I have slipped the surly bonds of earth* at Ryan Says…

I completed my first solo flight on Sunday. This is a significant step in the path to earning my private pilot license - the first time I have flown the plane completely alone, without my instructor on board! I’m sure almost every pilot out there remembers his or her first solo :)

My instructor didn’t want to fly out to Palo Alto because I was his only student that day, so I ended up driving over to Livermore airport. We did the pre-flight as normal then took off together for some pattern work. Livermore has two parallel runways - 25R is longer, wider and has glide slope indicator lights, while 25L is shorter and has no lights.

We took off from 25R and did a right pattern. The wind was variable but overall pretty calm, weather and visibility were great. Initially there was no one else in the pattern, so my instructor took the opportunity to pull back the throttle and have me practice a simulated engine failure (he does that a lot :) My approach was pretty good, I threw down full flaps on base and landed slightly long on the runway. I didn’t judge my height above the runway very well, and we sank significantly after I flared and stalled.

We taxied back to 25R and took off again, made another right pattern. When I turned from base to final I realised I was way too high, and a little fast. While I probably could have thrown down the flaps and landed it (since it’s such a long runway), I thought to myself “would I really do this landing if I was by myself, without my instructor to bail me out if necessary?” I decided “No”. So I did a go-around (an aborted landing). My instructor was happy about the decision, and agreed I should go around whenever I’m not comfortable.

So we flew a right pattern again and this time my approach was better. Landing was still not the best, and I bounced before touching down completely. We taxied back to 25R and took off again, another right pattern. Again my approach was pretty good, but again I bounced the landing. I think it comes from my being unfamiliar with the larger runway at Livermore. I need to practice timing my roundout and flare (judging my height above the ground better).

We taxied back to 25R and took off, but this time were told by ATC to make a left pattern and land on 25L (another pilot was making an instrument approach on 25R). The left pattern and approach was pretty nice, especially since the runway was much shorter and didn’t have lights. Unfortunately I still bounced the landing.

At this point we taxied back to the terminal and I dropped my instructor off. He said my landings were pretty much the worst they had been! But still ’safe’, and that it was probably just nerves. After bidding him farewell I taxied back to 25R all alone.

It was exciting being by myself, and I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. I advised the tower that I was a student pilot doing my first solo, and after receiving clearance took off on 25R for a right pattern. Without the additional weight of my instructor the plane took off a lot sooner, barely using any of the runway :) I took her around, made a nice approach and, you guessed it, bounced the landing. I was excited nonetheless, having just completed my first solo flight (short as it may have been).

I did two more of these, making right traffic on 25R. Being by myself I found I really concentrated a lot more on the landing, trying to feel the plane and get her down smoothly, knowing there was no one else to bail me out. Unfortunately I bounced all of them - at least I’m consistent I suppose :) And now I know what I need to work on for next time. I should also point out that the wind was being a little unkind, gusting from different directions at the approach end of the runway, so I had to do a lot of rudder work at touchdown to keep her pointed straight.

I taxied back to parking where my instructor was waiting, camera in hand:

And so completed my first solo flight! I had a brief discussion with my instructor, who was watching from the tower, and he basically confirmed my own analysis that I need to work on judging my height above the runway.

All in all not too bad, and I can’t wait for my next solo which will be at an untowered airport - hopefully Half Moon Bay if it’s not too cloudy. After that I’ll be able to take the plane up whenever I want (although only if certain weather and wind conditions are met, and not more than 50NM from my home airport - Palo Alto).

* P.S. The title of this entry comes from this poem.