EAA Sport Aviation

it had been three months, I did not expect this to be one of those flights. But that was exactly what it was— 1. 2 hours of blessed reunion.

All of my senses were turned on high alert, which made every smell sweeter, every sight more picturesque, and every sound more delightful. I was so focused I didn’t even mind the fog from our breath that froze to the inside of the windshield before we completed the first pattern.

TIMID

- 1

SCARED

On the downwind leg for my first landing I could tell my muscle memory was suffering a bit, causing me to look down to find the flap lever and carb heat knob. Nothing big, but a small reminder it had indeed been 91 days.

Despite the icy windshield restricting my visibility, my first landing ranked as one of my best. I was so focused, I barely remember even seeing the ice.

“Wow. That was nice,” the instructor
said. “If you told me you had flown three
times this week, I would believe you after
that landing. I sure can’t tell it’s been
three months.”
If there were such a thing as a confidence
indicator on the panel, it would’ve immedi-
ately returned to the green arc. I flew one
more pattern and landing to make sure it
was going to stay there, then departed to the
west toward Wautoma.

After a delightful short trip to Wautoma, I shot a landing and then flew back to Oshkosh.

The instructor and I swapped aviation stories, he showed me some new things on the Garmin 496, and both of us took a few minutes to simply enjoy the beauty of flight.

A lack of confidence turned out to be my best friend on this flight. It caused me to fly with a heightened sense of awareness, which resulted in an incredibly enjoyable flight.

I logged four landings that beautiful
winter day and couldn’t wait to take my
wife and friends flying again. I regained
not only my currency but also my
confidence.

+ 1

BOLD

EAA multimedia journalist Brady Lane chronicled earning his sport pilot certificate at www.EAA.org/wings.

TIPS FOR STAYING CURRENT

• Pick one day a week as your flying day. Put it on the schedule. Your flight will get bumped some weeks, but you’re more likely to fly if you don’t wait for a time when you have nothing else to do.

• Fly your friends and family for their birthdays or special occasions.

• Find fun fly-ins, museums, and points of interest to fly to on weekends. Visit www.EAA.org/calendar to find an event near you.

• Find a pilot you can split PIC time with (and the tab). Just be sure you always practice proper change of controls and know who is PIC at all times.