I received a gift certificate from a family member for a Discovery Flight given my mention of potentially being a pilot someday. I called and quickly was able to schedule something with an instructor the following week. They provided a calendar invite and my instructor, Devon text me as a reminder of our appointment. No issues finding the facility with the provided address and I was greeted promptly with the waiver documents and request for copy of an ID. I sat down with Devon who explained the agenda and inquired about my reasoning for wanting to do a Discovery Flight. We went out to the airfield to conduct pre-flight checks of the plane and what to look for during the process and why. After waiting on the fuel truck for a few minutes, we got underway and spent the next hour in the air flying around. It reminded me of my first time driving a car and that overwhelming feeling of trying to safely operate a vehicle and over time developed a rhythm of comfort to be able to do other things while driving. Flying seems to be no different with all the gauges to manage direction, altitude, fuel, etc. There is an added level of complexity managing the map (our location) which was on an iPad during my trip to understand no fly areas, change of radio frequencies/airspace, etc. Devon let me steer while on the ground as well as in the air, adjust speed, altitude, etc with his oversight. I put on a lightweight jacket prior to departure but found myself getting warm in the air with the sun beating on us. Airflow and space in the cockpit to move around are limited so it's best to be situated prior to getting in.
Despite having the gift certificate that was purchased about 9 months ago, they charged me a $10 surcharge as a result of fuel cost increases. I didn't argue against it in the moment.
It was an insightful learning experience that I would recommend to anyone thinking about flying or wanting a unique experience. I would enjoy the opportunity to become licensed but that also requires a time and funding commitment that has to be aligned with priorities. read more