I have always been interested in planes and becoming a pilot but I have
never found the time I had just spent hours playing on Flight Simulator on my Computer.
However for my last birthday my
parents bought me a flying lesson in the beautiful Limousine region of France with an English instructor.
The aero
club is based at the regions airport, Bellegarde International (LFBL). The instructor is a very nice English lady who lives
in France doing her flying lessons and running some gites, to find out some more information on the fly lessons visit her
web site: http://www.nearlyheaven.com/
Any way I was in a Hotel in Limoges to wake up on my birthday to a rainy,
miserable and windy day. Any way I went down to breakfast thinking that it might clear up later and I would be able to have
my lesson. However while I was eating my breakfast I received a call from my instructor to say that the flight had been canceled
due to the bad weather conditions and that it was not going to clear up until the next day or the day after.
So I stayed
for another two days and eventually the rain cleared and the sun came out so I was able to fly.
So I arrived at the airport, were I went into the aero club hanger and
was briefed on the flight and what we would be doing during the lesson.
Next thing I knew we were getting into the Robin
DR-400 and starting the Before Startup Checklist, the instructor handled the radio. I then started the plane. Then I found
myself on my first lesson taxing the plane to the runway. Once we had reached the runway the instructor asked for takeoff
permission AND I taxied the plane on to the runway where we did the Before Takeoff Checklist
Here we were just about to
takeoff on my first flying lesson. The instructor told me to apply half throttle the after a couple of second apply full throttle,
We were rolling down the and then pulled back on the yoke and the wheels left the ground, we were of. The experience of taking
off in the Robin was not much different to being the passenger in a taking off Boeing 737 just I was in control.
During
my two hour lesson I did a series of turns and practiced descending and climbing and the interjector the said that we would
do a little trip. She acted as ATC saying thing like:
Descend to flight level 2000
Climb to flight level 5000
Turn to
heading 030
Turn to heading 245
It was fantastic and my two hours just went so fast and found my
self turning the aircraft in to land and taxing back to the hanger before doing the Before Engine Turn off Checklist on getting
out of the aircraft.
I loved flying the Robin DR-400 and although I had not flown any other aircraft my instructor said
out of all the aircraft she had flown that like Cessna's, and other types that the Robin was her favorite. That it was a light,
fun, and enjoyable aircraft.
And the scenery of the Limousine region while flying was spectacular.
I am now looking
forward to my next flying lesson and maybe one day getting my PPL.
