Airplane's are Awesome!

Airplane's are awesome!

Last Wednesday I got to go flying with my good friend Josh. He and his instructor, allowed me to come along with them as Josh practiced his short runway and grassy field landings.

Shortly after 9:30 AM we were taxiing down runway 11R, getting ready for our turn on the tarmac. The air was buzzing with the sound of the propeller and a few of the other neighbouring plane's engines. Luckily Josh got me a pair of airplane head phones which both block out all engine noise and with the attached microphone allow everybody in the airplane to talk to each other!

Finally our turn came. We were positioned at the beginning of the runway facing south. There was a wind blowing from the North (I think). Josh gave the engine it's full power and kept the brakes on. As the plane rocked a bit he finally released the brakes and off we jumped. Within a few feet, the nose was off the ground.

As Josh concentrated on keeping the nose in the air and the tail from smashing into the ground we wiggled down the run way. As I was to later learn, the wiggling, or more precisely, the yawing, was due to the fact that the ultra concentration of our brave pilot caused a lack of concentration on the rudder. Thus as we took off I realized that riding in a Cessna 172 is nothing like riding in the comfort of a 737!

We climbed high into the air and I could see all of Boulder, Broomfield, Superior, Louisville and some of Lafayette. Since it had snowed in the higher elevations the previous night, the Front Range mountains were quite majestic!

After about 7 minutes, the Erie Airport came into view. We made some preparations and then we landed...but we didn't stop! Nope, we just sped up and kept on flying. Once in the air we circled back around and did the same thing about 5 more times.

Finally our pilot and the instructor had grown tired of terrorizing me and decided that it was time to fly back to Jeffco for a real landing. After making one pass and being rejected by the air traffic controller, we were finally allowed to make a final safe landing.

Flying around the Boulder area in a little plane was a really wonderful experience. It still amazes me that human beings have managed to get themselves off the ground and into the air at such great heights. The thrill of flying and the wonder that it inspires have created a great desire in me to one day (hopefully) soon acquire a private pilot's license!

Thanks Josh for your wonderful airplane skills!