I had always had a small thought of becoming a pilot in the back of my head. I told my mom and she talked to one of her coworkers who is a pilot, Randy Peterson. Randy took me for my first discovery flight. I was immediately in love with flying. I soon found a Part 61 school in Mineral Point and I started lessons in the spring. Part 61 is to go at your own pace so you can go full-time, part-time, take a week off, or whatever pace you want. My reasons for wanting to become a pilot relate a lot to Britney Boxrucker, a flight instructor at Driftless Aero, who said “I wanted to become a pilot because I went for an airplane ride and liked it a lot.”
When you first start flying you are pretty much just learning how to fly around. You aren’t really trying to do anything specific. But once you get a little bit of time, you figure skills out like landings, takeoffs, and just basic flight maneuvers. You start working on ground reference maneuvers like turns around a point and S-turns. Then you start working on stalls, steep turns, and slow flight. All of it is so much fun and you are learning so much.
After I got a basic understanding of all of that, I got to really start working on meeting my requirements. First I soloed for the first time, which was super nerve-racking but also so exciting. My parents were able to be there and watch me, which was very special.
Then I started working on my cross-country requirements. I flew to Monticello and Savana with my instructor and then it was time for me to solo to those places. But before I could do solo cross-country, I had to solo to Lone Rock, Lancaster, and Platteville. My favorite was soloing to Lancaster because my parents got to come watch me. Then you have to meet a certain time requirement with night flying. That was my absolute favorite flight. It was so cool to fly over towns and see all the lights. My least favorite requirement was ‘hood time’. This is where all you can see is your instruments and you have to be able to fly the plane. It is hard because you almost have to forget what your body is telling you and rely only on what your eyes are seeing on the instruments. Also, you have to take a written test. It is just another test to make sure you know what you are doing.
About a week and a half before my checkride, the preparation really started. A checkride is a final test to get a certification as a pilot. There is an oral part where you talk about different things that pertain to the certification you are trying to get and then there is a flight portion where you fly different maneuvers. I started doing lessons almost every day until my checkride, which was to happen the next Thursday. For the next week, almost all I did was study and try to prepare for my checkride. During my flight lessons, I practiced as if I was in a checkride. I tried to fly within standards for all of my maneuvers. Your checkride is based on the ACS (airman certification standards) for that certification and within that there are set standards for how you fly your different maneuvers.
Then it was Thursday. For your checkride you have to complete an oral test and then a flight part. First I did the oral part, which went well, so I moved on to the flight part, which also went well. If you make it back without them saying anything about you failing, it means you passed. And luckily I made it. I was so excited and happy. My parents were waiting at the hangar for me and I got to celebrate with them and my instructor Britney.
So far, since I have gotten my private pilot license, it has been so much fun. I would have to agree with Dominic Glass, a flight instructor and student at the University of Dubuque, who said “My favorite experience is taking my parents up.” It was such a special experience with them. Another cool experience I have had is getting to fly my friends around. I also have been enjoying the freedom of flying when and where I want to go.
At one point I thought I wanted to just do it as a hobby. I thought I was going to college for health care; I had even applied and been accepted. But once I started working towards my pilot’s license, I knew I wanted it to be my career.