Ready for takeoff: Walters gets his Wings

After months and months of waiting for signatures, and getting paperwork to clear, it finally was official near the beginning of summer. I owned a plane. Or, at least a piece of a plane.

That meant I could finally take my first flight. But myinstructor first, had to take the plane up for a flight. He was asking me for specifics on the plane and its performance, none of which I could answer.

The reason: I had only ever seen pictures of the plane.

"You bought a plane without seeing it?," he asked. "Yep. I guess I have a lot of faith in the other partners."

The first time I got to the airport, for thatfirst flight, I was pretty nervous. Blake, my instructor was quick to point out that I wouldn't really do much that flight. I would more or less do a sightseeing flight, and just get used to the feeling of flying in such a small plane.

"Do you throw up in small planes?," he asked. "Do you get motion sickness?" The answer to both is no.

It turns out though, he did have students in the past that couldn't take the constant bumps in a small plane, and theyhad to fill up the paper bag you find in most commercial airliners.

Ready for take-off

After a quick briefing, we jumped into the plane. I was amazed at how many checks there were to do. It's not just a case of turning a key, getting your clearance, and heading over to the active runway.

Blake lined up on Runway 25, pushed the throttle in, and we took off. It was one of the smoothest, and most memorable take offs I've ever experienced. A climb up to 3,000 feet, and we were in what is called the 'South Practice Area', just south of the Nor'Westers.

I'd like to say it was a quick climb, but not quite. It turns out my little C150 is pretty underpowered, and with two guys in the front, and three-quarters a tank of fuel, we wereat our weight limit for the plane.

So, we slowly climbed to 3,000 feet. What a view! You certainly can appreciate the view of Lake Superior and the shoreline when up in the air. I'll have to remember to bring my phone next time for some pictures. It is quite incredible.

I was a little surprised, and honestly, pretty apprehensive, when Blake told me that, "you have control." I had the chance to do some straight and level flight, and take on some very gentle turns. It was so cool.

Asfun as it was, it wasn'texactly relaxing to be in control. I didn't realize how much I would be thinking when flying. It wasn't quite like driving, where it becomes second nature. I'll admit, I was a pretty relieved when Blake took back the controls, and I didn't really have to think for the rest of the flight.

After that first flight, it's safe to say I'm hooked. I can't waitto getup in the air once again.