Being Australian, July 4th was more about fireworks and grilling out than commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, as Americans do each year. But as of now, Independence Day is exactly that for me. It’s the day I took my first solo flight in the Katana DA-20. It’s the day I independently flew an airplane, solo. It’s a day I will never forget.
I wasn’t one of those people who grew up dreaming of flying. I am just a girl who found herself one day working in the field of aviation. Each and every day I would look out of my office window (which overlooks the ramp at KMQY) and see a multitude of large and small airplanes taxi up and park in front of my wall of glass windows. It was bound to happen one day…..the day I decided I wanted to fly one.
It has not been an easy journey for me, getting to the stage of soloing. I’ve had to overcome some discomfort of learning maneuvers which had me feeling as though I was about to fall out of the sky. I didn’t. I’ve had to bring an airplane down to land, fishtailing down the runway and trying to get it back on the center line. But I got it down. 
I’ve had to make myself put my head in the books when everyone else was out enjoying the gorgeous Tennessee weather. And I’ve had to overcome the fear of flying the Katana without my instructor Kirk in the right seat, there to assist if needed.
I knew I was going to be soloing on Sunday the 4th of July. I made sure I was there early so the air was smooth and free of “bumps”, so the winds were calm, and I could just concentrate on flying the pattern and bringing her down for nice soft landings. I thought I would have been more nervous. I was much more nervous the weeks before when I knew my solo was coming up. But honestly, on the day, while driving my car to the airport, I was relaxed and excited. I was even singing in the car as my favorite song came on. It was definitely the day! I was feeling good.
So, Kirk and I took off and flew around in the pattern for three touch and goes. All fine. None messy, so that was a good sign. He then told me to taxi and park in front of the FBO. That was it! That was the cue that I was about to do this all on my own. I didn’t really even say much, I just pulled up and halfway heard him say to go and do three take offs and landings. I was thinking about everything I’ve learnt, and how I have to do everything just as I had done many times before. So I did.
When the wheels left the ground on my first takeoff, there was no going back. I just kept talking my way through everything I needed to do. “Pitch for 65….pitch for 65….flaps out….pitch for 75……right turn out…..power back at 1500ft….”. And everything just happened as it was supposed to. My first two landings were fine. Not perfect, but pretty darn good. Coming in for my third I was thinking I was going to nail it. 
Three great landings on my solo flight! Um, well, I was coming in a little fast, landed, then bounced back up to fly for a little more. “Ok, power’s on idle right? Yep. Ok, well, just flare again Rachel”, I told myself as I came back down onto the runway. My third landing wasn’t so hot, but I didn’t care. I’d just done something which only weeks earlier I thought I’d never do without Kirk being beside me. It’s quite liberating, and for all the times I thought I couldn’t do, I was elated to have just proven to myself that I could. I was proud of myself, and even happy to have Kirk cut the back out of my t-shirt (an American flying tradition). It meant I was one step closer to being part of the club. A pilot.
I was told the other day that it’s all downhill from the solo. NO WAY. There’s still so much more. There’s the solo cross-country, the 10 takeoff and landings at night (the first one of those was not so hot), the written test and the check ride. Sigh…..I guess there’s a few more blogs coming then, eh?
Guest Columnist Rachel Charlize is a Travel Writer/Client Relations Manager for Corporate Flight Management in Smyrna, Tennessee. She is a regular contributor to CFM’s Plane Conversations blog.
