Discovery Flight – Tawnya
For those of you that don’t know me, I’m Arnold Klappe’s better half, Tawnya (yes he does have a better side to him). For those of you who haven’t met Arnold yet, pop by and meet the new manager of King George Aviation Flight School and get your free KGA hat just for saying hi.
Anyhow, after not seeing Arnold for days on end because he now spends every daylight hour down at the King George Airport, I thought if I can’t see at home, then I may as well join him at KGA or never ever be able to see him again!
After hanging out around Freddie’s trailer and listening to some of the ultralight old-timer’s aviation talk about their never ending flying escapades, all of this chatter was enough for me to need to find a way outta there. Unfortunately for me, at the time, the only way out was up!
Saying that, my fear of heights and fear of flying in anything without a parachute to drop me slowly and safely down to earth, was beyond even my wildest imagination. But the weekend pilot instructor soon had me convinced that flying was to die for. All I could think of is that I’m glad he’s so good looking because if I’m going to die, I may as well crash holding onto some pilot eye candy! (If you gals want to take up a new hobby and do so in the company of some gorgeous flight instructors, take up learning to fly here at KGA.)
Ok, back to my first FAM flight experience, which is aviation talk for my first familiarization flight. Who would ever have figured this 43-year-old, blonde redneck from a fishing town back in Ontario, with a population of only 500, would ever know some weird pilot lingo! Life never ceases to amaze me.
Out onto the grass strip I timidly walked, and into the C-FESO I climbed, on with my headset, and then within what seemed like just seconds, I was high above the airport gazing into the gorgeous horizon. There was no chance to be scared or breathe for that matter. The flight instructor kindly introduced me to how the plane worked which totally threw me since I thought the right pedal must be the gas and the left the brake. NOT! It didn’t take me long to figure out that flying was a completely different concept than I had ever encountered before. To think I drove boats, snowmobiles, motorcycles, and tractors all my life but never figured flying a plane would be such a new learning curve! It’s a totally different experience (one you cannot explain until you are up there taking part in your first familiarization flight and one that challenged me to conquer my fears and become a pilot). I realize now why they named it FAM flight, because you really do need to become familiar with the plane and the whole concept of flight and the only way to do that is to just go up!
Back to my first FAM flight experience… It seemed like at least an hour up there as I was so awed by the beauty of it all. Turns out, it was only a quick 5 minute circuit as Arnold figured I would be freaking up there or puking in a bag if I was up there any longer than that. Who says time flies when you are having fun?
Give me a break Arnold…soon you’ll wish you’d never let me take my first FAM because you’ll never see your plane on the ground again anymore because I’ll be flying it! ;)
Weather
Click to Learn More…
