Flight 0: The Intro Flight
Leave it to a computer guy to start counting at zero, but this really was flight zero, an intro flight intended to give a prospective student an inexpensive taste of flying. Going in, I was already fairly sure I wanted to be a pilot; see my background info for details. This flight was a way to confirm that. (It’s also a good way to audition an instructor.)
For $25 I got a half-hour flight and my first chance to take the controls of an airplane. The sun had set by the time we took off, so I got a nice look at Tampa after dark from the left seat of a Cessna 150.
Needless to say, I was hooked. I went ahead and bought a Jeppesen private pilot course, got the first entry in my logbook, and signed up for lessons beginning that weekend. A few lessons later, I was surprised to find out that many people who take intro flights never return for lessons.
[This flight took place from Vandenberg Airport (X16) in Tampa, which later became Tampa Executive Airport (VDF). Unless stated otherwise, you can assume all my other training flights originated at Vandenberg.]Today: 0.5 hours
