Logged some flight time in a C172 today - image heavy

[RW16610]

What an amazing flight it was! This time around I did most of the flying manuvers. Steep turns were the biggest tthrill, no doubt. It was also the first time doing a takeoff, I'll never forget that feeling!!! So many more stories to tell bit they'll come as the dialog in the thread progresses.

I'm getting the Bose A20s. I forgot how bad / noisy the basic David Clark's are, I believe 80 decibels still, but it was a wonderful flight, nonetheless! As you can see the Breitling was on my wrist which was always a dream of mine.

[Blansky]

Good for you. Looks like a blast.

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Good for you. Looks like a blast.

Thanks! It was a 12/10 on the fun scale. Adding to memories I'll cherish for a lifetime not to mention so many stories to tell.

[joli160]

That must have been a thrill ride, congrats on your first take off.
The Breitling fits very well

[SDREW22]

Great post!

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by joli160

That must have been a thrill ride, congrats on your first take off.
The Breitling fits very well

It definitely was, and thank you! That Breitling is my go to piece now, more versatile than expected. The Omega's. D others haven't been getting much wrist time lately but I still cherish them.

Here are a few more Swiss watches with a connection to aviation / aeronautics in some way.

Originally Posted by SDREW22

Great post!

Thank-you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[rjd1]

Congrats! I get queasy (sp?) just looking out the window in those pics but am so grateful there are folks like you that know and enjoy what you’re doing! Nice on the Breitling too.

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by rjd1

Congrats! I get queasy (sp?) just looking out the window in those pics but am so grateful there are folks like you that know and enjoy what you’re doing! Nice on the Breitling too.

Thanks, Rich! My hat is off to the CFI's who get tossed around in many instances, but someone's got to do it.

The G force on the steep turns was getting me at first, as it almost felt like being in a spin. When I was leveling off things (in my head) kept spinning for a bit but I was far from disoriented. I need some time in a stunt plane, it'll become even easier after that.

[rjd1]

Lol - stunt plane = my worst nightmare!
Enjoy!

[Brew]

Very cool, thanks for taking us along!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by rjd1

Lol - stunt plane = my worst nightmare!
Enjoy!

Haha, I bet! Some day I'll challenge that experience. I've seen some pretty neat aircraft taking off from this airport, so who knows!

Originally Posted by Brew

Very cool, thanks for taking us along!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Glad you enjoyed the ride! A some point I'll have to get a GoPro and have it properly set up so all dialogue / ATC audio to potentially upload on YouTube.

[TheVTCGuy]

You notice how whenever someone posts on here about going somewhere nice or doing something fun my standard reply is: “Take me with you”? Next time you go up..

Take me with you.

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

You notice how whenever someone posts on here about going somewhere nice or doing something fun my standard reply is: “Take me with you”? Next time you go up..

Take me with you.

It would be my pleasure, Paul! It would actually be a great honour to fly with you, sir. If the memories I've created thus far have been so memorable o can only imagine some of yours!

[tritium8]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

You notice how whenever someone posts on here about going somewhere nice or doing something fun my standard reply is: “Take me with you”? Next time you go up..

Take me with you.

Don't do it! He's a horrible back seat driver!

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by tritium8

Don't do it! He's a horrible back seat driver!

[1st amg]

That is amazing, doing what so few people can do!! Its only upwards from here right?! I think that is Breitling Colt. If it is, I had one many years ago and it was a really nice watch that received compliments all the time.

[1William]

Nice pictures, cool watches.

[1675-David]

I'm not jealous! I'm not jealous! Damn I'm so jealous!!!

[brandrea]

Awesome Rommel, thanks for bringing us along

[stevecv]

Fantastic to see a fellow enthusiast going to lean how to fly! I was a practicing certified flight instructor for almost 3 years before moving on. Fly safe and have fun.

[tudorbaja27]

That is fantastic! Cheers!

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by 1st amg

That is amazing, doing what so few people can do!! Its only upwards from here right?! I think that is Breitling Colt. If it is, I had one many years ago and it was a really nice watch that received compliments all the time.

Thanks Nick! Albeit very similar, it's a Chrono SuperOcean. A shockingly versatile piece as aforementioned that seems to fit every setting for me. Most importantly it has every function I find useful on my wrist when flying or filling out documents. The history of the brand truly is the biggest appeal for this application also.

Originally Posted by 1William

Nice pictures, cool watches.

Thank you! I'm excited to add to the story each watch tells. Of course looking forward to my next adventure, as I need to book a lesson on to log some more time.

Originally Posted by 1675-David

I'm not jealous! I'm not jealous! Damn I'm so jealous!!!

I highly recommend getting out there and giving this experience a shot! It's actually easier than most think to take a introductory flight / lesson. When you do I can assure you it's something you'll never forget.

Originally Posted by brandrea

Awesome Rommel, thanks for bringing us along

Glad you enjoyed it, Brian! The forum members in general have served as a great support system and method of enablement for my dreams and hobbies, so it's my pleasure to virtually bring you all along for the adventures!

