Just Do It!

Saturday, 18 June

I’ve finally done it! After several days of procrastination and bad weather, I finally got my act together and told myself to go for a flight in a Cessna 152. And I survived!

For the past couple of days I’ve been asking myself one question; To fly, or not to fly?
Ask any pilot that question and they’ll probably hit you with a large, heavy object. Trying to decide whether or not you should go fly is like deciding whether or not you need oxygen. So why the hesitation?

Well, the last time I flew all on my lonesome in a C152 was about a year ago. During my PPL training, I only flew solo after a quick dual flight to make sure that I hadn’t forgotten anything. So this was quite different; I would be climbing into a relatively new aircraft, by myself, right off the bat, and I was scared.



I knew that if I didn’t get over my fear soon, it would just consume me. I knew that all I had to do was get in the plane and fly... And I eventually did that (after the thing started). When I climb into the Cubby, I feel like I’m at home. The stick is familiar, the throttle movement is smooth, and the sound is comforting.

Climbing into a C152 is like going to a friend’s house for the first time; you feel okay, but you’re weary, you don’t want to accidentally step over a line and get kicked out, it doesn’t quite feel natural. It sounds different, it looks different, and sun visors tend to fall off and hit you in the face. . .

But going through the checks is comforting. Rolling down the runway and lifting off, applying left aileron to compensate for the x-wind, seeing the world sink away... well, that’s always an amazing experience, no matter what aircraft you’re in.



I decided to do a circuit to make sure that I was happy. On downwind I ran through my checks as if I was flying the Cubby. “Brakes, undercarriage, throttle, mixture, temps, pressures, flaps, lights... Wait, flaps... I actually need to use those now, right?!” Right. Close the throttle slightly to bring the speed into the white arc, 10 degrees of flap. Turn onto Base, close the throttle, apply carburettor heat, flaps 20 degrees. Final, get the speed right, control height with the throttle, flaps 30 degrees. Cross the fence, carburettor heat cold, fly towards the numbers, look to the end of the runway and flare...

Touchdown.

A weight has been lifted from my shoulders – I can land it in a x-wind. With that out of the way, it was time for a scenic flight to the beach. Lurvely. She just purrs along... Well, purrs with a whole lot of squeaking and rattling. After the scenic flight it was back to Stellenbosch for a few circuits.

After a couple with full flaps I tried one with 20 degrees, and then another with no flap. I decided to be brave and try side slipping. Side slipping it felt a bit like side slipping a dishwasher... But I got her down, and I landed after only one small balloon. Getting a landing ‘perfect’ in a C152 isn’t as satisfying as in a taildragger, but it still feels good!



So I’m quite happy, and now that I’ve got past my fear, I think the C152’s and I will be getting quite familiar with each other. Bring on the night hours!