With school being so busy, I still hadn't gone flying with my mom... until now! She had flown in the plane with me before, but when I was with an instructor. So this was truly the first time we had ever really flown together.
It's actually really fun flying with mom because she isn't a pilot. It's one of the few times as a teenager that my mom hasn't had any advice for me! She told me afterwards that it was a completely strange feeling for her, putting her life into my hands. Sure, in a car I'm in control too, but she can always grab the wheel. It would probably be a little bit difficult to learn how to fly in an instant!
So since I received my PPL, I hadn't yet flown with a parent solo. I was in all honesty pretty nervous, having the life of someone you love in your hands is a tremendous responsibility.
Here is a short clip of our takeoff that my mom recorded on her iPhone:
As is typical with summer weather, it was pretty bumpy. The plan was to fly around for a little over an hour, around Richmond, Jamestown, to the James River, and back. After flying over our house and school, I decided to cut the flight short and head back. It was beginning to be uncomfortably bumpy... No use in wasting time and money on an unpleasant experience! It was still a fun flight though, here are some pictures:
Our route of flight is shown below via CloudAhoy (I recorded it on my iPad, using my external XGPS160):
After such a bumpy flight, I was a little concerned that it would be a windy, rough landing. On final approach it was gusty, but nothing too bad. And then... We greased the landing, making an awesome ending to a turbulent flight! My mom said "I've never felt such a smooth landing, not even on commercial planes." ... Thanks, Mom!
Hopefully we will go flying again soon, just for a little longer next time!
Thanks for reading,
-Swayne Martin
