My girlfriend gave me a Discovery Flight with Windy City Flyers as a Christmas gift this year and let me tell you, it was the best gift anyone could receive. I waited until summer to use it, just so that the weather would be a bit nicer for my first flight and it was well worth the wait.
With a desire to fulfill a dream of mine, but with a real concern for my safety, my girlfriend did a lot of research on aviation groups in the Chicagoland area that provide flight instruction. Her search led her to Windy City Flyers and she couldn't have nailed it more on the head. When looking into what the group offered, my girlfriend was put in contact with Liz who was a HUGE help in setting her up with the perfect gift and my girlfriend had nothing but a positive experience.
My first personal experience with the group (as opposed to my girlfriends) was amazing too. I spoke to a few different people in the group (including Liz) on a number of occasions when scheduling my flight and everyone was extremely pleasant and helpful. Everyone seemed to really enjoy what they do and it came through when dealing with them.
It was my hope to bring my father and brother along as passengers and they went the extra mile to try and figure out a plane/instructor combo that would allow for the weight, thus the several phone calls with them. Unfortunately, 3 adult males plus instructor in a small plane just doesn't mix, so I was only able to take my dad, but that was the only downside in my whole experience.
I also originally was scheduled for a morning flight, but Liz called me about a week after I had originally booked my flight to let me know that there was a sunset flight opening. She told me that she highly recommended going at that time because the view is spectacular and that it was her favorite time to fly. So I changed my flight time per her recommendation and I am SO glad that I did.
When I got there for my flight, everyone was extremely nice and helpful. I started filling out the necessary paper work. While doing that, Byron introduced himself and told me that he was going to be taking me up. We got there a little early, so we had to wait a little while for the flight before me to get back, but Byron hung out and talked aviation with us the entire time we waited. You could definitely sense the passion he has for flight and that he truly enjoys what he does. He was happy to answer any questions that we asked during that time and even though we were waiting, it was a truly enjoyable experience.
Once the plane that we were going to fly was back, we walked onto the tarmac to the plane. Byron walked me through a preflight check, explaining how to check the fuel for water and debris, how to check the oil level and how to inspect the wings and propeller for any compromises. We then climbed into the plane and he explained that the next step was to listen over the radio for a weather broadcast sent from the tower. Once we had heard the broadcast, he radioed to the tower to confirm that we had the broadcast. He then primed the engine and had me start the engine. From the point that the engine started up, I was completely comfortable in what I was about to do because of the true professionalism Byron had.
After instructing me how to use the rudder peddles and brakes to steer the plane on the ground, he had me taxi the plane to the runway. Right before turning onto the runway, he took over, just to ensure the plane was lined up correctly. He then told me to smoothly give the plane full throttle and before I knew it we were in the air. Thorough out most of the flight I had complete control of the pitch and roll while he maintained control of the yaw and throttle. It was a truly amazing experience. We flew to Lake Michigan and then flew down the coast to fly over downtown Chicago. He took over controls for a few minutes to fly us by the Sears Tower (sorry, Willis) for legality reasons, but turned the controls back over to me shortly after. It was an amazing view seeing the city at night from above. On our way back to the airport, he also gave me the opportunity to experience the plane stall, as a stall recovery is a normal requirement in flight training. It got the heart pumping, but it was really cool.
We then started flying back to the airport. He provided amazing instruction on how to descend and what proper procedure is in preparing for a landing. He then instructed me how to get lined up with the runway and talked me all the way in for a kind of bumpy, but safe, night landing.
Byron's instruction was amazing and truly exceeded my expectations, which were already set really high. I now have an hour of flight time towards a pilot's license along with a stall recovery and a night landing. If you have ever had a dream to fly, I can't recommend Windy City Flyers enough. I can't wait to do it again and I now have the bug to become a licensed pilot! read more