Originally Posted by stevecv

Fantastic to see a fellow enthusiast going to lean how to fly! I was a practicing certified flight instructor for almost 3 years before moving on. Fly safe and have fun.

Thank you! That's very cool and you must have so many memories from your time in the air. I will certainly fly safe and will definitely have fun doing it!

Originally Posted by tudorbaja27

That is fantastic! Cheers!

Thanks! I've got the bug now so to speak. It's all I can think about really. Every time I hear a Cessna flying over head I just want to head back to the airport and log some hours.

[Bluside]

Thanks for sharing. Looks like you had a great time.

It's an expensive hobby but well worth it. Keep us posted as you continue this journey.

[rmlovett1]

Awesome! Hope to learn one day myself. Great pics!

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Bluside

Thanks for sharing. Looks like you had a great time.

It's an expensive hobby but well worth it. Keep us posted as you continue this journey.

I'm actually sick of doing headset rental so purchased a pair of my own last night! I didn't get the Bose A20s yet but will later on in my training, especially before cross country flights.

For now I ordered the same David Clark headsets so I've at least got my own and won't have to share. This way when I get the Bose any passenger flying with me can use my H10-13.4 headset.

Originally Posted by Richris1

Awesome! Hope to learn one day myself. Great pics!

I hope you do so as well and really encourage this! Be sure to share the pictures from your adventure!

[Blansky]

I used to take photographs out of the doors and windows of some tail draggers and small planes back in the day, and worked for a guy with a Cessna 414 that I designed hotels for, so I spent a bit of time in various planes.

I almost took flying lessons but had too many other expensive hobbies at the time.

One thing I found was that when you go up, your problems sort if disappear as you look down on your city and see how small it is, and you sort of regain a perspective on life.

[NYC6]

Very good Sir, thanks for posting your adventure. My wife gave me a 3 lesson certificate as a birthday gift about 10 years ago. I didn’t get as far as you. I enjoyed it but took it no further, other obligations got in the way then. Maybe I’ll get back into it at some point but it’s a lot of hours and money, so much more so then it used to be. Keep us updated if you please.

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Blansky

I used to take photographs out of the doors and windows of some tail draggers and small planes back in the day, and worked for a guy with a Cessna 414 that I designed hotels for, so I spent a bit of time in various planes.

I almost took flying lessons but had too many other expensive hobbies at the time.

One thing I found was that when you go up, your problems sort if disappear as you look down on your city and see how small it is, and you sort of regain a perspective on life.

That's amazing! Would love to hear some of the stories you've got regarding those experiences.

100% agree! Everything about the airport, hanger, airfield, and of course being up in the air provides an overview effect of sorts. The smell of burning Avgas gets me going. What can I say, it's my happy place.

Some images from last time that stuck with me.









It's truly an escape. The countless hours I've spent studying as an enthusiast are not only paying off but gave me something to look forward to during difficult times.

Challenging myself to continuously learning, striving to be the best I can, and embracing the early stages are great. Something I enjoy reviewing are the Aerodrome diagrams.



The instructor was impressed and was pretty much testing me. I was flying the final approach, but when ATC mentioned our call sign and said the spacing is too tight between us and the Cessna ahead, go around, the instructor took over for the go around.

Over the lake after doing right 60 degree bank climbing turns (felt intense at first) he demonstrated a near stall and let me take the controls to feel the difference near the minimum airspeed. This was great landing prep buy since it was a beautiful day with idea VFR conditions everyone was out flying. The airfield looked like Oshkosh (not exactly but you know what I mean). I'm a firm believer that learning things the harder, more challenging way only contribute to you being better at whatever it is.

Originally Posted by NYC6

Very good Sir, thanks for posting your adventure. My wife gave me a 3 lesson certificate as a birthday gift about 10 years ago. I didn’t get as far as you. I enjoyed it but took it no further, other obligations got in the way then. Maybe I’ll get back into it at some point but it’s a lot of hours and money, so much more so then it used to be. Keep us updated if you please.

Thanks, Dennis! Glad to hear you at least got to experience it. That's fantastic and who knows, maybe one day you'll get back to it.

COVID put the damper on training, however, after going to my 97 year old grandfather's funeral I was reminded of the fragility of life. Yes, that's an incredibly long time to be alive for the few fortunate enough to make it there or further, but it lit a fire under me to continue my dream on the side.

I'm doing the training as an experiential stress reliever and it's serving me well. I also volunteer as a mentor for refugees and have had great success. These experiences will only provide more examples or stories to share with my mentees.

In fact, I even wrote a Medium article and shared the success story the agency published at the end.

https://link.medium.com/4bZi4ftKxkb

[Bluside]

Originally Posted by RW16610

Perfect watch....

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Bluside

Perfect watch....

It truly is! Very happy that it was on my wrist for my first flight, ever. It needs a service now but I'm holding off for a bit.

I actually find the Chronograph incredibly useful as well. Even with traditional avionics there's imbedded functionality in the cockpit to record times. There's something about having it on the wrist though that appeals to me.