First Flight!

[Flt.Lt.Andrew]

Hello all!

Today I went on my first flight ever, in a Cessna 152 Aerobat.
I told the instructor I had "no flying experience", because I thought sims didnt count.
How wrong I was!
Take off was a breeze, and I beleive she was surprised when I started making some coordinated turns.
Fun, Fun, Fun!!
Though, I was a little surprised at flying with two fingers.

Still, an excellent time!


A.

[Hagar]

Well done Andrew. Glad you enjoyed it.

I told the instructor I had "no flying experience", because I thought sims didnt count.

You did the right thing. Let the instructor teach you her way.

[Sytse]

She let you take off? How COOL!!
I was a bit surprised by the 2 finger flying as well...

[C]

You did the right thing. Let the instructor teach you her way.

Indeed, just as in professional flying, however many hours a pilot's had in the sim, it the hours in the aircraft that counts...

Glad you enjoyed it!

I was a bit surprised by the 2 finger flying as well...

It's amazing how much easier it becomes to fly the aircraft if you relax your grip on the controls.

[FLYING_TRUCKER]

Well done Andrew

So now you are on your way to defying the Gods and having fun....good luck!

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

[|| Andy ||]

Congrats  ;)

[beaky]

Congrats, and I see you've noticed already how different it is in real life... although having some sim time probably makes it a little less alien. But if you plan to continue, try to separate the two in your mind- you're better off following the CFI's lead in the real airplane, and try to apply some of what you've learned to your sim-flying, as opposed to approaching it the other way around. Just some advice.
Aerobats are fun- never done any aerobatics in one, but I hear they're very good for that. The emergency escape mechanism is interesting- pulling a handle yanks the pins out of the door hinges and the doors come off! Not as "final" as an ejection seat, but definitely something you don't want to touch by mistake!

[Flt.Lt.Andrew]

Lol Rotty, thats insane!
Take off was mad...
Thank you all for the kind responses!

A.

[beaky]

Lol Rotty, thats insane!
Take off was mad...
Thank you all for the kind responses!

A.

Surprised the CFI didn't point that out to you... next time you fly in that plane, check it out.
But don't pull the handle, or you'll owe them two new doors!!!  
Actually, it's been a while, so I checked for a picture: there's one D-ring  on each side, hanging near the door.  It's pretty simple: there's a cable that passes through both hinge pins, and when you pull the handle, they come right out of both upper and lower hinge at the same time. Buh-bye, door! Then, with a parachute I hope, you bail out, unimpeded by a flapping door. Typical reason to have to do this would be control lock during extreme maneuvers... gotta know the airplane's limitations, but it's wise to be prepared, too.

[Flt.Lt.Andrew]

True words.
I looked under the seat, to find no parachutes...
So I was hoping everything was ok....I was a little surprised by the spin recovery procedure "shake control yoke" too...


A.

[Sytse]

You took off yourself AND went through spin recovery procedures on you first lesson ? ? ?

[Saitek]

Congrats! Sounds like great fun!