Son soloed today.... 46 years after his old man.

My youngest son soloed today in a SR20 (air conditioned even!). 16 years old. I had forgotten how nervous and frightening it could be for an event like that. Yesterday he was cool Joe but he knew he was soloing today and he was nervous as a cat in a rocking chair factory.

All went smooth! What a great day and what a great place that we can still fly relatively easily in GA.


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Congratulations, we can use all the pilots we can grow.

 

How wonderful for you! My 16 year old son solo'ed in my old L-3 and went on to fly for several airlines. Great day for you and him! There was no family around when I solo'ed but that was typical for me for anything that I did. The family was always somewhere else due to the war and displacement early on. High school graduation was received in an envelope when I was stationed in Texas in 1944. That's the way it was then.

 

Yes, but you have to admit, you grew up in the golden age of Aviation. Wish I could've seen first hand what you did Bob!

 

Here I was fearlessly piloting the majestic and fearsome Cessna 150 on my day of solo way back in July 1975 at Addison Airport...
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Big Congrats!

Yeah, much different than the fearsome C150.

Field with tower? That would be much tougher, with more to think about. Or maybe it would keep your mind off the piloting aspect which would just come naturally for someone with good training.

I was out for a regular session with my instructor and we had just completed a full stop. After back-taxiing (what else do you do when the strip is 20ft wide and cut out of a cornfield), the instructor said stop here. He then hopped out and said 'go do a lap'. Downwind was kind of sloppy as I kept looking around and saying "man, I'm all by myself". I remember it well, as I think we all do.

 

The grin that cannot be suppressed.

congrats

 

Much like my first solo. A 1937 Cub, with no brakes and a tailskid, on a short grass strip. My instructor got out after our first practice landing and told me to go flying without him. 1946 at Johnny Lowe's Airfield, the only one at Sarasota at the time and full of prewar antiques that I got to fly. A once in a lifetime opportunity, the likes of which will never happen again.

 

At times I can still hear the clattering of those old engines flying over the farm at night. The odor of hot water and oil spraying back when one has an OX 5 in front (from when I was kid getting rides). Nothing like the smell of fresh nitrate dope being applied.

 

I landed on the wrong runway on my first solo. Two parallel runways, the “little” runway on the left and the “big” runway on the right. Naturally, the bugsmashers land on the left and the right is for IFR approaches and the bigger planes. Well, the left was the only runway I knew as it was where all my dual instruction had taken place. I announced to the tower that I was a student pilot requesting takeoff and to remain in the pattern. I was cleared for takeoff left closed traffic. The controller must have thought I could use the forgiveness of the big runway and somewhere on downwind I was cleared for landing on the RIGHT. I didn’t pick up on the nuance (although I must have repeated the instruction) as I was in the zone of trying to get this thing on the ground and proceeded to land on the left as I always had before during all of my dual. In total deadpan the tower comes over the radio “Nice landing N4338X, but you landed on the wrong runway.” My dad and instructor got a kick out of it. They were listening and saw me line up on the left, as had the tower of course, but nobody wanted to throw me a curveball and bring it to my attention on final. I was just a kid. What fun!

Congrats to your son! A lifetime of amazing experiences ahead of him.

When did your son begin his training? My 14yo says he wants to fly, but he hasn’t put any effort into the online ground school I bought him. I try to encourage him, but definitely don’t want to push him. A reluctant pilot is not a safe pilot. I see that as a very fine line a flying father must walk.

 

He started 3 months ago. He loves the flying but the ground school portion -eh- not so much. Agreed you have to gently suggest but not push. There are just so many other distractions nowadays… it’s just different from when I did it.

 

That's awesome Mark! Congrats to you and your son. I would be thrilled if my kids end up pursuing flying. My son is still a bit young to start but so far, he's very much into airplanes (and cars too)!

 

I did my ground school first in 1966 in a then new concept called "Adult Ed" in my high school. I was one of two kids in a class of about 35 grownups. I would carry my plotter and Sanderson manual around with great pride during school hours. I passed the written; one of about a third who did. Unfortunately bagging groceries at $1.10/hr just wouldn't cover the flight training of about $3K in those days. I finally got my "rating" in 1975; lighter than air, not fixed wing though.

 

That number seems really high. In 1976 the C-150 I rented was $13/hr (wet) and the instructor was $13/hr. I think I had 50 total hrs when I got my license, not all dual, so conservatively $1300 total. This was a small country field in Ohio.

 

Congratulations to your son! What a fantastic and meaningful achievement that is. He will never ever forget it.
My youngest daughter is still about 6 years away but she loves flying and wants to be a fighter pilot.
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That number seems really high. In 1976 the C-150 I rented was $13/hr (wet) and the instructor was $13/hr. I think I had 50 total hrs when I got my license, not all dual, so conservatively $1300 total. This was a small country field in Ohio.

I may be off a bit on that $3K number; it was a L O N G time ago.

 

Yeah that was pretty close to my experience. I think it was 1500.00 all in...at Addison and Rockwall Airports in Dallas 1975-1976. I think the 150 was 18 and hour wet and the instructor was 10.00!

Of course I bought a Tri Pacer to finish the last of my training for 4800.00 (before I had a car).

 

On one of my solos, I landed at the farm….a grass strip 8 miles away. I just couldn’t resist. Caretakers (innocently) mentioned to my father a plane like his had landed at the farm that day. Got my wings clipped for it.

 

A Tri Pacer before a car. That's pretty cool.

 

One of the British Aviation Cadets that we entertained at our little place on the beach during the war was 18 years old and flying AT-6's and had never driven an automobile. He never got the chance because he was killed in a training accident.

 

Fantastic! Congrats to your son! Even older experienced pilots still get a kick out of new things and feel a bit like a student pilot now and then. Took someone up the other day in my Stinson. His first tailwheel flight and it was like he was soloing again!

Never forget…..this is FUN!!!

cheers
Dave

 

Congratulations to your son!

My son and daughter both soloed, and daughter went on to get her private. It really takes a lot of effort-- more than I remember back in the day-- and they have to have determination and grit to get through it. So that is awesome for your son!

 

Congrats..... remember my solo like it was only 9 years ago ...LOL.... wish I'd started at your son's age