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fugio ergo sum
Kelly Holladay photo
I have a friend in a nearby town who mentioned several months ago that she wanted a favor. She wouldn't say what the favor was, so I was apprehensive that this was a big one. Well I finally drug it out of her.
She has a nephew in Albuquerque who is an absolute airplane nut but has only actually been in an airplane (airliner) one time. She was hoping he could experience flight. This young adult has some disabilities but is very intelligent.
We made the trip to Double Eagle II airport and I met the man. He was very courteous but willing to challenge the way I chose to do things. He hadn't had a night's sleep since he heard he was going to get to fly.
When we broke ground there was kind of a gasp. For the early part of the flight he was obviously nervous, with his legs vibrating. As soon as he got the stick, that stopped completely and did not recur.
This guy has thousands and thousands of hours in his home based simulator but did not know the sensations. When he first pulled back a bit on the stick, then forward, then turned, his face just lit up. Then he asked me for a stall and that is a first for me on rides. He liked it and remarked on how the break was quite a bit sharper than in the Cessna simulations he was used to. He tried maneuvering at different speeds to experience the different stick forces and the way one "feels" the air. It was...well...very neat.
After the flight we had lunch. The father asked quite a few aviation related questions, such as the function of a constant speed prop, and why so many tandem airplanes are soloed from the rear seat from which the visibility is so poor. I didn't have to answer any of those questions as my rider did a very fine job.
This stuff can be very rewarding!
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