Flying A Cessna 150

Funnest. Thing. Ever.

Wow. My friend Mike took me for a ride in a Cessna 152 a few weeks ago, and ever since then I have had the uncontrollable urge to want to learn to fly. Maybe it is my learning/knowledge addiction, and maybe it is my genes (three grandparents and two aunts who fly, my grandfather flew PB-Ys and Martin Mariners in WWII) but I need to fly. I signed up and took my intro flight on Sunday at IOW, the Iowa City Municipal Airport. I took off, climbed, did various angles of coordinated turns, descents and flew over my house. Then it was time to head back, so I pointed the plane at the airport and flew back. The CFI commented, "you have a really good sense of direction." We did the downwind, base and final legs. I had a lot of help with the landing from my instructor, but I think I probably did 40-60% of the work landing.

Now I have to go and spend some money on an FAA 3rd class medical exam, a headset (I already bought a bunch of books) and other pilot supplies. Luckily Mike has a ground instructor rating so he is helping me with the ground study.

I had been looking for a challenge for a while. I already have a huge internal knowledgebase relating to my job, and going to graduate school in that area is not really possible at this time- there aren't really any Ph.D. programs in "sys admin." MIS does not interest me, and various industry certifications are kind of like the Hamburger U of the IT world. I don't really feel like working in a cube farm all day cranking out code and having to compete with low-paid outsourced geniuses from the Indian subcontinent, so a CS degree is right out. Other than IT and photography, there is really no reason for me to go to graduate school. So, I think the challenge of studying and practicing as a student pilot will be a good way for me to feed the need for knowledge.

I recommend this to anyone who feels they want a challenge of this type. I can't wait to solo.