On Monday, October 19, 2015, I was able to solo an airplane for the first time in two decades.  Although I was a flight student at Central Missouri State in the 1990’s, a career change took me in another direction.  This summer I got back into training for my PPL.  Although I still have a long way to go to be ready for my pilot’s license, it feels incredible to have this milestone behind me.  As is the way of things in the aviation world, my shirt tail was cut off in recognition of the occasion and now hangs on the wall of the Dexter airport.

Special thanks to my instructor Dave Tharp, as well as fellow flying club members Tom Love, Stan Lumsden, and club president Mike Williams (yes, there are two of us) for helping me celebrate.

Because it was apparently a slow news day, my flight even made it into the local paper.  I do need to make two slight corrections to the Daily Statesman article.  My uncle is the pilot in my family, not my grandfather.  Also, the headline was a tiny bit misleading.  The first solo since restarting training is not really the fulfillment of my dream, but a major step toward getting my private pilot’s certificate.  I still have a long way to go.  That said, big thanks to Noreen Hyslop for the photo and for giving me a chance to share the joy of flying with the community.

Video proof that it actually happened

My instructor, Dave Tharp, even managed to get my first landing on video.  Please know that I make absolutely no claim of competence in this video.  Success was measured by the fact that both I and the plane managed to live through the experience.  According to the info recorded on my shirt tail: the wind was: 13 knots at 200 degrees.  Runway: 18.