RFSM (Random Flight School Memories): First Flight Photo

This is the first picture I ever took out of the window of an airplane that I was piloting. I was in the school's trainer, an AG-5B Tiger, and I had rented it to fly myself and three friends to Bloomington, IN. I can't remember why we were going there right now, and I can't even remember the trip, except for a couple of things.

1. This was in the Fall, and you can see some of the beautiful colors of the trees below.

2. The friends I took with me had never been in a small plane before. They weren't even a little bit nervous. They probably should have been.

3. There were four of us in the plane. Myself, Tim, Mark and Matt. One girl, three guys. The "majors" or potential careers of the four people on board? Pilot, Nurse, Social Worker, and Police Officer. How many people would get THAT mix right? (The girl is the pilot, the guy is the nurse/social worker.)

4. It's the first time I remember landing at an unfamiliar FBO and getting out with passengers, and having the people inside and the line folks absolutely incapable of talking to me. The guys I was with were big and older, and to be fair, I was 19 or 20 years old and looked about 16 and as far as the airport folks were concerned, there was just no way that one of the guys wasn't the pilot. I'd tell the guy I needed fuel, and he'd look at Tim (the oldest). I'd kind of wave and say "topped off please" and he'd answer...Tim. He asked Tim how long we'd be here, and when I tried to get a courtesy car, you can guess whose info they kept trying to get. It became so funny to all four of us that we were laughing right there in the FBO, which I'm sure did not improve my apparent maturity level. But sometimes, you just have to laugh. :)

5. It was the first time I'd taken a group of people anywhere since I got my license. And as we were flying above the beautiful countryside, joking and laughing and relaxing, all I could think was "Ah, this is the life!"

It still is. ;)