David and CJ go flying

Some may remember that Chris Campbell offered to take me flying "because I
would rather fly than argue any day". That day finally arrived last
Saturday.

I got to Pavco in plenty of time for our appointment on a hot, hazy Saturday
afternoon. Yes, folks, this is the Puget Sound and we're already
experiencing a drought. Chris finished his lesson and introduced me to his
206. Being the student, I did the sumping and clambering (hey, CJ, this is
tendonitis I have in my achilles!) as he grinned while I complained about
having to find yet one more drain point. He clearly and carefully read out
the checklists, which doesn't explain why it took me 10 minutes into the
flight to notice the incorrect HI, which I then set and we thence ignored.
He warned me that my right leg would be getting numb. And off we went into
the yonder, with the sparkling water and islands below us and the landmarks
passing at a speed I'm unaccustomed to.

Still, a high-perf Cessna flies just like a 152. The main difference was
that the glareshield doesn't come up so high, and I was forever pitching up
to make it look like a 172. We did some steep turns, with non-PTS altitude
gains (see previous sentence) and CJ, by now somewhat in instructor mode,
watching where my eyes were pointing. We slow flew, and let her stall. Then,
now fully in instructor mode, he pointed out Elma on his Apollo MX videogame
and said he'd give me some shortfield landing practice.

It takes no time to get there at the speed of a 206 - well, enough time to
read aloud the shortfield checklist - but the plane lands nice and slow, so
I managed to get pretty close to the numbers and only just brushed the grass
with the left wheel (I'd over-corrected the unfamiliar left-turning
anti-P-factor).

Back at Tacoma, Tower asked for a short approach, so I yanked and banked the
plane around the pattern and did another short-field landing. And then
another :-( . Please, Chris, don't tell anyone how I bounced and stalled
your pride and joy.

As to the arguing - he obviously enjoyed showing off the plane. We both
talked about our time in New England, and the places we live now. He showed
me some landmarks of the South Sound that I was less familiar with. We
shared some personal and family history and we agreed that, in the town I
just moved to, I'm probably the conservative. Chris, I owe you dinner.

We regulars should fly together more! Especially as some of us are bunched
together geographically. You learn so much more about a 3-dimensional person
(yes, neither of us is lean and hungry) by sharing cockpit space and a
shared love of aviating.

-- David Brooks