Eugene was kind enough to offer to take me up in his RV7A. Well no way on earth that I would ever pass up an opportunity like that!!!
Soon we were in the plane and taxing. Eugene had asked if I wanted to taxi. I was apprehensive about it as there was another plane in front of me and I really hadn't wrapped my mind around it. But...it's just like everything else. Better to just jump in with both feet. I did ok....totally not used to the feel of the plane. I turned it around at the run-up area but like an amateur didn't straighten the wheels out. Strike 1.
We were soon in the air and Eugene again kindly offered me the controls. Yup...without hesitation. We needed to maintain 4400' with a heading to Killam-Sedgwick CEK6. Once we were in proper airspace it was up to 5400'. Since it was hot there was a lot of turbulence, and it really took my concentration to maintain level flight with the proper heading. So up to 7500' where the air smoothed out. A quick touch and go by Eugene and we were back on our way to Cooking Lake CEZ3.
Funny how you soon make all the rookie mistakes over and over again. I'd be concentrating on keeping altitude, but my course would off...Strike 2. Or I would get up back on course and my altitude would rise/drop 100' feet. And thru the whole flight...I need to keep the ball centered. Darn P-Factor. Kept forgetting about it when climbing...Strike 3. I can see straight off that I just need to put in the hours to make the basics become natural. Many thanks to Eugene for extending the opportunity to me to not only ride in his plane, but also take the controls. The experience gained is invaluable.
No question in my mind that I need to get started on my license. I need to sign up with a school and make it a regular routine to get up in the air.
