> From: Mike Israel <
amphicar770@yahoo.com>
> Subject: First Solo!!!
> Ranking right up there with ones first Amphi swim, today
> I experienced my first solo flight. Two takeoff and two
> landings ... lots of fun despite the look on my face!!
Congratualtions and happy landings !! Every pilot can tell you details of his
first solo - it's one of those proud moments you'll never forget. Whatever else
you do, from that moment on, you'll always be a pilot.
I had a neat solo-related experience on July 23, 2000. I found a box my Dad had
left - a box that I hadn't ever noticed before, filled with very personal papers
and pictures from the War. I knew he soloed in 1941, at a small airport a
couple of miles from here, in a J-3 Cub. He never went on to get his license,
instead becoming a Group Bombardier in the Army Air Corps. The day in 1984 when
I first took him for a flight in my J-3 had been the first time he was in a J-3
since 1941. For whatever reason, I had never asked if he had kept his logbook.
He died in 1988.
As I looked through the box of papers, I found his logbook. The emotions were
indescribable as I read the entries; I could envision him as a student pilot,
and at the same time I remembered my own parallel student pilot experiences.
Incredibly, when I got to the entry for his first solo, I realized that he had
soloed on July 23, 1940 - 60 years ago that very day.
I drove right out to the airport, and took a long quiet flight in my J-3 Cub.
The front seat may have looked empty to a casual observer, but I know he was
right there with me from takeoff to the last landing.
Congratulations on becoming an airman !
Karl Vacek, CFIAI (exp. 5/03)
'66 TR4A
'68 TR250
'64 Amphicar
'16 Ford Model T
'46 Piper J-3 Cub
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