little. And watch that centerline! No need to come in at an angle now. I'm always amazed at how fast the ground comes at you at this point; Watch yer speed! No need to stall it this close to the ground. Hey, get back on centerline, closer, ready for the flare... Too early; float float... Boing!! What a bounce! Ok, ease it on, full aft stick; keep those tires down! Rudder, Right, Left, more Right; screaming tires; rattle from the tailwheel shimmy; brakes - hey watch for that grass! Slow for the taxiway, stop clear of the runway... Yes. Perfect!