The Joys of Flying
Greetings!! My name is Jason Trowbridge and I decided to write a blog about my training and eventual piloting adventures that will sweep across the inter-webs like the Galactic Empire from Star Wars swept across the galaxy ( except mine will be non-violent and oppressive. ) Just to give you a little background info on my training.. I have been flying for about 2 years. During those 2 years it was on and off because as we all know life isn't perfect and it can interfere with your goals and dreams sometimes. I decided this is something that I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to do and had to make a few sacrifices, which is well worth it to pursue your dreams. Aviation is a very addictive thing, as most of you probably heard from other pilots, and it will grow on you to the point where it's all you want to talk, dream, and learn about. I like to compare it to cinnabon or krispy kreme doughnuts... once you sink your teeth into the deliciousness of it you can't get the taste or smell out of your mind until you balloon up to 600 pounds from indulging in it... thankfully flying an airplane will not make you balloon up to 600 pounds, unless you are eating cinnabon or krispy kreme through the flight, but anyways I think you see my point. I remember my first flight lesson, KIYK to L05. I live in a city called Ridgecrest, Ca. It's in the Mojave desert and right off the feet of the Eastern Sierra Nevada's..
About 15 miles from Ridgecrest lies Inyokern, where my home airport is located. (KIYK) its a great place to learn to fly due to our high winds, mountains, high heat which causes thermals and makes for bumpy rides, and it is right next to restricted airspace due to the Weapons and Development Naval base ( NAWCWD, China Lake). It's a great and a very unique Eco system with tons of outdoor activities to do. So back to my first flight lesson. It was 6am the morning of April 2nd 2011 that I met my first flight instructor, Paul Farris, who is an excellent pilot and has 30 plus years of flying under his belt. He gives me the typical introduction flight speech of what we are going to do and he tells me I'm going to sit left seat. We pull out the Cessna 172 and it has a bigger engine which makes it a 180HP engine and I fell in love...Love at first sight between a man and plane. We hop in and he gives me an introduction of the cockpit and what everything does. Trust me it's a lot of information to take in and you can't let the excitment distract you because everything your instrutor will teach you is IMPORTANT!!!! He starts the plane up, we taxi to RW33 and off we go. This, I thought to myself, is what Han Solo must of felt like the first time he learned to fly the Millennium Falcon. The flight to Kernville, a beautiful town in the Sierra's that the Kern River runs through, consists of flying through the Sierra Nevada's surrounded by mountains and require a climb to 8,500 ft to safely pass over the mountains. It's about a 55 minute drive from Ridgecrest or about a 15 minute flight. When we leveled off at 8,500 ft he gave me the controls and let me fly around for a bit... as soon as my hands touched the yoke of the airplane the aviation bug hit me...HARD. My heart was racing.. I couldn't stop smiling because this is what I dreamed of doing as a child and I was finally doing it. All of life's stresses and problems went away... I felt a sense of freedom I have never felt in my life. The visions of me becoming a pilot and being free in the skies were starting to come true. I saw a Quote that Cap'n Aux posted on facebook...Btw check out his blog.. ITS EPIC!!!!!!!!! DO IT!!!! http://capnaux.blogspot.com/... This is the quote
That is a very powerful quote in my opinion and is what a pilot gets to live by.
I got to fly around for about 15 minutes before he took over the plane and we started our approach to Kernville.... RW17 a beautiful approach. We ate breakfast and he asked me how it was. I simply replied with "EPIC" because that is the only word I could use to explain it. We flew back to KIYK and it ended. I got to log in my first hour of flight in my log book. Some Pilots will tell you that during the training phase the first solo flight logged is the greatest feeling, don't get me wrong because it is a great feeling, but that first hour will probably be the most special in my log book because that's the first hour that started it all and I can always look back on that first hour and say it's because of that first hour, that first leap into my dreams, is how I became a pilot. I encourage anyone who has the itch to become a pilot to do it. There is no bigger thrill or feeling of taking control of the airplane and flying into the great blue yonder to freedom.
