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Murray Bridge from 3500 feet ... not during my first solo!
Alone in the cockpit: my first solo
By Wayne Arbon
I will never forget my first solo. I trained at Murray Bridge Flying School, about an hour east of Adelaide in South Australia, with Slav and Gary. It's a beautiful spot to fly - framed by the Murray River to the east and the Adelaide Hills to the west. It was a lovely day - relatively cool and calm (Slav and I had one flight on a hot day where the thermals were literally lifting us out of our seats as we turned on final - we called it a day after that circuit. It was not a good feeling). The sky was clear, there was about 10 knots of mostly headwind on runway 20 and the circuit was clear. I had no idea this was to be the day I would go solo and I am glad of that - I'd have been a nervous wreck otherwise! As far as I knew we were just doing another session of circuits and I went through the usual pattern - pre-flight the aircraft, make sure we had enough fuel and oil, make sure the tyres weren't flat and no birds had made a nest in any intake. The usual thing. Pre-start checks were normal, run-ups were normal and everything felt OK as we left the ground for the first circuit. Slav threw in a simulated engine failure and instinctively I lowered the nose and looked for a place to land. Maybe some of the training was seeping into my head after all! The first circuit was okay and the touch-and-go landing was passable. I didn't bounce but I flared a little low. I had remembered all the important things - flaps up at the right time, fuel pump off at the right time, downwind checks, radio calls, proper heights and circuit pattern. All in all, I was satisfied but determined to work on those landings. Second circuit felt good and I was very relaxed. A lot of the little things which I found frustrating earlier on in my training had started to become second nature. I found that I was thinking ahead of the plane - I was actually reducing power if needed on final before Slav had the chance to tell me. I had thought we were going to do a full hour on ciruits and so I was a little disappointed when Slav called for a full stop after the second circuit. Oh well, I thought. I made a landing which I was happy with and we started taxiing on the grass back towards the hangars when Slav told me to stop the plane. Casually, he opened the door and said, "Just go up and do one circuit. I'll meet you back at the office". I thought my heart would stop. Before I could really comprehend what he had said, he was gone. I took a deep breath, locked the door and taxied back to the start of runway 20. Even know, I remember that I did everything exactly as if Slav was sitting in the right-hand seat. It was just automatic. I turned onto the runway, gave the "lining up and rolling call" and smoothly opened the throttle all the way. The PA28 seemed to accelerate faster (it may have just been my imagination) and, with a final check of pressures and temperatures, I rotated at 60 knots and I was airborne by myself for the first time in my life. I still believe the first solo should be to Melbourne and back because everything just goes so fast - before I knew it, it was over. The fact that still sticks in my mind was that it was so uneventful - it was just another circuit as far as procedures go. Nose on the horizon, at 400 feet (Runway 20 has an elevation of 200 feet AMSL) I lost the one stage of flap I used for takeoff and turned off the fuel pump. At 700 feet I made a good lookout and turned gently onto crosswind, settling into a nice climb at 80 knots. I reached circuit height before I needed to turn downwind and trimmed for straight-and-level and reduced power to cruise. Downwind radio call with a smooth turn downwind. The runway was exactly where I wanted it, with the wingtip running down the centre. I immediately did the downwind checks and settled back to relax for the first time. And that's when it really hit me - I was all alone, there was no-one in the other seat. I was flying a plane by myself. I cannot describe the feeling - it was elation and satisfaction and freedom and so many other feelings rolled into one. Only other pilots can ever understand just how special this was. From there the rest of the flight whizzed past. I turned base, grabbed a stage of flap, lowered the power and trimmed for 80 knots. At mid-base I was right on target for height and speed and I added a second stag of flap after I lined up on final. The aim point looked good and the speed was spot on and as I came over the fence I could hear Slav’s voice in my head: "Power off, fly straight, hold it off, hold it off." I think I took my first full breath as the wheels touched the runway and the most amazing flight of my life had come to an end. Well, almost. I was so full of adrenaline at getting down safely that I forgot to stay on the runway. I was on the grass verge before I brought the plane to a halt but somehow that also seemed fitting - if I was going to stuff up something, I'm glad it was after I was on the ground! That was the end of my first solo flight and the start of my true love affair with flying. Not even my first area solo compared to my first solo circuit. There's something special about joining the fraternity of pilots - because that's what you are, from that moment on. A pilot. Wayne Arbon is editor of Aviation Online.
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