flying -- first solo!!

By chance I got to the airport 15 minutes early today. Turns out the student who had the plane just before me was doing his first solo right then! So we all walked out on the grass between the taxiway and the runway to watch. His landing was flawless. My own solo was just an hour later!

After a few trips around the traffic pattern doing touch-and-go's with my instructor, Ryan, we did a full stop landing and began taxiing towards the tiedowns. As we taxied down the runway, Ryan asked, "Well, want do some some stuff on your own?" He signed off the solo endorsement in my logbook and on my student pilot cert and sent me off on my way with instructions to go do three landings.

It went super! My first solo landing was near perfect if I dare say so. Someone over the radio said, "Hey, pretty landing. Must be one of Ryan's students!" The next two were a breeze, too. Just did what we practiced so many times.

Now on to stage II: cross-country!

total 21.2 hours dual, 0.5 hours solo/pilot-in-command(!).

p.s. happy birthday jqmold!