Springing into Aviation

My heart was beating out of my chest as the Cessna 150 hopped off the runway with an unfamiliar lightness. I followed takeoff procedures while reaching over to the right seat to assure myself this was not some dream. Deep laughter escaped as I turned crosswind for a spin around the patch. I was eighteen and soloing for the very first time. It was thrilling to have hit this milestone in my path to becoming a private pilot.

Unfortunately, a thing called life intervened with my bucket list goal and flying moved down on the priority list. Soon after my first solo, I found myself moving out of state to obtain my bachelor’s degree. I decided to take a hiatus from the aviation industry and focus on my college career.

Throughout the next four years spent at university, I often felt disappointed for getting so close to obtaining my license and failing to follow through. I promised myself I would return to it every year, but I continued to push off the adventure.

Fast forward five years to August 2019; I was teaching a sixth-grade class in Thailand. I don’t recall what sparked it, but one night I committed myself to complete my private pilot’s license within one year. I immediately began studying for the written exam—which expired from passing it years prior—and contacted my flight instructor. We would begin training again when I returned in October. This decision to work toward my license felt like a breath of fresh air. I knew, this time, I would not let the opportunity to fly slip through my fingers.

Excitement bubbled as I met my instructor at the airport in late October 2019. It was truly happening! Within a month and a half of training, I had re-soloed. The feelings experienced on my first solo arose once more, and the disappointment felt throughout college rapidly faded. My prior training seemed to come back to me, and soon, I was soaring through ground and flight school.

My instructor was phenomenal. He worked hard in training me to become a safe and skilled pilot. As winter approached, many lessons were canceled due to poor weather. Then, February came. The month the entire world shut down! At this point, I was living in the Twin Cities and training in Wausau, Wisconsin. My instruction was halted, just like everything else.

I kept studying, chair flying, and maintaining hope and excitement to get back at it. Two months went by until the airport reopened for student pilot training. I was there in a heartbeat. My flying resumed, and things went very fast. By the end of May, I took my check ride. The weather was gloomy, but the spirits of my family and friends couldn’t have been lighter when I passed the exam. One of my greatest failures turned into one of my proudest accomplishments! I am thrilled to have become part of the marvelous world of aviation. This will definitely be my favorite spring flying memory for years of aviation adventures to come.