Finally after months of waiting, every thing fell into place. The weather was right, I was planned and ready, the aeroplane was ready - after a rapid battery change - all that was left was for me to file and fly.
I got off te ground later than I hoped but that was okay, the weather was due to hold for the day and I had priority on the plane. Heading out towards Kilcock I couldn't believe the visibility. I knew the weather was meant to be good but the visiblity ahead was fantastic. Despite this, I mangaged to get off course. How, I'm not sure. I think I may have allowed myself to be distracted by comments earlier in the day. One of the other instructors thought that the DI may have been drifting to the right. On the way out from Kilcock I got a bit fixated on the compass reading in relation to the DI setting that I probably wasn't paying enough attention to my track.
I picked up my route north of Mullingar and continued on my way to Abbeyshrule. Somehow I ended up north of track again - I think, on reflection, that I just didn't get myself focussed and settled. That said, I identified that I was north of Ballynacarrigy and corrected my course to bring me overhead Abbeyshrule at two and a half thousand feet. Calling Shannon, I filed a temporary flight plan closure and then set about my first landing of the day. I descended in to the circuit pattern but didn't give my self enough space, leading to two horrible touch and gos, which, were unfortunately witness by my Dad. The third attempt was a full stop and a fairly decent landing at that.
Off-course on the easiest leg, two crappy landing attempts and what I was expecting to be the most difficult leg ahead of me. I was not a happy bunny. I sat in the plane trying to assess the situation and calculate what changes I wanted to make to my flight plan. My Dad was walking over and I wanted to get myself straightened out before talking to him. The idea was right but I think in retrospect I should have just gotten out of the plane and settled myself before trying any time calculations. I finally got my thoughts together enough to call AIS in Shannon to amend my second flight plan. With that done, I opened the canopy, the bottle of water and the banana !!
It was really good to see my Dad there. There were interesting symetries yesterday. It was my Mum's birthday - who was one who gave me my very first flight on my 14th birthday, many, many years ago. It seemed fitting that this large step towards my PPL took place on her birthday. And the other symetry? Sometime before that first flight, my Dad brought myself, one of the guys on my street and perhaps my brother (memory fails me) to my first airshow. That was my one of my first close encounters with aeroplanes and why is it significant? Because as my Dad sat on the grass beside Abbeyshule's runway, memories dawned on him that he had been here with me before - on similarly bright and sunny day many years ago at our first airshow. Thank you both for setting me out on a course to realise a dream.
So how did the rest of the day go, that anxious second leg, the second stop, the return home? Guess you'll have to wait.
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