"This is so cool"

I must have heard that fifty times on Friday.

A friend of mine has been wanting to go flying for a while, and I finally took him for a flight yesterday. Predictably, he wanted to fly the 172SP, since it's newer, more powerful and is in much better condition than the rest of the fleet. The wheel fairings make it look nice and sleek too.

I explain some of the major differences between flying an airliner and flying a small plane so he's not disturbed if the engine doesn't start on the 1st attempt, or if something sounds odd during the engine run on the ground.

We departed the airport to the east, remaining below 1500ft so he could admire the scenery. I gave him the controls so he could do a few climbs, descents and turns. It's always funny to watch somebody new to flying put both hands on the yoke. It never fails- I say "you have control" and immediately, both hands grip the yoke so tightly the knuckles go white.

As we turned North along the beach, I showed him that if he just let go, the plane would fly along quite happily all day. After that, the death grip went away, but both hands were still on the yoke. Oh well...

We go maybe 50 or 60 miles up the coast before turning back. I tell him to make a 180 degree turn and head south, and before I know it, we're in a 40 degree bank. Most first timers never bank more than about 15 degrees. I take over, and use the opportunity to show him a 60 degree steep turn. He got a kick out of feeling his weight double under the increased aerodynamic forces. He didn't too fancy the reduced gravity environment when I pushed the nose over to descend to to 500ft as we pass Fort Lauderdale. At the same time, all I'm hearing is "this is so cool, man".

All good things must come to an end, and we're soon on a short final to runway 09R. Because of the wind, I've crabbed the plane to stay on the centerline. He asks why the plane is pointing at the grass and not the runway. He doesn't know that if I aimed at the runway, I'd end up in the grass!!

Now, a smooth landing in an airplane (aka a "greaser") is 50% experience and 50% luck, and sometimes they come in waves. It so happened that the tide was out, and there was to be no greaser. We touched dows firmly and with no finesse whatsoever. He didn't think it was bad at all. I quickly explained that had my instructor been on board, he'd smack me upside the head and say "we're doing another one".

All in all, it was a good day (sans landing for me). My friend got lucky since we didn't have a hint of turbulence above ~700ft, so the ride was pretty smooth. He wants to fly again- let's see what we can work out.