FlyingSafely.Com

My First Flying Lessons

I was fortunate to be able to learn to fly when I was finishing college. I was a guest at a church in Newcastle, Indiana. One of the members of the church was a gentleman name Emmett LeFavour.  Emmett  learned to fly back in the good old days of barnstorming and penny a pound airplane rides.

     "I'm rebuilding a wrecked Cessna 170 if you would like to learn to fly, you can use my plane, and all you need to do is pay for the fuel and an instructor," Emmett said as I was ready to leave. Of course, I took him up on the offer.

     A couple of months later his 170 was restored and declared airworthy. I contacted John Kidwell, CFI, who flew bombers over Berlin in W.W.II.  So, the flying I did with these men was based on years of rich experience. I also had the influence of Emmett's barnstorm approach to flying. Landing in bean fields and ball diamonds was not uncommon for Emmett. I was with him a few times when this was done.

     He cautioned me about learning to fly on an airport with a 5,000 foot runway. He insisted I needed to be able to land within a few hundred feet. To prove his point we flew off his 1,200 foot runway with trees at one end and electrical lines at the other end. As a kicker, the airspeed indicator didn't work in this airplane, which he said was good because that way I would learn to fly by the "seat of my pants."  What did I know? I just got in the airplane and did what I was told.

     Amazingly, I learned to fly and to do so by listening to the wind over the wings, the shudder of the airplane when it approached stall and how the region of reverse command really helps on short field landings. I learned the importance of rudder on stalls and the importance of getting the nose down with full flaps. 

     My instructor and I flew around while I was learning to takeoff, climb, turn, descend and land. In those days there was no pre solo test, no requirement to have knowledge of radio procedures or traffic patterns. One day after several good landings the instructor asked me to pull the plane up to the end of the runway. He stepped out and said, just do the same things you've been doing.

     I turned the 170 around and faced down the runway. The wind was perfectly calm. I added full power and the Continental pulled me along the surface. I was surprised at how quickly the plane left the ground. Same attitude, same everything. All was well until I looked over at the now empty seat where the instructor sat. I had a mixture of elation and horror. "I'm actually flying this thing by myself!! I'm a pilot!!  /   "I've got to get this thing back on the ground by myself."  The landing worked out great, the next one did also, and a third and final landing made my day. 

     I went home that day thinking, "I'm a pilot."  None of us ever forget our first lesson or our first solo. The next lesson we started crosswind landings.  I thought, "I'll never be a pilot." 

        Keep flying safely,       Larry Collins