Twenty-five. That number represents the years that have elapsed since I last flew a piston-engine airplane. And 28 is the number since I last flew a single. For all of the time in between I have been piloting turbojet-powered airliners and corporate-sized turbojets.
But a change in circumstance—an early retirement from my airline gig, partly thanks to the pandemic—has given me a new opportunity. I have experienced a return to my roots.
As a teenager I finally realized a long-held and cherished dream. I took advantage of an introductory flight at a local flight school. Fifteen dollars and five-tenths on Hobbs later (prices were quite different then) I had flown! Nervous and google-eyed, I had slid into the left seat of a gleaming Piper Cherokee 140. In the right seat plopped a mid-twenties flight instructor whose dark hair and thick horn-rimmed glasses made him look more like a character from Happy Days. But in my eyes then Richard, or “Dick,” as he preferred, was an aviation god.
The engine roared to life. Minutes later the vibrating, rattling craft nosed up and broke ground. I was terrified—and enraptured. A quick cruise to a nearby practice area followed. Throughout that flight Dick had me keep a hand on the yoke. Then he coached me as I made a turn. I had flown an airplane myself!
Back on the ramp I reveled in the glow of that experience. I was hooked.
The following month after graduating high school I started my lessons in earnest. Basic control. Pattern work. My first solo. Cross-country training. Test prep. And then my Private Pilot checkride. Within four months I was a certificated, honest-to-goodness, real pilot!
Years passed. I earned an instrument ticket, commercial, CFI. Training students in single-engine aircraft was a joy. Even though my sights were set higher, I still relished every minute I spent training others.
Eventually I landed a night cargo job flying bank checks in 310s, Aerostars, and Barons. Following that was a multiyear stint in Learjets. Then I moved onto my first airline. Right seat in the Boeing 727-200 followed by more right seat, this time in the 737-800. A captain upgrade ensued. I had reached the pinnacle of my profession!
Circumstances dictated a job change and I was fortunate to land at one of the largest airlines in the United States. Fifteen more years flying Boeings followed. I retired this year as a captain. I have many experiences and joys to look back on.
But I knew it wouldn’t end there. All through those years, though I was not actively teaching, I kept my CFI certifications active, renewing them on schedule every two years.
Last week I successfully landed a CFI slot at a local flight school. And then came the time to check out in one of the school’s airplanes, a Piper Warrior 161.
I had come back to my roots.
Sliding into the left seat seemed at once strange and hauntingly familiar. The tight space. The steam-gauge instruments. After a thorough preflight, the school’s chief pilot and I closed the door and started the checklist. The Continental O-320 roared to life. I kept trying to grab the tiller. (A “tiller” is a sidewall-mounted “steering wheel” used to guide an airliner on the ground.) I twice answered ATC with my former airline’s call sign, evoking laughter from the chief.
But in the air the story was told. Pitch. Power. Too much bank. I was stepping too hard on the rudders and overcontrolling in the flare. I had a lot of big airplane experience to trim down to small airplane size. But it was exhilarating as well. The smell of avgas, the vibration of the engine, carb heat, manual flaps. I hadn’t had this much fun flying in years!
One more flight with the chief followed this one and I was checked out, unleashed to fly this airplane myself and with students. I still have a bit of “rust” to work out. But it has been a blast.
Getting back to my single engine roots has been a wonderful experience so far.
And I was pretty sure I saw a spindly teenager version of myself walking back to the parking lot wearing a cheesy grin.
(Further posts on the progression of and reminiscences on my professional career will appear on this blog. If you are interested in any of my aviation services, please contact me at JayC@proaviator.biz.)